Who ever thought that the day would come where Microsoft Windows would be making viral, five-second videos on Tiktok and that big brands like Amazon, Adobe and NASA often leave witty comments in response?
This shift comes alongside the rise of social media and messaging and evolving consumer expectations around brand engagement. People no longer want to simply hear from brands about what they can offer – they want to converse directly with brands.
Because of this, it’s now not uncommon to see some of the world’s largest corporations deliberately interact with audiences in a quirky and fun manner on social media. As brands focus on being more relatable and engaging, the perception of marketing is shifting from traditional techniques that can seem devoid of personality and leave less impact on audiences.
There’s more to building a brand voice than jumping on Gen Z-driven trends or speaking like a teenager to make your brand more human, though. You need a deep understanding of your brand, values, and voice as well as a social media strategy. If you’re looking for ways to punch up your brand voice and social media presence, here are some ways you can get started:
Be True To Your Brand
Brand humanisation isn’t just about hopping onto viral social trends and trying to be relatable. When brands tap onto these trends simply for the sake of boosting engagement rates, more often than not the content flops. Your branding and social media presence needs to be consistent with who your company is, instead of coming across as being too try-hard for the sake of boosting engagement rates. When your brand voice and values are consistent throughout every consumer touchpoint, people will have a better, more holistic understanding of your brand, which lends a hand in building credibility.
Stimulate Your Audience’s Emotions
A recent study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Braze, discovered that it is increasingly important for brands to ground communication channels with emotional attributes such as responsiveness and friendliness. A great way to achieve this is by weaving humour and empathy into your messaging. These attributes can help your business seem more relatable and can go a long way in getting people interested in why your brand is relevant to them.
When putting together campaigns and creating content, remember that a compelling story is more impactful than rambling on about your brand’s list of accolades or constantly selling. Your audience wants to know more about the heart and people behind your brand as well!
Stay Consistent
Last but not least, ensure that your brand’s voice and storytelling is consistent across all communication channels. Consistency makes your brand feel dependable, and goes hand-in-hand with conveying a sense of allyship to customers. Maintaining brand consistency is key in ensuring that all the work that you’ve undertaken to build and execute your brand value and messages don’t go down the drain.
Messaging and social media enable brands to create deeper connections and build credibility with their audiences, leading to better business results. The key to success lies in talking to your audiences like they’re real people and being self-aware, without trying too hard.
If you’re still unsure about how you can build genuine and strong connections with your audiences, get in touch at [email protected]!