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For your brand to be successful, it must first be trustworthy. Consumers are more likely to trust a brand that uses authentic and real marketing rather than robotic, ingenuine tactics. People seek transparency in brands, and humanizing your brand is the only way it will stand out among the sea of competitors. But how can you humanize your brand? How can you make advertising—likely through a screen—less robotic? It takes continuous effort, but it is not impossible.
There are many ways you can attempt to humanize your brand, but the most effective methods will be consistent throughout your entire brand. Three of the necessary moves you need to make when making your marketing less robotic include having consistent branding, knowing and engaging with your audience, and being open about the people behind your brand and their stories.
Be consistent across all branding
Consistency across branding will take your brand farther. Steadiness reflects confidence in the brand and sends the message that it’s here to stay. A strong brand is made up of many people who can come together to contribute to a consistent vision. This means writing with a brand voice that uses consistent language and tone, creating cohesive graphics and advertisements, and keeping both the tone and look of the brand consistent across platforms.
When a brand’s website has an inconsistent color scheme or consists of many different articles that are written by a wide variety of people, it seems out of date. Today, the best websites and social media pages are clean, modern, and consistent. If your brand’s image reflects these characteristics, consumers will be far more likely to buy into your product. Keeping up with trends and staying fresh in your industry shows the public that your team knows what they’re doing.
Work towards creating a sleek and consistent brand image before advertising products. Consistent branding will bring in the consumers and sales you need, building brand loyalty that sticks.
Know and engage with your audience
Reputable brands know their audience, and they do a great job of targeting marketing to them. You need to know your audience to create the most effective marketing. The best marketing appeals to people’s emotions. So, you must understand what makes your audience emotional. You are going to reach young moms differently than you are going to reach single bachelors. Thus, you will have to use different tactics to appeal to their individual emotions.
Knowing your audience well will help you understand what makes them cry, what makes them tick, what inspires them, what creates anxiety within them, and more. If your brand can appeal to your audience in this way, a consumer is more likely to trust your brand because it seems like the brand is truly making products just for them.
It is also important to engage with your audience along with just understanding them. On social media, reply to their comments. If they email your company email, respond quickly. Open communication will show consumers that they are interacting with real people who care about their wants and needs and are there to answer their questions and acknowledge their comments.
Suppose a person tries to contact a brand, and the team running the email or social media accounts takes weeks to respond or does not respond. In that case, it seems as though the company is a machine. People trust responsive brands, so it is essential to stay humble and interact with your customers even as your brand grows.
Show the team behind your brand and their stories
Brands are run by people, not machines, right? Prove that to your audience. Show them your team and the story of your brand. Consumers support people and brands that they believe in. Was your diaper brand started by a working mom who had trouble finding great diapers for her baby? Or, maybe your vegan food subscription brand was started by a vegan too busy to get to the grocery store. Tell the audience. People like to learn about the people and stories behind who created the brand. Why? Because it humanizes the brand. It shows that real people, with real experience, just like them, started the brand that they are potentially going to buy from.
Don’t be like the Wizard of Oz and hide, so no one knows who is running the show. Be transparent about not only your brand identity but the identities of the people behind the scenes. No one likes secrets. They do, however, like real, genuine, authentic people that they can relate to. The more relatable your brand is, the better.
Robots hide. Humans stand out.
The more human your brand is, the better. Be confident and consistent in your brand and your marketing efforts. Know your audience. Talk to them. Show them who you are. If it’s not apparent that there are real, intelligent people in charge, no one will trust your brand. But, if your brand is reputable, people may be more likely to take a chance. Keep your marketing polished and transparent, and your brand is much more likely to find success.
