How to Make Your Brand More Human – and Why it Matters
In such an increasingly digital age it can be difficult to cultivate authenticity and humanize a brand, but doing so is more important now than ever. With the rise of social media, SEO, and online analytics, it’s easy to forget about why humanizing your brand – and how to do it properly – matters.
Read our tips below to bring a genuine human connection to your brand:
1. Prioritize sharing content that adds value instead of selling – No one wants to be marketed to 24/7. These days, people barely want to be sold to at all. Bring a more human aspect to your brand by sharing content that actually adds value to your audience’s lives instead of just hawking a product.
What is your brand an expert in? Share your advice, thoughts, and experiences on what you know best. If you give people valuable content, they will stick around. This can also help increase sales, as people will automatically associate your brand with the industry you are an expert in.
2. Engage with your audience – Where does your audience live? Are they on social media, meetup groups, or in-person events? Figure out where they are, and then engage with them in meaningful ways. This could be anything from responding to Instagram comments to staffing a booth at a local pop-up. Get creative based on your audience!
Not only does engaging with your audience promote brand awareness and understanding, it also makes you look incredibly approachable and authentic.
3. Share your story (and mistakes!) with transparency – It can be really easy to share only the good stuff in regards to your brand – on social media, we call that the “highlight reel.” But it’s not authentic, and many people can sense when a brand is trying to spin something or cover up an error.
Did you make a mistake? Do you wish you did something differently? Are you pivoting on a product or service? Be transparent! You don’t have to share every nitty gritty detail, but acknowledging changes, errors, or uncertainties can make your brand seem genuine. It brings humanity back to the organization, and your audience will appreciate and trust your candor.
4. Stay true to your brand – A very common mistake many brands make is trying to be appealing to absolutely everyone. If your brand sells products for dog-owners, it doesn’t make sense to try to market yourself to bird-owners as well. Focus on your brand’s unique niche, and stay true to that instead of trying to make everyone in the world happy.
Deciding upon a brand voice, cadence, and typical content can be helpful, as well as firmly defining who your audience is. Then stay true to those guidelines. Being consistently “yourself” as a brand will increase trust and acceptance.
5. Show off your team – People trust other people, not faceless logos. If all you ever post on your social media or site are impersonal graphics or statistics, people will forget that there are actually human beings behind your account. Your brand is made up of humans – don’t be afraid to highlight that!
Showing off your team members, giving audiences “behind the scenes” looks at your job, and celebrating or sharing success stories can make a brand look trusted and engaged. Feeling connected is more important than ever these days, and brands that make an effort to show their internal connections will thrive.
6. Highlight your relationships – We talked above about highlighting your team members, but it’s also important to shine a light on your other relationships as well. Do you work with any community partners? How about certain clients who are doing interesting or important work? Is your brand involved in any charity or volunteer efforts?
Sharing the relationships you have with your community and other brands is an important way to show your values and humanity. By doing so, you’re placing an emphasis on what truly matters to people, instead of just prioritizing sales and ROI. Remember that relationships are far more valuable than transactions.
Want more help humanizing your brand and connecting your audiences? Give us a shout.