Consumers today are savvier and more skeptical than ever. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, only 52 percent of global respondents trust businesses. And not only do they have countless avenues to discover, research and purchase products/services – but everyone is competing for their attention. So, how do you get people to trust and engage with your brand? You give them solid reasons to.
Tell a good story
We all love stories. Stories are a creative way to help us recall facts and ideas. They also serve as a connection between people, uniting us through common values and experiences. A brand story is a cohesive narrative that encompasses the facts and feelings that are created by your brand. It offers a fresh perspective: What's interesting about your company? Why is it important? With a well crafted story, a brand can start to look more like an ideal system that customers will be eager to stand behind. Here’s an example of Hubspot’s brand story.
“When HubSpot first started, we noticed traditional, interruptive marketing didn’t appeal to consumers anymore. Due to the digital age, people were in complete control of the information they consumed -- and they were sick and tired of receiving direct mail, email blasts, and cold calls. People wanted to be helped, so we started creating educational content that aided people in solving their marketing problems.
Today, we’ve built a passionate community of inbound marketers, expanded our inbound marketing approach to the sales and customer service industries, and strengthened the inbound movement more than ever before.”
Share your expertise
This isn’t the first time you’ve been reminded of the need to stand out from the clutter of our digital marketing space – and it probably won’t be the last. It’s a competitive landscape. So instead of fighting for attention, let your customers come to you by offering them answers to their problems and needs. Share your expertise in your specific field so that when potential customers are searching for their common questions, they come across your blog articles. Creating relative and helpful content about your industry is a simple and effective way to brand yourself as an expert.
Here’s an example of how we share our expertise through video content on Youtube.
Know your audience
The most powerful brands have a deep understanding of their target market, including what their interests are, problems that need solving, and how they communicate. Knowing who your audience is will help you create meaningful content that resonates. As a result, you will be able to attract the most valuable visitors, leads, and customers to your business.
A great way to get to know your audience is by using buyer personas – Buyer personas (sometimes referred to as marketing personas) are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal customers. Personas help us all -- in marketing, sales, product, and services -- internalize the ideal customer we're trying to attract, and relate to our customers as real humans.
Be transparent and human
People are always looking for something they can relate to. Great content features real people, real situations, genuine emotions and facts. It’s all about showing versus telling. Focus on how your products or services touch the lives of actual people. Customers often value a positive user experience with a brand they can trust more than they care about product features. If your audience can easily see who you are as an organization, beyond the products you sell or the service you provide, they’ll develop a stronger relationship with your brand.
What does transparent marketing look like? Read more about it.
