Whether you’re creating a brand from scratch or simply reconsidering your existing marketing strategy, I’m here to remind you of the importance of making your brand authentic. With so many brands out there these days and more platforms than ever before, the marketing world can sometimes feel a bit saturated. That’s why it’s so important to ensure you create a brand that can cut through the noise and really reflects you in an authentic way. 

Why? 

Because your customer will pick up on it, and it’s a shift in consumer behaviour that we’re seeing well into 2022 and beyond. In fact, 88 percent of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support (Stackla, 2021) while 77 percent of consumers buy from brands that share the same values as they do (Havas Group, 2019).

‍

A recent study showed that 74% of people are becoming tired of social media ads and have very much caught on to fake product reviews crafted by robots – as you may have seen on Facebook and Amazon. This has led to a drive back towards family and friend referrals amidst the stress of not knowing who to trust, and is in fact how at least 38% of consumers find out about new brands.

‍

This change in behaviour identifies a massive opportunity for brands to disrupt the current landscape with authenticity, creating a sense of connection through relatable content that doesn't need to be immaculately curated and perfected all of the time. In fact quite the opposite, ownership of imperfections can help build trust from your consumers and humanise your brand.

So how do you transform this knowledge into a brand marketing strategy? Well, there’s a few things I would recommend that will help you reconnect with this concept and ultimately, ensure you have a bloody good time while you do it. Because even if you do not identify with your target market, your brand is in some ways a reflection of you.

‍

The Essence of Your Brand

I started working with a self development coach around about the time I started to come to terms with the fact that I wanted to work for myself (how’s that for timing?). One of the most potent things my coach Chloe recommended to me was to consider what I wanted the essence of my brand to be. 

And so I dropped in. 

Incense was lit, a meditation playlist gently echoed from my UE Boom, and I took a seat on my couch, eyes closed. What did I want my business to be, and what exactly was it offering when you stripped back the technical skills and the sales? What was the why? 

Using a five senses reality, I projected myself in a future place and time as my own boss, meeting with clients, smiling, drinking coffee, and most importantly making connections. I envisioned a sense of community and partnership, where people would feel a part of something greater when working with me. Hence the “social club” element of my business name - when I work with brands I hope to evoke a sense of togetherness. I’m not just someone you outsource but truly integrated into your team, and I hope to spread joy through the business connections I make to help ignite excitement when it comes to your marketing strategy. 

So, first things first - drop the heck in and figure out the SOUL of your brand.

Brand Guidelines

Now that we’ve established the why, set an intention of how you hope to make your customer feel. What are the thoughts, feelings, emotions, or experiences you are offering your consumer by participating in your community?

So often brand guidelines are focused on establishing colours, fonts and logo applications. Don’t me wrong this is completely necessary to avoid branding nightmares when you work with designers and printers, however, I’d like you to go a bit deeper. 

What is your tone of voice? How will you speak through your website, your captions and even your thank you pages when someone finally converts. Welcoming, playful, bold or exclusive - this tone should set the scene for the way you make your customer feel. State these clearly within your brand guidelines and ensure this aligns with who you feel your brand really is. Allow this to drive every piece of content you present your customer whether it be big or small.

Content 

While copy is just one part of it, let’s consider content as everything visual that we present to your customer. Images, videos, reels, website landing pages, and blog posts. 

I love that one of my clients only uses real customers on their website despite being a beauty and skincare business - no models or influencers. This is one way that makes them more relatable to their audience and enables their brand to remain authentic. 

Do you like your images to be very polished and presentable to reflect your particular price point, or does shooting content on a mobile phone feel more authentic to you? These are all key strategies to consider when reflecting on your brands marketing “truth”, if you will.

Influencers 

Just because you work with influencers, doesn’t mean that your brand suddenly becomes “inauthentic”. This can totally be approached in a way that reflects your brand identity and doesn’t stray from your essence. 

In 2022, we are starting to see a shift towards ongoing brand partnerships vs one off discount codes on herbal laxative teas you don’t really give a shit about. We are also seeing a movement towards leveraging micro influencers vs big-time 500k+ kinda influencers, which is a great thing for smaller businesses. 

Data mic drop: while micro influencers had a 89% market share in 2020, these numbers grew to 91% in 2021 (Influence Marketing Hub). This is expected to grow, not only for the price point benefits - micro influencers can sometimes shoot content in exchange for product, or around $100 per post. Big time influencers can charge anywhere from $1000-2000 - and that’s not even touching Instagram reels. 

Most importantly though, micro influencers generally relate to your audience on a more authentic level. Their endorsement of a brand can sometimes speak louder than an influencer who has partnership posts every couple of days. 

‍

If bigger influencers are the right fit for you, why not consider long-term brand partnerships as mentioned above. Having a “brand ambassador” that consistently posts about you usually means that the influencer has understood the impact towards their OWN reputation when seen posting images or videos of your product regularly, and (usually) this means your product or service relates in some way to the aspirations they are offering THEIR audience.

With all of that in mind, I hope the importance of making your brand authentic rang true to you in some form. I’m a strong believer that pride and passion translates through to your audience when communicated in the right way, which is why your marketing strategy should reflect that. If you love what you do but you can’t seem to get the marketing side of it quite right - please fill in a custom form on my website or send me an email and I would love to chat with you about how I might be able to assist! Because…. you guessed it - I really like what I do, and I hope you can feel it.

xx Megs