humanizing your brand
Let’s talk about the thing that’s top of mind for many business owners right now, myself included…recession. Organizations around the world are battening down the hatches and cutting budgets. Beyond strategic budgeting, here’s my advice to ALL companies right now.
KEEP IT HUMAN.
Before I move on, I need to give credit where it’s due for this term. The first time I heard about keeping it human was from the incredible Kathy Klotz- Guest. Her take is that the key to success for business leaders and marketers it to keep in human. I can’t agree more.
Here’s the reality right now. Your customers may be cutting back on spending. Because of this, the way you view marketing during a recession needs to shift. Rather than have a laser focus on the on numbers of qualified leads or the conversion rates of paid ads and landing pages, you should instead pivot to using your channels to make human connection.
Why? Consumers don’t buy from companies, they buy from people. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. The more time I spend in business the more that I know in my bones this is true. The more authentic, human connection I have with my audience and potential customers the more successful my own business is, and the more yours will be too. So, even if your customers aren’t ready to purchase right now, when they are, they will choose to spend money with brands who successfully made that human connection.
So you may be thinking to yourself, “What’s the best way to humanize my brand?” Here are my suggestions.
Live Video
An easy starting point is to leverage live video features of your social media channels. Going live gives a face to your brand name and gives your audience the opportunity to interact with you.
Engage in Brand Activism and Acts of Goodwill
For many consumers, myself included, I am far far more likely to give my money to companies that take a stand for their values and also do good in their community. It’s why I when I’m buying ice cream I will always buy Ben and Jerry’s. If I am making a decision about which software or doodad to spend my money on, conscious consumers and organizations will invest in products and services from values-aligned companies that made them feel good about that purchase.
When it comes to putting this in practice, the opportunities to do good are endless and will depend on your brand’s mission and values. Here are some ideas.
Give staff paid time to engage in voluntarism.
Sponsor an adoption drive for homeless animals
Give all customers a month of free service for your product
Start a scholarship program for your products or services
Offer pro-bono services
Cover the cost of childcare for your team
Sponsor a local family
Build a house with Habitat for Humanity
Donate a portion of your profits to combat climate change
Offer free mentoring or job retraining services
Since everything is content, make sure to document these efforts and leverage them for your marketing :)
Engage in Social Listening and Community Management
A great way to humanize your brand is to engage your audience and build community. Monitor your comments on social media and respond promptly. Your social media channels shouldn’t be a one-way conversation. Utilize your platform to start conversations with your audience. You can also choose to double down on creating a community on Mighty Networks, Slack, or Facebook. People have a fundamental need to belong and creating a community for your audience and fans will help ensure that you have an engaged network of folks who will consistently support and help grow your business.
Need help being human on social media? Red Lab Marketing Specializes in social media marketing designed to humanize your brand, grow your audience and generate revenue. We offer full service social media management , social media strategy, landing pages and email automations, and content and copywriting.
Book a discovery call in June and receive $500 off your services.
