Your audience’s ability to acknowledge your brand begins with brand messaging. A well-crafted brand messaging strategy transforms your marketing and advertising efforts and helps you establish a clear brand identity, attracting more leads and turning them into real customers.
In this blog, Ignite Visibility’s Chief Creative Officer, Oscar Lutteroth, will dig deeper into what brand messaging is and how to create a brand message that really resonates.
What You’ll Learn:
- What Is Brand Messaging?
- What Is a Brand Message?
- Elements of The Brand Messaging Framework
- How to Create a Brand Messaging Strategy
- The Role of Brand Messaging Services
My Expert Opinion on Brand Messaging
One of the most integral components of branding is brand messaging, which is the way a brand establishes what it’s all about to its audiences. I believe that with strong branding and messaging together, any type of organization can differentiate itself from the competition and develop a solid identity in people’s minds.
By defining your brand’s personality, crafting a distinctive brand voice, and understanding what your audience wants and needs, you can unlock the full potential of your brand messaging framework.
Consider what your brand’s mission is and what you want to say that sets you apart from the competition. What pain points can you address that your competitors aren’t? You can then incorporate these into an all-encompassing brand message that helps propel you into an industry leader.
What Is Brand Messaging?
Brand messaging is the way an organization expresses itself as a unique identity and personality.
It comprises several core components, including:
- Mission: Your brand mission is a statement that speaks to what your business wants to achieve, including its purpose and objectives and how you plan to fulfill them.
- Vision: A brand vision captures what a company sees for the future and how it intends to achieve that future based on its guiding principles.
- Values: The main guiding force behind a company is its values, which include the organization’s core beliefs and for which it stands.
- Voice: Meanwhile, the brand voice is the kind of language and messages used when communicating with audiences through all marketing and advertising channels. The voice should reflect the company’s values and mission.
- Tone: Accompanying your brand voice is your tone, which dictates the kind of emotional response your messaging has on your audience, whether that tone is humorous, conversational, optimistic, or formal.
The Difference Between Brand Messaging and Brand Communication
Although similar, there is a crucial difference between brand messaging and communication.
In short, while brand messaging refers to the language and content a brand uses to express itself, brand communication applies to the methods used to communicate that message.
For example, communication channels may include marketing materials, ads, customer service communications, and public relations, among others.
One brand that has become among the most popular because of its brand message is the athletic footwear company Nike.
You likely know of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, which very concisely and memorably expresses the company’s message of “don’t wait to take action.” This message is particularly apt as a sports apparel company marketing to athletes and other active audiences.
What Is a Brand Message?
Your brand message should best represent your company identity’s essence. It should also convey the promise you want to make to your audience, such as that of a more convenient or enjoyable lifestyle.
Some of the best brand messages are among the shortest and action-oriented, encouraging audiences to take a specific action in three words or less.
Just consider Apple, for instance, with its “Think Different” campaign enticing audiences to essentially “think outside the box” in even fewer words.
Or look at Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” campaign complementing its “Enjoy” message, synonymizing pleasure with the act of drinking a bottle of Coke.
Elements of The Brand Messaging Framework
Now, let’s get into how you can develop your own unique brand message with a clear framework behind it.
To structure your brand message, incorporate the following key elements:
#1: Brand Positioning
Start with a positioning statement that illustrates your brand identity in a clear and concise way. This statement will establish what your brand is all about, who you aim to serve, and what makes you different from competitors.
For example, Nike’s positioning statement is as follows: “For athletes in need of high-quality, fashionable athletic wear, Nike provides customers with top-performing sports apparel and shoes made of the highest quality materials.”
That statement alone demonstrates a commitment to quality for a specific market through superior products.
#2: Unique Value Propositions
Brand messaging should also integrate unique value propositions (UVPs) that communicate the unique benefits and value of your product, service or brand, to your customers.
Here’s a few examples:
- Slack: “Be more productive at work with less effort. Slack brings all your communication together in one place—real-time messaging, file sharing, and more.”
- Uber: “Tap the app, get a ride. Uber is the smartest way to get around, offering a ride within minutes at the tap of a button.”
- Zoom: “Simplified video conferencing and messaging across any device for seamless collaboration.”
#3: Key Differentiators
Consider the specific features, benefits, or aspects your brand offers to stand out from the competition. This could come down to one key differentiator or an entire set of them to set you apart.
There are plenty of differentiators you can focus on in your brand message, such as:
- Innovative technologies
- A focus on a niche market
- High-quality materials and products
- Personalized brand experiences
- Sustainability efforts
- Superior customer service
International coffeehouse Starbucks is one brand that has worked to differentiate itself through an emphasis on community and sustainability.
The company’s marketing focuses intently on its mission to make the world a better place through recyclable packaging, organic menu options, waste management efforts, and more.
#4: An Emotional Connection
Great brands also know how to use emotion to connect with audiences. How can you resonate with audiences on a personal level with your message?
Take Dove, for instance. Dove’s Real Beauty campaign emphasizes self-confidence and body positivity. Their messaging focuses on celebrating diverse beauty standards, breaking stereotypes, and promoting self-love.
The brand uses relatable, non-celebrity individuals in its advertisements to show authenticity and inclusivity. Campaigns like #ShowUs invite women to share their real stories and images, fostering a sense of community and empowerment.
#5: Hyper-Specific Audience Personas
Don’t opt for a one-size-fits-all brand message with your brand messaging framework. Instead, look at the unique needs and preferences of each member of your target audience through segmentation.
You’ll likely find that different groups of people within your broader audience fall under unique demographics and behaviors, each with specific pain points and desires.
As you conduct market research into each segment, create audience personas that represent each. These personas will function as fictional representations of a particular type of customer, which can help you shape your messaging to cater to that specific type.
How to Create a Brand Messaging Strategy
With your framework in place, you can begin developing your strategy:
1. Research and Target Your Audience Deeply
Get to know your audience with in-depth targeting tactics. Look into your existing customers and request insightful feedback from them, or see what kinds of audiences your competitors target and what they’re about.
The better you know your audiences and the nuances of each segment, the more you’ll understand what they want from you. Based on that research, you can shape your message to speak to your audience.
Look at specific demographics like age, career, income, gender, and lifestyle. Then, organize them into personas that guide your messaging for each.
2. Define Your Brand Voice and Tone
Figure out what kind of language and accompanying tone you want to use in your messaging.
Depending on your audience, you might find that a formal and clean tone is best to use in a more proper voice. On the other hand, you might discover that your brand responds best to a more humorous approach, even if competitors aren’t using that tone.
Generally, you can find ways to differentiate yourself with your brand voice and tone while establishing a strong emotional connection.
3. Craft a Clear and Compelling Value Proposition
Look at your competitors and see what you can offer or promise that they don’t. It could be a unique quality associated with your products or services, innovative approaches or technologies, or a certain principle that your audience shares.
An example of a good value proposition is from HubSpot, which goes by “Free CRM Software That Grows With Your Business.” This UVP conveys a level of scalability that might not be available with other customer relationship management platforms.
Another one comes from UberEats: “The easy way to get the food you love delivered.” The latter speaks to a focus on convenience and the pleasure of enjoying one’s favorite foods right from home.
4. Align Messaging With Customer Pain Points and Aspirations
Consider your customer’s main problem or a pain point that competitors aren’t addressing. You can then list the benefits you offer that resolve those issues and include one or more of these in your messaging.
In the process, you can speak to both the problem and empathize with your audience while directing them toward a clear solution.
You can take a cue from Tesla, which has taken a customer-first approach in its campaigns. Focusing on the customer experience has helped Tesla gain some of the most loyal customers in the automotive industry, with a 90% satisfaction rating.
Tesla particularly prides itself on its mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” with its highly customizable vehicles.
5. Test and Refine Your Messaging Over Time
Don’t settle with your initial brand messaging—instead, keep it adaptable and open to change. You might just discover that your audience’s needs change or that your competitors develop new innovations or approaches, making it important to stay flexible.
Try to test different iterations of your messaging and see which elicit the most ideal emotional responses.
The Role of Brand Messaging Services
Considering how much effort can go into developing brand messaging, it’s often best to work with professionals who can help streamline this process based on your brand and audience’s needs.
Brand messaging services can assist with developing a framework that then informs your strategy as you develop the right message. These experts can take into account your mission, vision, proposition, audience, and competitors to craft a compelling message that really connects.
Even if you think you have a good handle on your brand and what it stands for to inform your messaging, you might benefit from a fresh outside perspective. Having outsourced expertise could also help you develop the right messaging based on what’s worked for similar brands while incorporating your differentiators.
Develop a Solid Brand Messaging Strategy With Ignite Visibility
In learning how to put together the right brand message, it helps to have experts by your side to take your branding to the next level. While you focus on growth, you can get some fuel for that growth with our brand messaging services to guide your marketing and sales efforts.
See the benefits of working with our messaging experts, including:
- Thorough audience research to understand your target market
- The development of a value proposition and other framework components to inform your messaging strategy
- Communication across all relevant channels to reach your audience
- Continuous testing, monitoring, and analysis to optimize your efforts
- Integration of messaging into a holistic digital marketing strategy
- And more!
Connect with our team today to discover how our solutions can fuel real long-term growth.
