You know when you stumble across a brand whether it be in real life or on the ‘gram that makes you go ‘oh now THIS is where I’m meant to be!' A brand that feels like they just really get you and you them and it all feels fuzzy, warm and authentic? THAT’S the secret to a great brand personality and why you should concentrate on whether yours:
says what you want it to; and
works hard enough for you.
That brand for me is the ever popular Glossier. Everything just looks and feels slick and aesthetically pleasing, two things I personally connect with, combined with the tone of a friend recommending their favourite new product you NEED to have…
The question is, how do you create that emotional experience for your customers to help pull them in and get them buying?!
First, what exactly is a brand personality?
Essentially, it’s a set of human-like characteristics that bring your brand to life and make it stand out from others on the market. Just like your personality in the real world is key in attracting the right type of people to you, the same is true for your brand. With the right feel it will ensure that you attract the ‘right’ customers to you, who will fall in love with what your brand offers and turn them into fiercely loyal purchasers.
Great, now how do I create one?!
One of the easiest ways to start doing this is to actively think of your brand as a person and analyse what picture your existing content would paint of your brand if they were to simply speak the words out loud? Another way is to imagine your brand at a party with all your competitors, what would they say? How would they walk in? What outfit would they pick? If you’re a list type of founder or brand team, listing
10 or so adjectives down on a piece of paper as a starting point. Once you’ve decided what this brand personality looks like, it can then become a really handy checklist to ensure each piece of content is ‘on-brand’. When consistently communicated over time this creates the emotional association in the minds of your customer base in just the same way as we get to know someone / build an impression of them in our minds.
If you’re a sole founder you’re most likely thinking at this moment – is the brand personality an extension of my own personality? The answer to this can absolutely be yes. Take my brand Char White Writes, as it’s created and crafted entirely by me elements of my personality naturally come across. However, if you wanted to create distance from yourself and the brand getting clear on what you would say vs what your brand would say can be a really useful tool to navigate content.
The key? CONSISTENCY!
The icing on the cake? Working with a professional who does this (full time) for a living.
HINT: that’s me!
Char x