Series: Kicking @$$ in Today's Business Environment
In this post, we’ll take the 10,000 foot view of branding, unraveling the parts and pieces so that you’re poised to put your resources to work as effectively and efficiently as possible.
A Few Definitions
Since vocabulary varies widely in the world of marketing, let's start by defining a few key terms:
Branding is the internal compass and the umbrella for all your communication. It’s your DNA, values, offering and promise to the consumer. As such, it’s essential that there’s no dissonance between internal and external messaging. Branding drives perception and emotional engagement when projected out to the market.
Marketing is strategy: understanding and attracting consumers, determining the narrative, and tracking and managing your outbound communication. Marketing determines the reach and effect of branding and is instrumental in reaching your business goals.
Advertising is a tactical subset of marketing that spreads the word about your brand and its offering. Advertising, unlike marketing overall, should always include a call to action. Advertising can only be considered successful if it measurably changes consumer behavior.
Right at the Start
The process should always start with branding. That way, when talk to your target audience, you are crystal clear about what you’re saying. Once you've decided what to say, your knowledge of the target psychographic, as we covered in last week’s post, will tell you how to say it. Your next challenge is to ensure that you’re delivering content in the right place and time.
A Framework for Marketing Content
First, we’ll break down messaging into three silos, which we find extremely helpful in creating communication for our portfolio companies:
Brand messaging is your suite of brand tools (identity, graphics and voice), as well as key brand messages for all mediums of communication. This includes how you communicate mission, vision and values, your unique value proposition, background that give your brand credibility and how you identify your brand’s tribe.
Product/service communication is practical information, including how you explain your offering so that consumers are equipped to make the best choice for their needs. This communication spans from new product introductions to defining use cases to all types of customer support.
Editorial content, more than anything else, is fuel for your social media, keeping your brand fresh and connecting directly with your tribe. This is where you’ll be your most innovative, creative and expressive self.
Sound branding balances all three silos in a symphony of communication that provides information and inspiration in equal measure, giving your audiences, both internal and external, what they both need and want.
So go to it! And stay tuned for next week, when we delve into the magic of influencing consumer decision-making.
Continue on to the next post in the series: The Art of Persuasion
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