How brands make human connections
Here’s the thing. No one really cares about your logo or your polished, polite, politically correct ads. I say this as someone who also knows the importance of all those things (and makes them for a living). But at the end of the day, your clients, customers, or whatever you want to call them — they come to you because they like you. They like what you’ve built and they’ve connected with it on a human level.
Can I ask you a question? If you had the choice between a coffee shop that has the best coffee (maybe even the cheapest), or a shop with mediocre coffee and a friendly barista who knows your name and order, and brightens your day — which would you head to? Which would you give your time, energy and money to?
Delivering on your mission is important. Quality service and products are important. Your logo is important. Your ads, social presence and website are all important. But it’s not enough to have a nice-looking logo or a solid deliverable. All of those things have to work together to create a seamless, consistent brand identity that people can relate to, trust and become loyal to. How does your brand identity infiltrate into every aspect of your business, including the people — the face — of it? Without the personification that makes your brand relatable, you’re limiting the value of your services.
Brands make human connections when they talk like humans. When they’re transparent, vulnerable, bold and confident in who they are, what they stand for and what they offer. In order to make a genuine connection with your followers, you need to be relatable. Here’s how to do that:
Make them laugh. Everyone loves to laugh. Laughing makes people feel good and that feel-good emotion will be tied to your brand. Crack a joke, tell an embarrassing story, share a funny meme.
Stop trying to please everyone. It can be scary to stand firm in your brand identity, brand values and anything else that makes you uniquely who you are. But do it anyway. That might mean taking your filter off and letting your freak flag fly. The world is filled with safe, predictable brands that are easily forgettable. You can be authentically audacious without crossing any lines, I promise.
Talk like a human being. As the human behind your brand, you shape how your business shows up, how it sounds and how it makes people feel. Stop saying things like, “please contact us” or “we look forward to serving you.” Unless that’s how you would talk to someone standing in front of you. In which case, I can’t help you. Bake in a little personality! “Give us a call” and “we’ll see you soon” sound less robot-y.
Hire kick-ass people. Your people are the face of your brand. They need to embrace and bring it to life in every interaction they have with your customers, clients, prospects every single day. This is where your brand deck comes in handy. A slick, well-crafted brand deck with all the ins and outs to how your brand looks and sounds is the easiest way to show your employees what they’ll need to embody for success. And if you’re a one-owner-show, just be your kick-ass self.
