Brand salience is the propensity of a brand to come to mind during a purchasing situation. It goes far beyond mere memory recall. It concerns the identity of your brand and the all the elements that differentiate it from competitors. Who are you, what do you stand for?
If you achieve true brand salience you’ve completed the first step in the journey towards brand equity. Our pillars of brand salience are as follows: Authenticity, Personality and Brand Differentiation. Cultivating a clear brand voice is key to strong brand messaging as is figuring out what makes your brand distinctive. We’ll cover these in more detail in the following sections.
Authenticity: A powerful, consistent expression of your company’s identity.
Your brand voice is a powerful, consistent expression of your company’s ethos and identity online. It’s not an immutable fixture, but something to be constantly monitored and updated as the company progresses. Your voice should be evocative and on-message. A well-developed brand voice cultivates engagement and builds brand affinity.
“Defining your Unique Selling Point (USP) is a key way of differentiating your brand from a sea of competitors.”
Brand voice generally refers to your communication style and tone of voice etc. but can also extend to include the psychology of colour, typography and visuals. What do the words you use and their presentation say about you and your brand? What do you want them to say?
Personality: Ask yourself, what personality traits do I want my brand to embody?
Choose three words or expressions that you feel sum up your brand. For example, funny, disruptive and clever. You might find it helpful to draw up a brand voice chart. Think of the customer demographic you’re trying to appeal to. What story are you trying to tell? Is a funny or irreverent tone suitable for a big bank or an insurance company? The answer may surprise you, and that is that it depends.
“Your brand voice is a powerful, consistent expression of your company’s ethos and identity online.”
Build consumer archetypes. What do they look like? Are they a millennial with a disposable income and a penchant for avocado toast or a Starbucks denizen? What are their triggers and pain points? What problems can you solve through your content? Think about the emotions you want to elicit in people when they think of your brand.
Brand Differentiation: What’s your USP?
Every single piece of content that your brand puts out should be consistent with your developed brand personality. Before you write a single blog post, tweet, post, or indeed video or live stream content, this must be locked down.
Web 2.0 and the proliferation of the digital brand persona has given rise to a phenomenon called content shock. People are so overloaded with content that they are finding it difficult to discern what is of value and what is not.
“Build consumer archetypes. What do they look like? Are they a millennial with a disposable income and a penchant for avocado toast or a Starbucks denizen?”
Defining your Unique Selling Point (USP) is a key way of differentiating your brand from a sea of competitors. What makes you different? Figure out your niche, your distinct calling card and your brand will always be in mind during important purchasing decisions. Remember, you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel, though sometimes you might choose to.
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