Is Your Brand Messaging Working?

Your brand has stiff competition online. Not only do you have to compete with other businesses in your industry, you also have to compete for the actual time and attention of your audience with social media, pet videos, and the latest celebrity gossip. 

The only way to earn your audience’s attention is to compel them with a better narrative than everything else trying to steal their focus. When this narrative is working, you will know it. And when it’s not, it will be just as obvious.

So how do you create a narrative that resonates with your audience and captures their attention? 

Glad you asked. 

What is Brand Messaging?

But first…a refresher. Creating this kind of narrative is referred to as brand messaging. 

We break down everything you need to know about brand messaging for you in this article. It is worth bookmarking for referencing again. Essentially, your brand message involves:

• Your values (different from your internal company core values).
• Your specific niche.
• In-depth knowledge of your audience.
• A narrative that communicates your values while making them the hero of the story. 
• Distribution through content channels (your website, blog, landing pages, emails, social posts, digital ads, and more).

Sure, it summed up pretty nicely. But it’s nuanced and intricate. Relating with your audience in this way requires an intimate knowledge of who you are, what you do, and who you serve. 

But sometimes, even with all the right research and preparation, your message just falls flat. Here’s how you identify when your brand messaging isn’t working, and how you can get it on track. 

Signs Your Brand Messaging is Missing the Mark

But sometimes, even with all the right research and preparation, your message just falls flat. Here’s how you identify when your brand messaging isn’t working, and how you can get it on track. 

1. No one is responding or engaging. There are things outside your control that can impact the performance of your message (changing algorithms, a privacy update, etc.). But if you notice a consistent lack of engagement with digital ads, emails, or social posts, you need to evaluate your brand messaging and strategy.  
2. The wrong people are responding. It’s great to see engagement with your messaging, as long as it’s coming from the right audience. If your message is engaging the wrong people, they will either never purchase from you, or they will consistently be dissatisfied customers.  
3. You’re not seeing conversions. The ultimate test of whether or not your messaging is right and impactful? You’re converting visitors to leads and leads to customers. If you’re not seeing this, or you’re seeing a decline in conversions, it’s time to make a significant change. 
4. Your messaging no longer truly reflects your brand. Your brand is not stagnant. It’s going to evolve and change. You might go through a rebrand, you might change your products or services, you might acquire another company. This means your brand messaging needs to be poised to reflect these changes. 
5. You’re not telling the right story. Your messaging needs to accomplish a few things:
   1. It needs to demonstrate your values. (Are you focusing on the functional value of your product or service, the psychological value, or the monetary value?
   2. It needs to identify what sets you apart from your competitors.
   3. It needs to ultimately make your customer the hero of their story. 
   4. If you are a financial advisor, your company ultimately empowers your clients to achieve their goals, gain financial freedom and peace, and have more control over their money. That’s far more compelling than just blandly sharing what you do. 
6. You’re not meeting goals/objectives. Data is your best friend. It provides insight and clarity into what is working, what needs to change, and what is bringing your business the greatest value. If you are not meeting the goals and objectives you set for your business, then something isn’t working in your messaging and it needs to change. 

More on that below. 

How to Nail Your Brand Messaging: Best Practices

Don’t be discouraged if you feel like your brand messaging missed. We’ve got you covered with best practices that will help you create a brand message that resonates with your audience and generates leads and customers. 

1. Remind yourself of your values. What matters most to you? What do you want to be known for, and how do you want to be known? Hone in on these things and then put them in your brand messaging. 
2. Start fresh on researching your audience. Your brand is not the only one who evolves and changes – your audience does as well. Take time to regularly research and interview your customers, send surveys, and interact with them to get as much insight and feedback as possible into what matters to them. 
3. Tell the right story. Scrap your current messaging and start with a story that has your customer at the center. Show how they can be the hero of the tale when they trust your brand. 
4. Test and Measure. Get really chummy with your best friend, Data, because it’s going to pay off as you see how this new message is performing. Test to see how different copy resonates with your audience, and measure everything. This will let you know instantly when your message isn’t performing how you want, and it lets you identify what is most effective. 

You would never drive your car if your check engine light was constantly blinking at you that something was wrong. Your brand message drives potential customers to your company – so why would you just keep using it when you can tell that it’s not working properly? 

Get your brand message right without making costly mistakes. We’re here to help.