5 Ways to Inject More Personality Into Your Brand
The days of bland and unhuman brands are well and truly over - and do you know what?
That’s a good thing, because as humans we crave connection.
Developing a Brand Personality is like a superpower. It can help you connect with people in a unique, memorable way. It can be the kryptonite to your prospects’ objections. It can help you SELL.
The problem is that if you’re like most people, you’ve been taught to prioritise correctness/smallness/quirkiness over creativity and bury parts of your personality beneath years of priming.
If you want your potential customers to form an emotional connection with your brand, fall in love with your offers, and ride off into the sunset on a white horse, you’ll have to show them who you are...
These five tips will help you get there.
1. Get to know the person behind the brand
That’s right - it’s time to get a little introspective.
Getting clear about who you are is key to projecting an accurate image of your brand, so clear some space in your busy schedule to sit down with yourself and answer a few important questions - questions like:
How would I describe my personality in a few words?
What words do I use often?
What aspect of my business am I most passionate about?
How do I really want to show up to my clients or customers?
This stage is super important because your prospects aren’t just buying your life-changing products. They’re also buying the person behind the brand (hint: that’s you) and once you’re being your authentic self, you’ll naturally attract the right customers for you.
Once you’ve pinned down the personality traits you want to highlight, it’s time to start brainstorming the words you want to integrate into your copy and the social stories you tell.
2. Tell your story
We all love a good story, right?
Whether it’s a corny Disney storyline or the tale of that time you tripped up the stairs at work, a great narrative never fails to get our attention - and the same goes for your brand.
Your story doesn’t have to follow the traditional structure of a beginning, a middle, and a fairytale ending, but it does need to tell your reader who you are, how you got there, and what you can do for them.
Here’s how to make sure your story pops:
Keep it conversational
Your readers want to feel like you’re talking directly to them, so don’t be afraid of “I” and “you”. Even if you change nothing else, they’ll feel seen, and that could make all the difference.
Get creative with colourful language
Not to go all Year 9 English on you, but there are many good reasons to get friendly with metaphors and similes, including these:
They can help you turn your words into pictures in your readers’ minds (and who doesn’t love a picture book?).
They can make your writing more relatable.
They’ll make you sound clever AND #deep - what’s not to love?
Example: The webinar was informative vs. Being at the webinar was like soaking in a pool of knowledge.
Don’t forget the visuals
Every great story needs pictures, so add some in! Whether you’re updating your About page, posting on your social channels, or adding a new blog entry, adding fresh, real and memorable images is never a bad idea.
3. Have fun with how you speak/write
Making sales, working with great clients, and making your dreams come true, one step at a time - being an entrepreneur can be a lot of fun.
You know what’s not fun, though? Getting tied down by those stuffy grammar “laws” you learned back in high school. We all spent years in English class crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, only to discover that the world of branding comes with a whole new set of rules.
Here’s the good news: now that you are out in the real world, you can write in pretty much any way you want (with zero risk of a detention slip), so enjoy it! Throw in a few rogue CAPITALISED WORDS to emphasise a point, add full stops for emphasis, kiss the Oxford comma goodbye - if it makes you happy, there’s a good chance that your potential clients will appreciate it too.
Want to make an even bigger impression on your customers? Involve them in your conversation! Set up a poll on your Facebook page and find out which new text speak terms have made it into their daily vocab. You might learn something useful, or just have a good LOL - either way, you’re onto a winner.
4. Be Real
Real talk: being yourself on the internet is a radical act.
Things like the #nomakeup selfie challenge, catfishing, and generally posting the peak highlights of your life have made many of us feel as though our real lives just can’t compete.
That’s why we all love to see real people winning the internet game with authenticity - just look at Celeste Barber!
Note: you don’t have to whip out your skimpiest swimsuit and start imitating models’ Instagram shots to be successful, but you do have to be yourself. Even through a screen, people can often tell a pretender from someone authentic.
Here are a few examples of stories you could tell:
Your reason for starting your business. This is a big one - sharing your ultimate reason for doing what you do will make you seem even more authentic. Your customers (and potential customers) want to know that you’re truly passionate about helping them overcome the problem you set out to solve.
Your favourite things to do. Your network will relate, especially if you happen to love the odd Hoarders marathon paired with a glass of merlot.
Snippets from your family life. What’s not to love about a hilarious dinner table story or a candid family photo? You are your brand, and your brand is you, so don’t be afraid to show your followers some of what goes on behind the scenes.
The easiest way to tell interesting and memorable stories is to talk about things that interest you, so don’t be shy - let us see the real you!
5. Get clever about tone
All of that stuff we just covered is important, but this is where things get interesting.
When you hang around with someone a lot, you subconsciously start to mimic the way they speak because you want them to like you - and it WORKS.
That’s good news for two reasons:
You can go out and start making a few new friends.
You can use the same logic on your customers.
Customers want to feel as though you relate to and understand them, so show them! Describe their key problems just as they would and they’ll feel as though you’re some kind of mind-reading sorcerer who gets them in a way no one else does. Start working your customers’ tone into your language in subtle ways (think a few words here and there) and they’ll be coming up with affectionate nicknames for your brand in no time.
Sometimes the only thing standing between you and a stronger brand personality is a handful of small tweaks, and these five steps can help you get there without alienating your customers or sounding like a tool.
Need a little more help finding your voice? Our Brand Archteype Quiz is a fantastic tool for defining and developing your brand personality. Take it here for free.
Take our quiz now to discover your brand archetype so you can build the right strategic foundation for your online presence.
