So much conversation about Brand and Comms surrounds "how can we engage our audience more?" Whether it's social, conversion or growing email sign ups, it's a question repeated time and time again.
Basically we are asking, "how can we make people listen to us?"
More often than not, we are too close to our brand or product. We wholeheartedly believe in what we've got and scratch our heads as to why our desired audiences can't see it too.
In other words, we focus on what we have to say, not what people want to hear.
Living Brands is the perspective that, like their audiences, brands are human too. Or rather to connect with their audience, they must behave like one. It's not enough just to put something you like out into the world and expect a response.
Brands must adapt. Grow. Learn. And respond in a human way.
So how do we make stories out of content?
1. BE AN ENABLER
You know what your product does. But what does it give? Whilst that will range from a functional benefit to social currency, we can probably agree that if someone is advocating a brand or product to their friends. they're not listing out the benefits your product team are.
Good content allows someone to imagine themselves in that scene and want it for themselves. Even better it inspires them to want to be part of it.
Let's say you make stand up paddleboards.
So you make an instagram post showing the triple-insulated deck of your new board which, did you know, means it doesn't puncture easily.
Or you make an instagram post of a girl on your paddleboard riding waves. Super fun!
But what if you make an instagram post of a group of great paddlers from the SUP community, testing your new kit. Riding those waves. Talking about how they select their kit. Filming where they go. Showing off their skills and sharing tips to your (and their) SUP followers on how they improve their balance and stamina.
Now we're talking.
2.JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
If someone is scrolling past your stories and at best giving you an absentminded like, let's be honest, they're just not that interested. It's hard to hear but sometimes it's true. Think about content as a conversation starter. This is your best form of feedback. Telling people something is a surefire way to shut them down. Ask a question, invite discussion and grow with your audience. How are people responding?
3. MAKE FRIENDS
Move over Content, Community is king. Make yourself a valid member of their community. Offer them a chance to have a voice and be heard. Create opportunities to collaborate. Are you ready for this? Some of your best content, won't be created by you. User Generated Content or UGC is so valuable and aside from its brand benefits, it's also a genuine way to give props to those who advocate for your brand on a regular basis.
4. KEEPING IT REAL
There are two things that instantly tell you that a brand's content isn't engaging its audience well. 1. It uses robotic language. 2. It tells you exactly how wonderful it is, in case you didn't get it from the picture. For the first point, it's really jarring. The person on the end of your content or copy, is a person. It doesn't matter if you have the most technical product on the planet. Your followers read and process words like a human. For the latter, it's the old adage of "show, don't tell". If you have UGC showing a great set up, you don't need to tell people what's so great about it. Trust that they can read between the lines and see what you're trying to show them.
5. THE TIME IS NOW
One thing that's worth considering is that a brand is not one thing to one person, all of the time. Consistency is important but so is the ability to bend and adapt. What might be your bestseller at Christmas could be an entirely different animal come spring and summer. And your audience can ebb and flow along with it. It might not be a huge flux but it's completely possible. Be consistent but don't be inflexible. Allow your audience to guide you in the content they want to see.
IN A NUTSHELL
That's why I approach every story or styling project with the aim to make a Living Brand. Good styling isn't just making things look pretty. Stories aren't just about product. And Social is, first and foremost, social.
Brands should live and breathe the human worlds within which they exist, to create genuine two-way connections.