Brand Communication – The Warrior’s Battlecry
Brand communication – the act of how a brand communicates – is just as important the message. You could craft the most incredible message, with all the right terms and phrases, but if it is not communicated effectively it will still fall flat.
In the final article on the three ‘C’s of branding – consistency, clarity and communication – I’ll break down how the communication of your brand is vital for making your message land.
First, it’s important to break down just what ‘Brand Communication’ is.
As mentioned at the top of this article, Brand Communication covers the methods a brand uses to communicate its message. These will differ for each brand but may include social media, advertising, public relations, feedback forms and customer interactions. Effective communication involves crafting and delivering a clear, consistent brand message.
Brand communication is crucial for ongoing brand awareness, fostering loyalty, recognition and perhaps most importantly, opening a dialogue between business and consumer. Communication isn’t a one-way street, after all. In fact, the brands with the best communication listen as much as they talk.
How you communicate is like the warrior’s battlecry – it helps your audience identify you and understand what you’re here to do. And done well, it also solidifies the emotional connection you have with your clients.
Defining Brand Communication – Why is it like a Battlecry?
Across history, battlecries have been used by warriors for many reasons. Leaders rallying troops, ferocious raiders intimidating opponents or heroic figures instilling courage. These cries were typically powerful, concise and emotionally charged.
Funnily enough, just how you want your brand communication to be.
Great brand communication should fulfil a similar role to a battlecry. Effective brand communication engages your audience and sets you apart from the competition. It can even be used internally to rally your team. And just like historical battlecries, it should be powerful and packed with emotion.
Components of Strong Brand Communication
When crafting the way your brand communicates, it’s worth considering the elements that make up a strong communication strategy. Simply being loud isn’t enough – consumers are more discerning and too clever to fall for the first thing they hear. Instead, several components help build more effective communication.
Clarity and Consistency
Getting the first two ‘C’s right BEFORE you start trying to communicate is one of the most effective ways of ensuring your communication is well received. How clear and targeted your message is combined with its consistency are two vital components to any communication strategy.
What happens if you miss one? If you communicate without clarity you’ll confuse. If you communicate inconsistently you’ll be forgettable.
And if you forget the communication? Well, then you just won’t be noticed at all.
All three ‘C’s need to work together to ensure a harmonious brand that works as intended.
Emotional Resonance
Even if you’re clear and consistent, the message may still not be as effective as you wish. That’s why emotional resonance is a vital component of your brand communication.
One of the most important points in branding is this – people don’t remember what you said, but how you made them feel. If you aren’t adding an emotional connection in your communication, you’re missing a trick. A message that resonates with the audience will stick around longer, making it more likely they’ll want to buy from you.
So how do you do this? Like most other parts of branding, it starts with understanding and psychology. Knowing your ideal client’s values, aspirations and needs allows you to build a narrative that resonates with them and addresses their desires and challenges.
Authenticity and Honesty
It’s remarkable that this still needs to be said, but people don’t like being taken for fools. Your communication is worth nothing if it’s full of lies and false promises. If someone buys based on your messaging and has an experience that doesn’t match the promise, it’ll lead to dissatisfied customers and trouble for your brand.
That’s why your communication should highlight what makes you unique and use your brand voice, tone and character. It should be an authentic representation of what potential clients can expect and shouldn’t promise more than it can deliver.
Being authentic and honest builds trust in your audience and makes them more likely to buy. Reflecting the nature of your brand creates transparency, trust and loyalty, increasing the chances of returning clients and referred business.
Crafting Your Brand’s Battlecry
Now that you know some of the components that make up great brand communication, it’s time to craft your own battlecry! Like the warrior’s this needs to be unique and reflect your very nature.
Identify your brand’s core values
Start with your brand’s core values. Your brand values should guide how you communicate and act as the foundation of your brand message.
For example, if one of your brand values is fun – your communication should be vibrant and fun too. Got a particularly tenacious brand? Use a firm, solid tone that exudes confidence.
Using your brand values as a base for your communication style is a brilliant place to understand what makes it different.
Uniqueness and differentiation
Talking of differentiation, lean into the aspects of your brand that make you stand out. Your communication should reflect what makes your offering unique and how you differ from your competition.
Remember, your ideal client come to you because of what you can offer them that others can’t. People don’t come to you because you’re a knockoff of someone else’s brand.
Tailor the message to your target audience
Understanding your clients at a deeper level can also yield great results for your communication. Knowing their desires, fears and pain points helps you more effectively craft a narrative that resonates with them.
Good brand communication aims to take your audience on a journey from one space to another. Knowing their specific desires and challenges helps you better craft the message to meet them where they are and show them where they need to go.
Amplifying the Battlecry – making your brand communication stick
Once you know what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, you need platforms to communicate on! Remember, it’s not about being the loudest voice, but being the one that’s remembered.
Utilise various communication channels
It’s well known that prospects need contact with a brand more than once before they’re ready to buy. Even warm leads need 5-10 touchpoints before they’re likely to buy. For colder prospects, it can be as many as 20.
That’s why your communication needs multiple channels to ensure your ideal clients are seeing your message more frequently and build a more favourable, trusting response to it.
Use different channels such as social media, email marketing, advertising, and public relations. This will help you communicate with a wider audience and make it more likely to stick. It’s worth remembering that you should focus attention on the most important channels, especially where social media is involved. Having a great presence on one or two platforms is better than having a poor presence across dozens.
Also, don’t forget that feedback and review are also a communication touchpoint. If a client leaves a review or feedback, they are giving you the answers to how you can communicate better with them! Use that information to tweak your strategy, and keep the dialogue open by thanking them!
Create a memorable visual identity to reinforce the message
Communication isn’t just about what you say – it’s also about what you show. Your visual identity is as important to your communication as the words you use. If your message doesn’t match your visuals it confuses and creates a negative perception of your brand.
Create a unique set of visuals that create a similar emotional response to your message. By creating and using consistent visuals – logos, colours, typography and design elements – you create a cohesive and memorable brand presence.
Engage with the audience through storytelling
Storytelling is the perfect tool for sharing complex messages and communicating with your audience at the emotional level. Sharing stories that reflect your brand values and mission is more engaging and impactful than simply stating them to your audience.
Use stories to drive your communication – the graphic below gives an example of how you can use different elements to build a narrative.
The brand story has three main elements:
Hero – the main character
Villain – the challenge to overcome
Goal – what the hero is striving for
The story is built where these points intersect – here’s how:
- Define the hero by focussing on who your client is
- Define the villain by understanding what stands in their way
- Define the goal by learning what they want.
- Conflict – this is where the villain and hero clash! Show the obstacles that stop the hero from reaching their goals
- Desires – this is where the hero and goal overlap and where you build an emotional connection. Show you understand what the hero is searching for.
- Resolution – where the villain is defeated and the goal is reached. Show the path that gets the hero past the villain and to the goal.
Evolving Your Brand Communication
Like many aspects of branding, communication is not a ‘one-and-done’ exercise. It’s an iterative process and you should be prepared to make tweaks as you receive more data and feedback.
Market and consumer preferences constantly evolve – so your methods of communication need to grow with them. Don’t get stuck on dead platforms because you’re too afraid to change. Instead, be prepared to learn about new methods and channels and how they might help your communication efforts.
Additionally, tweak your message where necessary. While consistency is important, that doesn’t mean you need to keep saying something if it’s definitely not working. Regularly review your communication and messaging to ensure it’s impactful.
While change is natural, it’s important to stay true to your values. These create a foundation for your brand and help you stay relevant and unique.
Conclusion – The Significance of Powerful Brand Communication
Alongside the other 2 ‘C’s, brand communication is a vital central point to build your brand around. Effective communication is what gets you noticed – without it, potential clients won’t even know you’re there.
But it’s not about bellowing your message at the top of your lungs and trying to be the loudest out there. Taking a more strategic approach creates better results and builds a line of dialogue between you and your clients where they feel heard. And if they’re feeling listened to, they’re more likely to have a positive view of your brand.
How well your brand communicates dictates how fast it will grow. Getting it right builds loyalty and a sense that you can deliver on your promises. This creates a compound effect, where happy clients will also talk favourably about your brand and in doing so assist with your communication.
Remember, your brand communication is your battlecry. Use it to inspire, motivate and rally your audience to your cause – doing so will drive your success.
Feel your brand needs to communicate better? Brand Adventurer may be just what you need – a focused workshop that uncovers how to use your unique voice. Learn more below.