Face it: Your Brand Needs to be More Human
We are living in a time where digital communication often happens before any face-to-face interaction, yet, we still crave that human-like approach (probably because it forges deeper connections). So, it has never been more important to spice things up with an authentic human touch across all your customer interactions.
In this article, we look at why humanising your brand is important and how brands can do this.
Unleashing the Power of Authenticity in Branding
Time to Kick the Corporate Snooze-Fest to the Curb
Making your brand more human involves avoiding being too formal and rigid. You need to adopt a communication style that sparks conversation – and that screams personality. It’s not just about slinging the latest slang or riding the online trend wave; it’s about crafting a connection that’s as genuine as your family’s secret recipe.
Emotional resonance cannot be stressed enough and must be at the heart of your communications strategy because when we feel things, it helps us to take action. Studies show that emotions play a significant role in consumer decision-making, with as much as 95% of purchasing decisions being made subconsciously based on feelings rather than information.
The Immense Potential of Emotionally Intelligent Marketing
In the world of digital marketing, where hugs and high-fives are sadly absent, empathy and emotional intelligence become the superheroes we never knew we needed to cultivate a devoted audience. Empathy helps brands understand and respond to the emotional needs and desires of their audience to create a connection that’s more electric than a lightning bolt. A study by the Capgemini Research Institute revealed that 70% of emotionally engaged consumers spend up to two times more on brands to which they are loyal – compared to less than half of consumers when emotional engagement is low.
More Than Words: The Secret Power of Faces
However, creating a human-like brand is much more than simply just using conversational language. It’s about embodying the values and ethos of your brand in every interaction with your customers.
A human-like brand is approachable, relatable, and shows vulnerability. This helps a brand to create communication that resonates more profoundly with an audience. Take, for example, the use of faces over abstract images – it’s not just a creative choice, but a major strategic move. You see, when consumers see a human face, they are more likely to connect with the message being conveyed.
A study published in Nature Communications by neuroscientists at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT revealed that the brain decodes facial features such as gender and age before identifying the specific individual, proving how pivotal facial recognition is to human interaction and perception.
How to Translate Brand Persona into More Human-Like Brand Communications
1. Personalisation: To ensure your customers vibe with your brand, you must understand them through and through. Use your data and analytics to craft messages that ring true to your audience and that demonstrate a genuine understanding of their pain points.
2. Storytelling: Create emotionally resonant narratives with the power of storytelling. Stories with relatable characters and situations hold up the proverbial mirror, making your brand more memorable.
3. Interactive Content: Engage your audience with interactive content that requires active participation. This could be through quizzes, polls, or even videos.
4. Embrace Vulnerability: Show the human side of your brand with something as simple as admitting flaws or mistakes because, when executed authentically, it can truly enhance brand trust.
5. Use Intriguing Visuals: People are naturally drawn to and influenced by human expressions, so incorporate visuals that feature faces in your content.
Remember that transforming your brand into a people magnet is more than just a language makeover – it is about infusing human-centric values into every aspect of your brand strategy. By doing so, brands can build deeper, more meaningful connections with their audience, leading to increased loyalty and long-term success.
