Seven Universal Truths for Effective Brand Communications

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While standing out in the market place is all about communicating a brand’s unique attributes and points of difference, there are some universal truths that hold true for all brand communication, regardless of context, target audience or industry sector.

Whether focusing on your personal, product or business brand, here are seven universal truths to consider in your brand communications.

1. Communication is about connection not information

As human beings, communication is the basis of all interactions and essential to forming relationships. Human-centred communication that aims to connect and not just inform is key to cultivating business relationships based on trust.

2. People want to know you care

As the saying goes, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Amid the turbulence and uncertainty of the current external environment, people are craving brands and workplaces that demonstrate they care – care for employees, care for customers, care for communities, care for animals, care for the planet.

3. Simplicity beats complexity

The rule of three is a simple yet effective way to communicate. It’s based on the idea that three is the optimum number of points to form a pattern of information to aid memory retention. Here’s three ways to use the rule of three:

• Break up written content into three core sub-headings or core themes
• Use three powerful words to impart your brand message, such as Nike’s ‘Just Do it!’ or my ‘Enhance your reputation!’ 😉
• Have three key takeaways when delivering a workshop or other presentation.

4. The law of cause and effect applies to brand and reputation

Brand is an inside job of which reputation is an external manifestation. The fact that your brand is 100% within your control – from the values you uphold to the language you use, the content you publish and the resources you provide – puts you in the driver’s seat of shaping how you’d like to be perceived through your communication.

5. You’re communicating even when you’re not

Every phone call you don’t return, every email you don’t respond to, every update you don’t give is sending a reputation-defining message. An information vacuum will get filled by the expectant receiver so ensure you’re proactive with communication.

6. The effectiveness of communication is the response that it gets

The response our communication gets is feedback on how effective it is. Knowing this is empowering because we can choose to change our communication based on this feedback in order to elicit a different response. Did it have a hook? Was it relevant? Was it simple? Was it visually engaging? Did it have a call to action?

7. Diverse mediums for diverse audiences

Not everyone consumes their information from the same medium source. Although we live in a digital world, some people still prefer more traditional forms of communication, such as a phone call or in-person interaction. While the target audience will define the relevant mediums to use, an integrated communications strategy – leveraging email, social media, publicity, traditional mail, telephone, text messaging and the like – will provide the best chance of reaching them.

©Ros Weadman 2022   To receive this enews straight to your inbox, subscribe here. You can connect with Ros via email or by phone 1800 677 600.

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