In this day and age, customers value businesses that are genuine and authentic. That’s why building relationships with your customers through your brand’s image and authenticity has become so important over the years, especially with the advent of social media. Consumers need to know if their values align with the companies they’re buying from, and with how accessible social media is to everybody, there’s just no excuse for businesses not to provide that for their customers. People don’t just buy products and services anymore. They also buy personality!
Thus, you must incorporate character and personality into everything your brand does, and more importantly, be genuine about it. You can’t just lie about things you don’t believe in. People can tell if you’re being fake even when you’re hidden behind a computer screen.
In this article, we’ll be discussing how to develop your brand’s image and authenticity and build trust with your customers.
1. Be Upfront
Beating around the bush is not an attractive feature whether you’re maintaining relationships with loved ones or marketing to your online customers. Consumers these days are incredibly smart and savvy—they know when people and businesses have underlying motives. So, your content needs to be straightforward so your customers get the message right away.
Of course, you should always be amicable and respectful about it too!
2. Post Both Positive and Negative Reviews
Did you know that brands with 4-star ratings fare much better than brands with 5-star ratings? When a business addresses both positive and negative reviews (instead of just deleting negative reviews altogether), it shows that they’re open to constructive criticism. Here, you show you truly care about your customer’s experience and use their feedback to improve your business. This, in turn, will hopefully make you look more reputable to both prospective and frequent customers.
And if you work in any of these industries affected the most by online reviews, review management is especially important!
3. Promote Inclusivity
As a brand, you need to be more aware of your demographic. The world is filled with people from all walks of life—you want to make sure everybody’s represented or at least not excluded.
For example, many fashion brands have started veering away from traditional supermodels. Instead, they have started showcasing people of all body types, skin colors, genders, and heights because then it’ll truly cater to everybody in their demographic. It sets realistic expectations.
A notable brand that has done this is Victoria’s Secret. In 2019, they ditched their iconic Victoria’s Secret Angels concept as it just wasn’t culturally relevant anymore.
4. Use Proper Language and Tone
On a related note, being aware of your demographic means being aware of the type of language they use. For example, you probably don’t want to use a casual tone when you’re talking to people from the older generations, as they tend to value professionalism. In the same way, professional tones among Gen Z-ers probably wouldn’t work as effectively either.
It’s not a good look if a brand doesn’t know the best way to talk to its customers. You really need to do thorough research on your target audience and develop your marketing strategies around their behavior, including the social media platforms they use or the kinds of content they want to see!
On top of that, you want to make sure your content is accessible. You want to make sure it can be understood by people outside your target audience too. Who knows? Maybe you can convince people to come into your bubble!
5. Support Societal Issues
Social awareness is an important trait to have, particularly among the younger generations. It shows that you’re not just here to make money; you’re also here to support causes you believe in and decry anything you find unfair. While you can certainly remain neutral with these types of things, you’re going to have a harder time competing with your competitors.
According to the 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Purpose Study, “78% of Americans believe companies must do more than just make money; they must positively impact society as well.” Additionally, Accenture’s 2018 Global Consumer Pulse Research says that “62% of global consumers want companies to take a stand on issues they are passionate about and 64% find brands that actively communicate their purpose more attractive.”
6. Be Consistent
Running a successful business means being responsible for many employees. You need to ensure everybody’s on the same page as one outlier can seriously ruin your brand’s reputation—for example, you can’t say your brand is 100% vegan if one of your employees has posted anti-vegan content before!
This concept also applies to you as the head of your business. You need to treat your employees with the same amount of respect you give your customers by welcoming their opinions and caring about their wellbeing. One notorious person who didn’t do this is Ellen DeGeneres, who often preached about being kind while being abusive to the people who worked for her.
Being respectful to everybody is basic decency.
Conclusion
Your brand’s image and authenticity is crucial both online and offline. It shows that you relate to your customers and truly value their needs and wants.
If you’re struggling to come up with a marketing strategy that is relatable and genuine to your customers, then you’ve come to the right place! Drive Traffic Media is a professional Orange County marketing agency that can help you with that. Contact us today at (949) 800-6990 or (310) 341-3939 or visit us on our website to get started.