In a world that is becoming more and more digital, customers are looking for brands that they feel they can connect with. This “human” side of brands is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage, setting businesses apart from others within their market and endearing them to their loyal clientele. If you’d like to tap into this for your own business, you have to start by softening your image and showing your customers the people behind the business. Here are 3 ways to make your brand more human so you can reach and connect with more customers.

Use Social Media to its Fullest – The fact that the word “social” is right in the name should indicate what platforms like Facebook and Twitter are supposed to be used for, and they’ve opened all new doors for businesses to really connect with their customers. Don’t sell this tool short. Keep up to date on your social media profiles and use a voice that shows the human side of your business. Invite your audience to interact with you, ask and answer questions, join discussions and just be real. The more your audience can feel that human side of you, the more they’ll come to know and trust you.

Show Your Personality – Sure, the web is a great place for marketing your business, but remember to enjoy the lighter side of life too. Show your personality by adding a little humor into things like social media posts and blog articles. Customers are loyal to those businesses with whom they can relate, so show them that you’re one of them by providing them with content that is real, not just fluff and self-promotion. When you show your personality, your audience will be able to get to know you better, which will naturally lead to a trusting, loyal relationship.

Don’t Just Tell Them; Show Them – The term “a picture says a thousand words” can be applied to business marketing strategy too. In addition to leveraging social media to give your brand a more human “voice”, show your audience the people behind the brand by sharing behind the scenes pictures. Snap some pictures of your team hard at work, and also during work social functions and share them with your audience. This allows your customers and prospects to put a “face” to your brand and endears them to you and your employees.

Being successful in today’s competitive environment takes more than just establishing a brand. You have to also find a way to bring that brand alive so that your target audience can see that you’re more than just a stuffy ol’ company. They need to see the real you. By putting these three tips into action, you’ll be able to give your brand a personality, a voice and a face that will endear your customers to you and help you build the solid, loyal, long term relationships it takes to succeed.

One of the most important things to making a business successful is solidifying your brand. This means making your brand more recognizable and developing strong, lasting relationships with your clients that will help to perpetuate future success, both in repeat business and in word-of-mouth referrals. So how does one effectively develop and deliver their brand message so that it accomplishes these goals? Here are several tips on how you can come up with that perfect message that will really get results.

Take a look around you first. Check out your competitors. What is the message that is working for them, and how are they delivering it effectively? Obviously you can’t (and wouldn’t want to) copy them, but doing a quick competitive analysis can help provide the inspiration you need and get your creative juices going. Identify things that you like about their message, and things that you don’t and work from there to develop your own.

Next, spend some time getting to know your customers. Understanding what your target audience wants and needs can help you define and position your business for success. After all, you’d be nothing if it weren’t for them, right? Learn about how people are using your products or service. This will help you to identify new opportunities and further hone your message so that it really makes the mark with your clientele.

Now that you have some insight about your competitors and what your customers want and need, you can use that information to begin to develop your message. To begin, ask yourself the following questions:

~ What does your business stand for?

~ What pain points do you address?

~ What problems do you solve?

~ What makes you stand out from your competition?

The next step is defining what your tone and voice will be. What you have to say is just as important as how you actually deliver it, so this is important. Once you have the tone and voice hammered down, make sure that all of your communications reflect this, from web content and blog posts to social media activities to print advertising. Wherever you plan on sharing your message, make sure you do it consistently across the board.

Finally, once you’ve got your message and tone ready to go, it’s time to start using it. Just remember, these things are not set in stone. As with anything in business, your brand message should be fluid and scalable. Measure and tweak it as needed until you feel comfortable and begin getting the response you desire.

In the business world it seems we’re always so focused on getting more leads and landing more new customers, but that’s only half the battle – and frankly, some might say it’s the less important half. The key isn’t so much bringing in new business, but its doing what it takes to keep those newbies coming back for more once they make that first purchase. Customer loyalty is one of the most important components of ongoing success. That said here are 3 simple things that you can start doing today to hook those customers and draw them back again and again.

Provide Superior Service – Customer service is one of the main things that keeps people loyal to a brand. It’s also the biggest reasons people will jump ship and find another business to work with. How you serve your customers can mean the difference between a string of one-deal shows and a fiercely loyal customer base. Always take the time to listen to what your customers want and do your best to give it to them. Show them that you value them and their business, and always keep them at the top of your priority list and you’ll find yourself recognizing those same faces again and again.

Stay on Their Minds – Unless you’re in some incredibly unique niche, chances are you have ample competition to contend with. Standing out means keeping your brand on the top of your customers’ minds so that if and when the need for your product or service arises, your business will be the first they think of. You don’t have to bombard them with advertisements to do this – just keep in touch. Send out a regular newsletter, keep up with your social media activities and always follow up after the sale to show your customers that you care and are thinking of them.

Offer a Customer Loyalty Program – It’s simple, really. If you want people to keep coming back, you have to give them a reason. Loyalty programs are an excellent way to keep people dedicated to your brand. Whether it’s sending out an email coupon to be used on a future visit, offering some type of points program or “punch card” that will allow customers to earn something free after so many purchases, or extending a “repeat business” discount, these programs are incredibly successful because they are a win-win for everyone. Your customers will feel rewarded for doing business with you and you’ll be rewarded with their ongoing patronage.

Any business owner worth their salt understands the importance of not just reeling new customers in, but keeping them hooked for the long haul. These three simple steps will allow you to improve the loyalty of your existing customers, and entice new ones to keep coming back for more, which means continued success for your brand well into the future.  

Several months ago we posted an article about some simple ways to make your business blog stand out amongst the competition. But what about actually promoting that blog? Are you maximizing your available resources and really leveraging the many places online where you can effectively reach a bigger audience and get more exposure for your brand? If not, stay tuned because we’re about to unveil 5 super easy ways you can promote your business blog and get it the attention it needs to increase traffic and get results.

Get Social – Ok, ok, I know…we sound like a broken record, but the fact is if you’re not utilizing all of the social media channels that are available to you to promote your blog, you’re most certainly missing out. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn make it super easy to link back to blog posts and even offer helpful analytical tools so you can measure your reach and identify which content got the most attention. That way you can focus your future efforts on tailoring your content to better suit your audience and get better results.

Spread the News – Do you have an online company newsletter? If so, don’t forget to include links to your recent blog posts to encourage viewers to click, read and share your content with their own networks. Send out a monthly blast (or weekly if you have enough content) that includes a good balance of company news, helpful tips and tidbits, links to relevant articles on your blog and information about any coupons or special promotions you’re currently offering.

Make a Connection – When you’ve posted a particularly relevant article about something interesting or unique in your industry, consider reaching out to a few high profile bloggers in your niche to see if they’d consider sharing it with their own readers. This can give you instant brand exposure, a boost in ranking and can help you establish more authority in your field. Just don’t overdo it and hound the same bloggers too often or you may end up on their spam list.

Share Your Opinion – If there are other relevant blogs that you follow or industry forums that you are a member of, be sure to participate in the conversations going on there by commenting and providing thoughtful insight or other helpful advice. Include a link back to your website or, whenever possible, a specific blog post that is relevant to the topic being discussed. 

Give Yourself Some Recognition – Internal linking is an important part of successful SEO. Whenever possible, reference and link back to previous blog posts you’ve written (see the first paragraph of this blog post as an example). This drives traffic to your older content and increases your site’s authority with the search engines. It’s also a great way to establish a loyal readership and breathe new life into your old content.

It’s infinitely important to include an active blog as a part of your business website and overall online marketing strategy. But simply having a blog isn’t enough to truly get the results you want. You also have to take the initiative to promote those blog articles once they are live. By following these 5 simple tips you will be able to increase exposure for your brand, boost traffic to your blog and your website, and ultimately improve your online presence as a result.