Yes, you heard right. I said, ‘personify’.  A brand is a living, breathing thing.  It has (or should have) a personality.  Done right, it has the power to draw in customers who relate to you, trust your message and most importantly, trust you with their dollars.  So here are our tips on how to personify your brand so you can connect and cash in:

Successful brands are really good at attracting people. They have certain qualities that people can relate to and want to associate with. Think about the brands that you feel you have a certain bond, or attachment to.  Why do you feel this way toward the particular brand?

Chances are these brands are appealing to you on some emotional level, due to the image that they are portraying. You can relate to the qualities of this brand, and therefore want to associate with them.

How can you do the same for your business, so that others are drawn in to your brand in the same way? You need to personify your brand. Here’s how…

1. Decide on a personality that you feel your brand should have.

What works for most small business owners is to brand the business around their own personality. There are times when this may not be appropriate, but in most cases this will be a good strategy as it ensures the brand message will be consistent and solid. Also, doing this will attract the kind of customer that you can easily communicate with and relate to.

Other than this strategy, you should also consider the positioning that you want your brand to have in the marketplace. What qualities should the brand have in order to match this desired positioning?

2. Think about your customer’s needs and wants – shape your brand around these.

For example, your business might be a law firm specialising in family law and often dealing with divorce issues. The communication in your brand messages should be empathetic toward this topic and the emotions that your customers/clients may be experiencing. Doing this will help your customers trust and connect with you.

3. Use colours and images that support the personality and brand message.

Get your brand colours and logo right, and use them consistently throughout all of your communication. Your logo and colours should support the overall personality that you have chosen, and should be applied in the same manner whenever you communicate with your audience. Doing this builds recall and recognition of the brand and leaves an imprint in your customers’ mind.

4. Interact.

Find your audience and start communicating with them. The more they see you, the more powerful your brand becomes. The internet is the perfect place to start. Look in social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs, Youtube etc. There are millions of people participating in discussions on topics related to your brand and you should relish the opportunity to interact with them.  If you have a website, why not consider adding your own blog? You can post regular thoughts or open up discussions and share news, giving your customers a chance to read what you have to say and leave comment for you and others to consider and respond to.

5. Don’t be afraid to specialise

Figure out what it is you do best and focus on it.  Trying to be all things to all people is simply not going to connect at a sufficient level with anyone.