Consumers have become more skeptical of brands. With super-easy information access and occasional PR nightmares of the biggest businesses in the industry, they have every reason not to be too trusting. Thus, you need to do the dirty, grueling work of earning the public’s confidence. One sure way to achieve that? Letting them see the human side of your business. If you remain to be this faceless, distant, almost-robotic company, you can never win your audience. But if you strive to be human – authentic and personable – you’ll quickly boost the market’s trust and perhaps dodge some controversies along the way. That said, here are some strategies in humanizing your brand:
Use humor.
In the context of real human relationships, humor plays a huge role. It breaks the ice between strangers. It creates bonds among friends. It even helps resolve some conflicts. When you share laughter with your target audience, you’re likely to get these same benefits. You’ll be able to warm up to a new market, strengthen the loyalty of your fans, and put out fires even before they become serious controversies. So use humor in your messaging. Know your market’s funny bone well, what grabs their attention, which moods appeal to them, if they’re more into slapstick or blunt, emotionless humor, etc. Having this deep understanding of your audience helps not just in eliciting that much-needed laughter, creating social bonds, but also avoids being offensive.
Tell genuine stories.
Aside from humor, authenticity connects brands and audiences. When your target public sees that you’re real in all that you do, you can easily win their trust. That said, share genuine stories about your company’s hardships, failures, and triumphs. Champion your customer’s experiences, too. If you have a restaurant business, talk about the fun family reunions that happened in your establishment or the successful business meetings that took place in it. If you have a jewelry business, highlight the proposal stories, every unique anecdote, from the very public, extravagant dance flash mobs down to the laid-back romantic at-home date night. Get professional jewelry photo editing services, as you promote your unique ring pieces. The bottom line is, share human-interest stories. Narratives your audience can very much relate to.
Engage directly with your audience.
You can do this both online and offline. Online, answer questions, or complaints about your services and products promptly. Reward people for leaving reviews on your social media page. Create an exclusive social media group, letting them in on exclusive promos or discounts. Better yet, feature their content on your page. Imagine the bragging feeling they’ll have if their ring selfie will be shown on your page that has a million fans. They will surely have a feeling of connectedness to the brand. Offline, provide excellent customer service. Listen to their unique needs. Welcome criticism. Let them know that their voice matters.
How Human is Your Brand?
The key to earning and strengthening the trust of your market is to humanize your brand. Put off the cold, faceless image. Instead, put on the authentic, personable one.