On October 23, 2001, Apple announced what would be a catalyst for a revolution in portable media. The iPod shifted the way century content was consumed and engaged with. Although many competitors had already produced great quality products, Apple chose to do what they do best: focus on the full experience, from unboxing to charging the device after its first use. The organization shifted what it means to listen to music with “no limits,” providing their consumers with what they considered as a singular listening experience.

As with many successful new media age brands, such as Apple, we see a pattern in the way these organizations choose to develop their brands. Yohn definies brands as “a bundle of values and attributes that define the value you deliver through the entire customer experience, and the unique way of doing business that forms the basis of your company’s relationships with all of its stakeholders (2013, p. 3).” Building a successful brand no longer just resides in a clever tagline or an easily recognizable logo. Branding begins with the vision, grows with action, and succeeds in long-term relationships with clients, consumers, and collaborators.

Developing the blueprint for a brand is often seen as the best way to communicate or launch the start of a new brand. However, it doesn’t stop there. Brands are constantly evolving, as are consumers. Understanding how to communicate your vision for your organization or brand, is just as important as the logo or Twitter handle. Here are 10 tips for communicating your organizational identity and brand.

1. Understand your audience: When you’re talking to a family member, you most likely aren’t going to speak in the same way or tell the same story that you would say to your best friend. The same goes for your brand. Understanding the audience you’re communicating with is just as important as the message you're communicating.

2. Using your voice: Wendy's has built an entire online presence off of the simple idea that their audience can organically promote a majority of their viral content just by engaging with a fresh voice. Twitter is known as a "quick hit" platform by users, referring to the ability to communicate a message in 140-280 characters or less. Wendy's uses this platform to connect with their users through humor, sarcasm, and acknowledging both theirs and their competitors “weaknesses.” The organization understands their target audience and learns into that while still staying true to their vision and goals for their company in their own voice. 

 2. Making it matter: What is the work you do? Why should it matter? Your identity may matter to you, but your brand is how it matters to everyone else. This is why brand experts and their services cost so much to contract: they're the middle man. As a business owner or even as someone branding themselves online, your first step is to always understand your internal identity and your external personality (your brand). As author Simon Sinek simplifies, in his book Start with Why, "People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it (Sinek, 2009)." A great example of this is the blogger Tyla Howard, founder of "She the Roar." The organization started with the idea to encourage and empower women to be unapologetically themselves. However, this idea quickly flourished into an entire online community. Without a why, women wouldn't have invested their time and wouldn't have invested their trust. Understanding your why and why it matters, is how your audience develops a deeper relationship with your brand.

3. Pitch it like the World Series: We've all heard of the "elevator pitch," that 30-second exercise that all business men and women are tested on at one point or another. For most brands, they like to talk a lot about their functional identities. However, as we now know, your why is just as important as your what, so communicating that why is the next step in ensuring you're motivating your clients/customers to action. First impressions are important and Whether it’s a video or a Facebook post, throwing an all-star pitch that can convey and support your “why” is an investment you can’t afford to not make.

4. Like a good book: Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. Elevation is s globally recognized church for their ability to tell a story. Whether it be a bumper for their sermon series or the sharing of a life-changing moment, they commit to the story like it's the World Series of storytelling. In September of 2017, Elevation spotlighted their outreach efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in Texas with a video. The video reinforced their “why” by showing the importance of not just providing resources, but supporting the people effected, investing in the relationship there (Elevation Church – Film, 2017). Telling the story using emotional branding techniques impacts the customer's ability to feel not only the urgency but the relationship to the story. It invites engagement and investment rather than just expecting support.

5. Establish an expert opinion: As Morgan reminds us, a brand has to have authority to be able to sustain a level of trust with consumers which leads to that long-term relationship (2013, p. 68). Establishing a brand without a level of authority leaves consumers with a lack of trust. No one knows your organization better than you, so become the expert you want to hear from. Jenna Kutcher, host of the “Goal Digger” podcast, has become an industry leader when it comes to building a successful brand. “I feel that by hearing real, raw conversations and teachings from women that made a leap to chase their dreams, they’ll be encouraged to step out of fear and into faith — and have the tools to do so (Kutcher, 2016).” Through authenticity, experience, and ultimately hard work, she’s developed a photography business that extends far beyond just taking pictures: it’s the art of storytelling.

6. Authority in action: By establishing an authority, you create trust which in turn creates investment. However, how do you create authority as a brand new organization? As we saw with "Goal Digger" Jenna Kutcher, providing information at a surface level to your consumers is a great way to generate trust for your expert advice. Providing information with an open hand is a great way to invite consumers into the story of your brand outside of just what your products or services are. 

7. Keep the main thing, the main thing: Although many brands, like Apple and Disney, have dived into other tech industries or forms of media, forgetting your brand is a sure-fire way of forgetting your consumers. As Yohn reminds us, Kodak forgot their core values and the brand their values were aligned under (2013, p. 2). In forgetting their brand, they stopped innovating and became complacent, ultimately leading to other organizations taking their place and leading to their downfall. With their refusal to change, came the sacrifice of their storytelling. Consumers no longer trusted them with their memories, and moved on to organizations that were willing to evolve with the needs of the customer. 

8. Focus on social corporate responsibility: Understanding both the passions of your employees and those of your consumers will ultimately lead to that fulfillment of trust. When your consumers understand that their passions and needs are just as important as their investment in your products or services, they're more likely to support/engage your brand. Blotter reminds us that “If your brand story does not authentically and meaningfully contribute to the well-being of society or the environment, your brand will not be viewed as important (2013, p. 1).” A great example of this is R.E.I.'s closure of their stores on Black Friday and focusing on their consumers "opting" to spend their day with friends and family outside. The initiative skyrocketed the company's brand as not just a company that talks the talk, but actually walks the walk when it comes to fulfilling their mission. “While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors (REI, 2015).”

9. Ambassadors on the inside: Your greatest allies will always be those sitting around you. Creating an environment where employees can flourish and feel a sense of ownership of the brand empowers employees or volunteers to step into the greatest salesmen and women of your company. Promoting great company culture as well as fulfilling work is a great first step. Yohn explains that "when everyone in the organization feels truly engaged with the brand, people naturally involve themselves in the development and delivery of brand value (2013, p. 34)."

10. Continuous improvement: Brands ability to develop and promote their messaging, products, or services is only a very small portion of the larger organizational identity. Continuously building and innovating that brand to be better or elevate an industry is what keeps consumers invested in your story. Whether that's sharing your growth online via instagram stories, or just providing new services that your clients have requested, adapting to the growth or demand of your brand will ultimately lead to greater success down the road. 

References:

Blotter, J.  (2013).  10 ways today’s purpose-driven brands can bring their core values to life.  Fast Company Exist.

Elevation Church - Film. (2017). Elevation Outreach in the Wake of Hurricane Harvey [Video].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY9Okik_Wbw

Kutcher, J. (2016, November 21). Goal Digger Episode 001: Keeping it Real on Social Media [Audio blog post]. Retrieved May 30, 2018, from http://jennakutcherblog.com/goal-digger-episode-001-keeping-real-social-media/

Morgan, R. P. (2000).  A consumer-orientated framework of brand equity and loyalty. International Journal of Market Research, 42 (1), 65–78.

Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. New York,
N.Y.: Portfolio.

Tuttle, B. (2015, October 27). Black Friday 2015: Why Stores Like REI Will Be Closed | Money. Retrieved from http://time.com/money/4088989/black-friday-thanksgiving-rei/

Yohn, D. L. (2013). What great brands do: The seven brand-building principles that separate the best from the rest. John Wiley & Sons.