1. Be Authentic
Influencer marketing is significant, especially when we think about the loyal following some of these influencers posses. Potentially they are capable of reaching out to thousands of people who attentively take note of the brands they endorse or the skillful product placements within their messaging. A famous influencer with a huge fan following is generally expensive to work with, and you may also end up with only limited results without any visible impact. To make things worse, they are rapidly losing trust simply because of the lack of honesty and authenticity in their messaging. In a B2B scenario, things are quite different. It is not about working with an influencer who has the most massive audience. It is about identifying those who are relevant to your industry and who have a niche following. They are the ones who’re generally trusted by their audience, and who are capable of bringing in results. These micro-influencers possess a deep bonding with their followers. An excellent example of this is the #Builtwithbosch campaign cleverly executed by Bosch Power Tools. They identified industry-related micro-influencers, who had a decent fan following and who seemed credible amongst their followers. Bosh provided them with the tools and asked them to create video product reviews that encouraged their viewers, mostly tradespeople, to upgrade their tools. The results where phenomenal. The authenticity and humanity of this campaign helped Bosh reach out to a relevant audience that resulted in brand reach, engagement and conversions.
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2. Embed Values Into The Business Model
Sometimes brands are hesitant to make a bold statement in fear of alienating potential customers. However, studies show that people prefer to associate with brands that have a purpose, brands that embed core values into their business model. Brands like Apple, Mercedes and Lush to name a few, have found enormous trust with this exercise of communicating their core values effectively. A recent example is the ‘Global Impact Report’ campaign Deloitte ran on their LinkedIn platform. Key messaging highlighted in the video shows how Deloitte serves ‘Public Interest’. How they are not afraid to ‘Ignite Innovation.’ How they ‘Influence Action, and finally How they ‘Champion Communities and Create Opportunities’ These kinds of campaigns have helped Deloitte achieve over three million followers on LinkedIn, with a multitude of comments and engagement. A very noteworthy achievement for a B2B business.
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3. Tell Stories at a Human Level
Who doesn’t love a great story? In today’s world of digital marketing, where companies have direct access to the end-users, there’s nothing better than great storytelling to engage with the audience. Stories are personal, they have emotion, and bring about connection. For these very reasons, It has become an integral part of the marketing cycle for many companies. Ultimately it boils down to how you can execute it. There are good stories and bad stories. This particular one from Barclays had a profound impact on their brand image and brought about a clear connection between their services and how they touch people’s lives every day. Their story revolves around how a local business was able to achieve greatness and successfully render its services with a little bit of support from the right kind of partner. Their story is compelling and emotionally moving because of how it is told at a human level.
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4. Move it, Shake it (Animate yourself)
There is no doubt that colorful and vibrant animation is a perfect tool used by businesses to tell compelling stories. Although It is resource-intensive to conceptualize and create video content, the impact is far more significant and lasting. A new campaign from WeWork is a novel example of how great storytelling can be achieved using a series of short 30-second clips, that show how small businesses can utilize their office spaces. The videos are designed to be used as pre-roll ads on YouTube. WeWork also recycled the artwork to create fun little gif clips which they then used on Search and Social Media. The results were stunning.
5. Add a Bit of Humour
Businesses are continually in search of new and engaging ways to interact with their audience. However, nothing works well better than good old humor. Many brands have effectively taken advantage of this by creating positive and appealing messages that are both fun and attention-grabbing. One such example is the freelance portal Upwork and their ‘Hey World’ campaign. With bold and funky colours and quirky content, they call out to ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson, the President of the United States, and even NASA, asking if they needed freelancers to get their work done.
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Upwork then used this to create an impressive integrated campaign comprising of billboards, ads on public transport and even 15-second commercials that increased their visibility. The impact was far more significant. So there you go, five essential tips to communicate your brand effectively. However, most of the time, it’s not easy to come up with creative ideas and content that uniquely aligns with your overall business objectives. That is you need to work with a creative agency like Branding By 8. At Branding by 8, we’ve helped transform hundreds of business, mostly startups and small businesses who need to create a big first impression. We help build effective brand strategies that are aligned with your business objective that drive results.