If Your Brand Was a Person, Would Anyone Want to Hang Out With It?

Every brand has to enter the market and walk in with its own vibe. However, the question would always remain: “What kind of vibe should you walk in with?” Should your brand be the confident conversationalist who tends to gather everyone around? Should it be the person who only talks about themselves for introduction, awareness, or even a tad bit of narcissism? Or should it be the one who interrupts the conversation (market, in this case) with a solution that makes it relatable?

Branding today is not about logos and color palettes anymore. It is about your presence and how you present yourself for people or your audience. That is, because consumers are no longer buying mere products. They’re buying into your vibe and energy first. They’re focusing on your brand values, tone, and way of presentation. The questions they ask are: Do I trust this brand? Do I enjoy their products and way of displaying them? Would I miss it if the brand no longer existed tomorrow?

If the answers to these questions are “not really,” then your brand may be facing its personality problem, and this guide will help you in creating the right persona and tone for your brand.

The “We’re Professional” Trap

Okay so why are we calling this a “trap?” Because some brands tend to confuse being professional with having no pulse or that “alive” tone whatsoever. We do agree that consistency matters, always. However, clarity matters too. And if your content sounds like it was written by a committee member that is trapped in that beige or grey meeting room, people will scroll right past it without giving it a second thought. 

In order to be memorable, you have to have brand texture. Your brand should know how to educate, when to entertain, and when to stop sounding like a corporate structural manual. That is why online engagement is a thing. Implement your tone, add in some humor, take care of your timing, and be self-aware. This way, you’ll easily know how to read the market (and specifically your room or target audience).

So… Would Anyone Actually Want to Hang Out With Your Brand?

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Does your brand sound human or is it monotonic or sound processed?
• Are you engaging audiences in a conversation or just broadcasting announcements?
• If your brand had a social life, would people describe it as interesting, helpful, funny, inspiring, or painfully dull to hang around?
• Are your visuals and messaging recognizable in terms of the emotional aspect, or could they belong to literally anyone in your industry?
• Would your audience notice if you suddenly went silent for a month, less, or more? 

These questions may hurt, I know, but that’s the point. Growth starts where your comfort takes the next exit.

Branding Isn’t About Being Loud

Let’s all agree that the strongest brands everywhere may not be the biggest ones in the market. However, they are the ones that create familiarity. These brands are the ones that people quote often, share, and remember pretty well through their trust and credibility.

A brand with a certain personality will create shortcuts for emotions in any consumer’s mind that it targets. The brand itself becomes memorable for people beyond its products.

Let me give you a tip that you’ll need to apply before your next campaign. You have to pause for a second and ask yourself that one question that will get you out of your comfort zone: If your brand were a person, would people genuinely want to spend time with it? Because in modern marketing, attention is easy to buy, but connection? This is the real deal.