Our latest instalment of Brand, Bitch & Brekkie saw an interesting mix of brands from the world of fintech, HR and charity sectors.
Intriguingly, everyone’s challenges seemed to overlap, no matter the stage of their brand’s journey. Here are a few things we chatted about...
Language is crucial for your brand
A couple of our guests had just come out of their re-brand process and one key piece of advice they gave was to review your guidelines every year so that you could update them as the company grew/developed.
One brand told us that before doing this, they’d kept using the same terms for their service users for years, even though personnel had changed and the brand had moved on to better the way they communicated with their partners, users and donors.
The key to success though wasn’t just updating the guidelines for marketing, but making sure they were being genuinely implemented properly across all teams.
How to empower your customers to be involved in your content
One of the biggest debates round the table was how to use showcase your customer’s stories in your content without it feeling like you’re taking advantage of them (especially when they’re about sensitive subject matters). So how do you reassure them they aren’t just a pawn in a marketing plan?
We all agreed that much of that was down to trust...you need to put effort in to building a real relationship with your customer so that asking them to be part of your content is something they really want to do. You also shouldn’t shy away from checking in with the customer about the narrative and make them feel a part of the creative process.
And when dealing with sensitive subject matters, transparency is key. But it’s also nice creatively to push boundaries a bit, moving away from a “sob story” towards stories that let the customer feel empowered and proud of who they are.
Breaking down barriers between internal teams
All companies find their departments work in silos. None more so than the tech and marketing departments at high growth scale ups. The shame of course, is working together should breed better work, so one of the questions posed was how to strengthen the relationship between teams.
One brand suggested turning empty walls in offices into physical roadmaps that work for both teams, to highlight the interdependency of everyone’s tasks, but also allow everyone to physically see how each role and action impacts the other.
For tech and marketing specifically, a really interesting suggestion was to use marketing resource to test the popularity of product features before they’re built - essentially getting feedback from your community and seeing if they like or dislike what you’re building. For the brand who tried this recently, their engagement rose significantly as their community became more invested in their product, and the tech team had full access to the feedback.
Creating channels bespoke for your audiences
Some brands really struggle to build consistency in their content on social. It’s even more complicated when you have multiple audiences who you’re trying to speak to.
One of our brands round the table confessed that they struggle with projecting their brand consistently with customers and new recruits through the same channels, but a solution from another guest was to simply set up separate channels (their example was an Instagram for their staff and another for their customers).
It allows them to create consistent customer content whilst showcasing visuals of their culture, stories and their values as a way to attract prospective employees that are the right cultural fit, all through separating the Insta- channels out. Their channel has worked so well that Instagram’s direct messaging function serves as a function for their HR team, who end up finding the majority of their recruits this way!
Digital asset and project management tools
And before we go, there were plenty of tools thrown around that help make our brand marketer’s lives a little bit easier. For people who found that not enough people action what’s said in the brand guidelines - try Brand Folder as the ultimate resource for all your teams to access everything brand.
Another tool suggested was Social HP, which allows you to write content on your colleagues behalf, if they’re bootstrapped for time or don’t really know how to flesh out an idea.
One of our marketers was a huge fan (nee, potential ambassador!) for Monday.com, the project management tool. You may have seen their witty print campaigns on TFL at the minute. It’s great for virtually keeping track on what’s going on, saving you chasing your colleagues for the thousandth time.
Learnt something new? Want to share your own thoughts on building brands that matter? Then why don’t you book a seat to our next Brand, Bitch & Brekkie roundtable, at Riding House Cafe, Fitzrovia.
Email sunnii@mattr.media or give her a ring on 07772343952 for any questions
