In an overly saturated world of brands and marketing, people are being consistently inundated with hyperbolic advertisements, flashy packaging, and empty promises from companies. It’s because of this oversaturation and inundation that it’s more important than ever before to establish a strong brand presence. For many people, this presence might begin and end on the visual side of things. Make sure your logo is one of a kind and that your colors are popping. While these are admittedly critical elements of a brand, they only tell a portion of the brand story. The truth is, your brand messaging is the foundation of your brand. It’s how you communicate your product or service to the world differently from your competitors. At HatchMark Studio, our brand work always starts with messaging first, and it’s for a good reason. In this article, we will discuss brand messaging, why it’s important, and how you can use it to make a lasting impact on your target audience.
What Exactly Is Brand Messaging?
You probably have a pretty good grasp on what brand messaging is, but what does it look like? If you had to pick it out of a line up, could you identify it? When done the right way, brand messaging is a robust, multi-page system of value propositions, key differentiators, target audiences, tiers of usable marketing headlines, and more. Together, all of these elements work to help you as an owner or marketer communicate your product or service to the general public. If you’re still having a hard time visualizing what brand messaging should look like, don’t sweat it. We have plenty of examples over on our case studies page.
7 Ways Brand Messaging Makes an Impact
Having clear and dynamic brand messaging in your brand guidelines is more than just a useful tool that makes putting together a marketing campaign easier. It can make a serious impression on your customers and help your brand outlast and stand out among the competition. Below are several different ways brand messaging can make an impact.
- It creates consistency. You’ve probably seen it before. A company sends out a post or a newsletter. The next week, they send out another one, and it sounds like a completely different person wrote it. This would be an example of a team that has a flimsy handle on brand messaging. Ideally, your brand messaging involves guidelines on how to use tone, certain words, and value propositions to ensure consistent communications cross platform, no matter who is at the keyboard. This consistency makes it easier for your target audience to recognize your brand.
- Power through clarity. Without a solid foundation for brand messaging, a company’s communications can become muddy or hard to understand. The value propositions and differentiators can get lost in the jargon. Having clear and concise brand messaging ensures that your product or service’s unique selling proposition is clear and instantly identifiable. Your target audience should be able to look at your advertisement or packaging and understand immediately why this is a product or service they need.
- Creating an emotional connection. A 2024 study revealed that 84% of today’s consumers admit that they purchase from brands they feel emotionally connected to. Your brand messaging is a way to build that emotional connection that will resonate with your target audience. Whether it’s through engaging storytelling or your brand’s curated tone of voice, you can craft your messaging to align with the values shared by your customers so that they become emotionally tethered to your brand. This creates a lifetime customer!
- Standing out in a crowded room. As we talked about earlier, you’re operating in a crowded space and fighting for every inch of attention from potential customers. This can be something as simple as a bold headline on packaging or a unique tone of voice on your website and social media. Take the time to study your competitors to see what they are already doing in your industry and look for opportunities to be different. If you see yourself as a brand that’s fun, make sure it comes through in the messaging. It can be a difference maker!
- Brand recall is easier for consumers. A consistent brand voice is one of the cornerstones of making a brand memorable. Odds are, the average person on the street can easily picture the golden arches of McDonald’s. That’s because they’ve done an excellent job reinforcing their brand visuals. Similarly, their “I’m lovin’ it” tagline is equally memorable. It’s because they’ve invested the same attention to detail in their brand messaging. You know it’s a McDonald’s ad without even opening your eyes. That’s what great brand messaging can do!
- Build brand loyalty. At its core, brand messaging is a commitment and a promise to your customers. Remaining consistent telegraphs to your target audience that you can be trusted. Overtime, this can have a profound impact on customer loyalty. Think about it this way. You probably have a favorite restaurant. At that restaurant, you have a favorite dish. It’s your favorite because it’s the same every time you go back to get it. Because it’s always the same, you are a loyal customer who returns several times a year. It’s the same thing with the promises you make in your brand’s messaging. Customers crave consistency.
- Omnichannel marketing is easier. If you’re a marketer or a business owner, you know better than anyone that you’re not just marketing in one area. The modern landscape demands that you launch campaigns across several platforms and mediums to see success. To do this effectively, your brand messaging has to be on point. What your customers see on a Meta ad should have the same tone as your billboard campaign. If not, you run the risk of having a disjointed and confusing brand with no real commitment.
Final Thoughts on the Importance of Brand Messaging
Messaging is the backbone of your brand system. Like most things, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. The fact is that staying consistent and adhering to your brand messaging is hard work. It takes a commitment and dedication from your entire team to ensure the brand guidelines are being enforced from top to bottom. At the end of the day, it’s effort well spent and can bring endless value to your company’s bottom line when it’s done the right way.
Let Us Help You
Brand messaging isn’t one of those things you just come up with in traffic on the way to the dentist. You really have to do a deep dive on your product or service to find those value propositions and identify your voice. This is where having a seasoned branding agency on your side can make the difference. At HatchMark Studio, we help companies like yours build brand messaging and full brand systems. We have a full team of branding professionals eager to help you on your journey. If you need an extra set of hands, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our brand first approach!
