A strong brand is more than just a logo—it’s a vital part of your business strategy. Done right, your brand will make your business memorable, differentiate you clearly from competitors, and communicate your values effectively. In this way, your brand becomes a strategic asset that drives customer loyalty, supports marketing efforts, and helps achieve your business goals. 

If you’ve been on the fence about why brand strategy is necessary, these ten signs show how it can directly impact your success and why it’s an investment you can’t afford to ignore.

1. Your brand is not resonating with your target audience.

If your target audience isn’t feeling a connection with your brand, it’s a clear signal something’s off. Maybe your brand doesn’t reflect their current preferences or lifestyle. Refreshing your brand to better align with your audience’s values and interests can help you forge stronger connections and build loyalty, just like how skincare brand Glossier refined their identity to resonate with a millennial and Gen Z audience.

2. Your visual brand is outdated.

An outdated look can make your business seem out of touch, leading customers to turn to competitors who feel more current. Updating your brand doesn’t mean throwing everything out, but making tweaks to stay current with industry trends and audience expectations. If your brand looks like it belongs in a time capsule, it’s likely time for a change. Consider how brands like Chobani revamped their visual identity with more modern designs to stay relevant and appeal to today’s consumers.

3. Your competition is ahead of you.

When competitors consistently outperform you, it’s often their brand is more appealing to the market because their messaging, design, or overall presence feels fresher and more relevant. And if you are/feel like the leader in your industry, you have to remain vigilant to disrupters coming for your crown. The landscape is littered with startups that built fresh, approachable brands and shook the giants off their thrones – Warby Parker, Airbnb, Canva are all great examples of this.

4. Your business has evolved.

As your business grows, so should your brand. If you’ve expanded your services, entered new markets, or shifted focus, your brand needs to reflect those changes. A brand that accurately represents what your business stands for today can attract the right customers and set the stage for continued growth. For instance, if you started as a local coffee shop but now operate multiple locations, your brand should reflect this broader presence.

5. Your messaging isn’t clear.

Clear, concise messaging that aligns with your business goals helps customers quickly grasp your value proposition, making your brand more effective. How to know if your messaging isn’t landing? Low social engagement, high website bounce rates, and repeated questions from prospects all indicate muddy messaging. Slack created a great example of clarifying their messaging when they switched to emphasizing their platform for ease of use as a collaboration tool.

6. You’re not attracting the right customers.

If you’re pulling in customers that don’t fit your ideal profile, it’s likely your brand is sending mixed signals. Whether it’s your visuals, tone, or messaging, a brand refresh can help you refocus on attracting the ideal customer. For example, if you’re a luxury brand but attracting bargain hunters, it’s time to reassess your branding elements.

7. Your brand isn’t consistent.

Inconsistencies in your branding across different platforms can confuse your audience and dilute your message. If your brand looks one way on social media and another on your website, it’s time to tighten things up. A refresh can ensure a cohesive and unified presence, no matter where your audience finds you, helping build trust and recognition.

8. Your brand isn’t memorable.

A forgettable brand is a problem. Prospects won’t buy from you, your network won’t refer you, and *existing* clients may turn elsewhere when they need more help. If your brand isn’t standing out from the competition or making a lasting impression, a refresh can help you create something more unique and impactful. Think about iconic brands like Apple or Nike—they’re memorable because they consistently deliver a strong, cohesive identity.

9. Your brand isn’t scalable.

If your brand feels like it’s outgrown its original framework, it may struggle to keep up with your business as it expands. A refresh can help make your brand more flexible and adaptable to new opportunities, ensuring it can scale with your growth. Look at how Sweetgreen evolved its brand as it expanded from a small salad shop to a national chain with a focus on healthy living.

10. You’re not achieving your business goals.

If your brand isn’t driving the results you need, it’s time to rethink your strategy. A brand that aligns with your business goals can be a powerful tool in achieving success. Refreshing your brand can help you realign your efforts and get back on track, much like how Old Spice did when they revitalized their image with humorous, memorable ads and updated packaging, leading to a significant boost in sales and a resurgence in popularity.

There’s no shortage of things to work on within your business, but that’s no excuse to neglect your brand. If you haven’t *actively* worked on your brand within the past three years, you’re due for a refresh. Schedule a complimentary call today to discuss what you need and how we can help!

The post 10 Reasons To Refresh Your Brand Strategy appeared first on Olio Branding.

I see it all the time: marketing teams or individuals are on the hamster wheels, spinning out the same messaging and creative repeatedly because they had some initial success with it. Makes sense, right? But what should you do when that doesn’t work anymore?

When things start to get sluggish with your marketing, it’s often related to your brand efforts. Unfortunately, most marketing teams are also under enormous pressure to deliver leads and results and won’t take the time to dive deep into their branding.

Enter the Brand Messaging Sprint.

It’s a 5-day challenge I’ve designed that you can do entirely in-house to get those sparks flying again.

This sprint helps you quickly identify what truly makes your brand stand out, enabling you to shift gears and capture your audience’s attention more effectively.

Whether you’re struggling with inspiration or simply need a fresh perspective, this exercise is your gateway to innovative and impactful marketing.

Here’s how to run it:

Day 1 (90 minutes): Brainstorm

Gather your team and brainstorm all potential differentiators for your company (excluding price). You’ll want to consider everything from your process and approach, product benefits, team size, services offered, mission, give-back programs – anything. When you’ve done that, narrow the list down to your Top 3-5 Ideas.

Day 2: Customer Insights

Deploy a 48-hour survey to capture customer insights. Build a short survey (there are various free platforms if you don’t already use one) and offer your audience the option to win a $50 Amazon giftcard to entice more customers to participate.

• Question 1: Ask True/False: “In your opinion, do these [insert 3-5 Top Ideas] set us apart from our competitors?”
• Question 2: Provide an open-ended short answer to “Is there anything else you believe makes us different from others who offer [insert your flagship offering].”

Bonus: Engage your various social media audiences by asking them what they think sets you apart from others in your space. Make sure you actually engage too, don’t just mine them!

Day 3: Research Competitors

Analyze 4-8 competitors that are similar in size and scope of your company. You’re looking for the following information:

• High-level messaging that talks about their company, benefits, and differentiators
• Visual Firepower (what is their look and feel – what kind of vibe do you get from them)
• Specific products and services they offer
• Their process and approach
• How big are they? Company size and geographical footprint
• Accolades
• Community involvement – sponsorships, causes, etc
• Digital presence – SEO, website, social media channels, etc
• Customer Reviews
• News/PR coverage

Day 4: Compile findings for analysis

• Column 1: Your Top 3-5 Ideas (+ anything that jumped out from the Open-ended or social media questions).
• Column 2: Yes or No marks for whether your customers agree with these
• Columns 3-8: One column per competitor. Score -1 for each overlap your competitors have with you. Score a 0 if there is none.
• Column 9: Tally scores. Zero indicates a true differentiator; negative scores indicate common claims. The farther your negative number from zero becomes, the harder it becomes to lean on this as a differentiator.

Day 5: Review results with your team.

Come back together as a group to review your findings and decide what to push in your messaging next. You’ll want to start with any zero-scored Top Ideas first, as those are your true differentiators. Anything with a score of -1 or -2 is up for grabs also but may take some creative messaging in order to stand out.

And if you don’t have anything above a -2? You’ll need to dig deeper. Better yet, email me and we’ll set up a Spark Session to dig through your results and brainstorm together.

***

And that’s it! A five-day sprint designed to quickly break through creative blocks and market saturation, giving you actionable insights that you can begin using immediately.

Let me know if you try this and the results you get!

Questions? Send ‘em my way. And if you love the idea of this sprint but just don’t have the time, let me know and we’ll find a way to workshop this together!

The post Is Your Marketing Feeling Sluggish? Try a Brand Messaging Sprint. appeared first on Olio Branding.

Let’s break it down into three phases:

1. Awareness (Top of Funnel)
2. Consideration (Middle of Funnel)
3. Decision (Bottom of Funnel)

Ensuring your brand’s visuals, tone, messaging, personality, and customer experience are consistent across these phases is essential to higher sales.

But what happens if, along the way, your brand becomes inconsistent? Does it really matter?

The short answer is Yes, it absolutely matters.

Because your brand should be building authority, trust, and emotional connection at every stage, any deviant in your brand will break this process for your prospect. And if that happens, you’ll either have to work twice as hard to rebuild or you’ll lose the sale altogether.

Navigating the Customer Journey 

The most common issue I see are brands that focus consistency efforts on only a few high-level (Awareness) channels.

Doing this creates missed opportunities and lost sales. Gone are the days where customers would purchase after one or two interactions with your brand.

In today’s world, their journey will lead them to encounter your brand across any number of touch points. Not just in the Awareness phase, but in the Consideration and Decision phases also. A comprehensive brand guide that covers tone of voice, how to use your visuals, and an overview of your brand strategy will really help here. 

Let’s dive into all the touch points within these phases: 

Awareness Phase (Top of Funnel)

During the Awareness phase, customers become familiar with your brand through several channels. Ensure consistency in the following touch points:

• Website: I call this your digital homebase and it needs to exude your brand, through and through
• Social Media: Your brand’s voice and visuals should be cohesive across all active platforms. It’s also a fabulous place to showcase your brand’s personality and authenticity 
• Digital Ads: Consistent messaging and visuals catch their eye and reinforce your purpose
• Blogs: Informative content that aligns with your brand’s tone and builds trust
• Print and Traditional Advertising: A unified message with customized designs so the channel you’re creating for is optimized

Consideration Phase (Middle of Funnel)

In the Consideration phase, customers evaluate your brand more closely. Consistency is crucial in these areas:

• Email Marketing: If it’s not personalized messages that reflect your brand, you’re just cluttering their inbox
• Tradeshows: The physical representation of your brand can go miles for brand experience
• Webinars: Educational content that showcases your brand’s expertise and also maps back to your brand messaging and purpose
• Review Sites: Future customers will care more about other customer’s feedback than anything you have to say. See Post-Purchase below for ideas on how to make this a stellar piece
• Community: How you engage with your community can reinforce your brand values

Decision Phase (Bottom of Funnel)

As customers reach the Decision phase, they need to trust that your company can not only get the job they need done, but that your brand is one they’re genuinely happy to work with. Key touch points include:

• Demo Calls: Your internal brand and employee satisfaction is going to be on display through personalized presentations
• Sales Rep Touchpoints: How often and the manner in which your sales reps ping customers sets the tone your customer will expect. If you’re delighting them now, they’ll believe your brand will do so long-term
• Signing Up: Of course pricing will factor in but at the end of this process, your brand needs to make it as easy and attractive as possible for your customer to sign on the dotted line

Post-Purchase Phase (Building Loyalty)

Here’s a bonus consideration: After the customer signs on, maintaining brand consistency is crucial. Don’t be that company who drops focus and leaves customers feeling like they’re nothing more than a sales number! Not only do these keep you Top of Mind but they help ensure positive referrals to future prospective customers. Focus on these areas:

• Post-Purchase Follow-ups: Regular touchpoints with consistent messaging will reinforce brand loyalty
• Loyalty Programs: Show your customer you value them through rewards that align with your brand’s personality and overarching purpose.

Once you have consistency, you’ll need to maintain it. 

Once you have consistency, the best way to maintain everything is to assign someone to oversee future messages and materials. Of course, the more channels you’re in and wider your brand, the more time consuming this becomes. Rather than saddle one person on your team who is already wearing a few hats, consider outsourcing this to a fractional brand manager (this is something I offer!) who can dedicate a couple hours each week – or month, depending on your needs.

Schedule a Discovery call today and let’s ensure your brand is being consistently implemented across all of these touch points. We can also explore whether it makes sense to bring a fractional brand manager who can maintain your consistency as you add new materials and communications.

The post Three Phases in Your Customer’s Journey That Require Brand Consistency appeared first on Olio Branding.

The Trilogy of Branding Success

Imagine your brand strategy as a three-piece puzzle, where each piece is crucial to the complete picture:

• Springboard: Think of it as the DNA of your brand—promise, positioning, purpose, vision, mission, attributes, and guiding principles. These are the immutable truths that define who you are.
  
  
• Identity: This is how your brand dresses for the occasion—logo, fonts, colors, patterns, imagery. It’s your visual handshake in both digital and physical realms.
  
  
• Story: Here lies the magic—the messaging. More than an elevator pitch, it’s the narrative that stitches your WHY together and resonates among your target audience.

Why Your Brand Story Matters (More Than You Think)

Did you know people are 22x more likely to remember your brand story than mere facts about your company? That’s not just impressive; it’s a clarion call to action. Your brand story shouldn’t complicate things; it should enrich your connection with your audience through context, authenticity, and relatability.

The Art of Storytelling: Crafting Your Narrative

Every great story needs an outline:

• Provide Context: Share the origins, the who, the why. It’s the heartbeat of your narrative.
  
  
• Be Authentically You: Authenticity isn’t just a buzzword; it’s your story’s soul. Ditch the fluff for the real stuff.
  
  
• Principles as Pillars: Your brand’s promises and principles are the storyline that supports your narrative arc.
  
  
• Speak Human: Drop the jargon. Your story should feel like a coffee chat, not a corporate memo.
  
  
• Empathy is Everything: Relate, resonate, connect. Aim to create the feeling of a shared journey, not a monologue.

   

The Narrative Mosaic: Short Stories of Your Brand

You have more than one story to share. Consider the mosaic of mico-narratives you can craft based on your company’s specific details: 

• Origin Story: The why, the when, the who. The spark that ignited your brand’s flame.
  
  
• Process Story: Your secret sauce. The unique HOW that sets you apart.
  
  
• People Story: The heroes behind the logo. The minds and hearts that fuel your mission.

Together, These stories celebrate your uniqueness and build an emotional bridge to your audience.

Fine-Tuning Your Brand’s Voice: The Litmus Test

Are your stories hitting home, or are they echoing in an empty hall? Testing and refining your narrative is key:

• Know Your Audience: Understand their perception of your brand. Align your stories with their expectations and interests.
  
  
• Engagement Is Everything: Deploy, observe, tweak. Look for leads, conversations, and engagement as markers of resonance.

Pro Tip: A talented copywriter can make all the difference here, weaving emotion and authenticity into every word while keeping jargon at bay.

Your Story, Your Brand’s Legacy

Crafting your brand’s story is an invitation to your audience to embark on a journey of discovery, connection, and growth. It’s about creating a legacy that resonates, engages, and transforms. Remember, in the heart of your brand lies a story waiting to be told. Make it one that not only captures imaginations but also encapsulates the essence of who you are and why you matter.

So, what’s your story?

The post How to Write a Brand Story That Will Resonate appeared first on Olio Branding.

In a way, it makes sense. Running a business requires juggling so many things – people, processes, customers, revenue, marketing – that brand strategy can quickly get shoved onto the “tomorrow” list… and potentially stay there.

The irony is that the larger your company gets, the more important having a brand strategy becomes.

Since your brand is what others think of you, you’ve been building a brand whether you realize it or not. And the larger you are, the more visibility you have, and the easier it becomes for that narrative to run rouge when you aren’t the one intentionally driving the messages and your reputation.

Conducting a brand audit provides you the baseline you need to make informed, creative, and powerful decisions for shaping your strategy that will propel you forward.

Five Reasons to Conduct a Brand Audit

1. Strengthen internal alignment
   When even the founders cannot describe their company or brand completely in sync, getting your promise, messaging, and other factors down on paper go a long way to getting the rest of your team onboard. Aligned internal stakeholders lead to aligned understanding from your audience.
   
   
2. Create more consistency in your marketing
   Messaging can take multiple forms but they all need to stem from the same starting point. A consistent visual identity, messaging, and tone of voice provides your audience with reassurance you actually know what you’re doing. A brand audit also identifies which channels do/don’t/could/should work for you. You’ll be looking at everything from website analytics to social engagement here.
   
   
3. Understand your target customers better
   Do you know what your target audience ACTUALLY wants and needs? Cares about? Gets annoyed with? Why they chose you? (Or, why they passed on you in favor of your competitors?) If you’re not asking them, you’re missing critical insights.
   
   
4. Vet your competitive advantages
   Unpopular opinion: Being different from your competitors isn’t enough. You need to understand what makes you the most relevant option for your customers. Different features or price makes you a commodity – what emotional or relevant factors make you the best choice?
   
   
5. Position for greater brand equity and revenue growth
   When your brand is firing on all cylinders, you’ll be better positioned for growth. Greater brand awareness leads to higher equity! Just look to Apple, a company whose brand catapulted their equity to nearly $1 trillion recently.

Brand audits can bring enormous value by revealing your strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and potential. A lot should go into them (I’ve got more info coming soon on how to do an audit) so it can be helpful to let me do them for you to minimize disruptions to your day-to-day business operations.

Want to learn more? Learn more here or book a Spark Session directly to get started! 

The post Five Reasons to Conduct a Brand Audit appeared first on Olio Branding.

Luckily, December is typically a slower month for providing services and slogging through meetings – which makes it the perfect time to plan for how to enhance your branding efforts for the following year! To get you started, here are 10 brand ideas you can use to grow your business in 2024

10 Brand Ideas for 2024

1. Develop a brand message: Create a brand message that communicates your brand’s identity and USP in a clear, concise, and memorable way. Use this message consistently across all marketing channels. This will help you differentiate your business from competitors and create a clear and consistent message across all marketing channels.
   
   
2. Create a brand voice: Develop a distinctive voice for your brand that resonates with your target audience. Consistency in tone and language can help your brand stand out and build brand loyalty.
   
   
3. Build a strong visual identity: Create a visual identity for your brand that reflects your brand’s values, personality, and goals. This includes your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery. Consistency in visual identity can help your brand stand out and build recognition.
   
   
4. Create a website that reflects your brand: Your website should reflect your brand’s identity and visual identity. It should also be easy to navigate and provide clear calls to action that drive conversions.
   
   
5. Use social media strategically: Social media can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging with your target audience. Develop a social media strategy that aligns with your brand’s values and personality.
   
   
6. Leverage content marketing: Use content marketing to provide value to your target audience and build brand awareness. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and more.
   
   
7. Develop strategic partnerships: Partnering with other businesses or organizations can help you reach a wider audience and build brand awareness. Look for partnerships that align with your brand’s values and goals.
   
   
8. Attend events: Attend events that are relevant to your industry and target audience. This can be a great way to build relationships with potential customers and partners.
   
   
9.  Step up your thought leadership efforts. Speaking presentations, blog writing, white papers, and guest podcast appearances all help raise your brand awareness, while positioning you as an expert in what your company offers.
   
   
10. Measure and refine: Use data to measure the success of your brand strategy and refine your approach as needed. This can include tracking website traffic, social media engagement, and sales data.

It’s important to note you do NOT have to implement all of these at the same time. If you’re starting from scratch, we recommend you begin with the first three on this list. Get your brand foundations in place and then choose where to begin implementing your messaging and identity. 

Looking for more information or want to brainstorm specific ideas for your business? Get in touch today to get started! 

The post 10 Brand Ideas Small Businesses Can Use to Grow Their Business in 2024 appeared first on Olio Branding.

The post Listen In: All Things Brand Strategy appeared first on Olio Branding.

What is Brand Awareness?

Essentially, brand awareness is a marketing term that describes the extent to which customers are familiar with the distinct qualities or image of a particular brand. Put more simply, it’s generally how many consumers know who you are and what you offer to them.

Why is Brand Awareness Important?

To put it bluntly, if consumers aren’t aware of your brand, they’ll never think of buy from you. You can raise your level of brand awareness in the market through brand campaigns, advertising and other marketing tactics. This in turn helps to gain consumers trust, which leads to stronger customer loyalty, higher revenue, and better brand equity.

There are four levels of brand awareness. Do you know which you fall into?

1. Zero, Zilch, Nada
If you’re just starting out, pretty much nobody knows about you. Good news is that it’s only up from here.

2. Brand recognition
You’re making some waves and the market is beginning to be aware of you but not necessarily what you offer or how you can help

3. Brand recall
Customers definitely know who you are and what you offer. What they might not trust yet is why you’re the best choice for them

4. Top-of-Mind
Congrats, you’re the McDonalds, Google, Apple, Coca-Cola of your industry. Enough said.

“OK, great but how can I find our where my brand stands?”

Here are three things you can analyze today to help determine your level of brand awareness:

1. How big are your distribution lists / how fast are they growing?

2. What’s your reach / engagement on social media platforms?

3. Where do your website analytics sit now?

Compare today’s stats to where you were last month, 6 months ago, and 1 year ago. Your trends will say a lot about whether you have a lot or a little bit of work ahead of you.

If you’re interested in more specific answers and have a bit of time, a brand perception survey can reveal all sorts of useful information.

Want to learn more? Schedule a quick call and let’s chat. I’m pretty passionate about companies benefiting from their brand awareness efforts, and I’m sure I can help!

The post The Four Levels of Brand Awareness appeared first on Olio Branding.

First, let’s break each strategy down: 

Marketing Strategy: Reaching Your Target Audience

Think of a marketing strategy as your roadmap to success. It’s all about reaching your target audience, spreading the word about your products or services, and driving sales. A good marketing strategy defines where, how, and when to deploy promotions for your product.

Choosing the Right Channels: Determining which marketing channels, such as social media, search engines, or industry events, will help you connect with your target audience effectively.

Crafting Compelling Messages: Developing clear and persuasive messages that communicate the unique benefits and value your products bring to your customers’ businesses.

Creating CTAs (Call to Actions): Including specific instructions or prompts that encourage your target audience to take a desired action, such as making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or requesting a demo. CTAs serve as a bridge between your marketing efforts and the next step you want your audience to take.

Brand Strategy: Creating an Emotional Connection

Now, let’s shift gears and dive into brand strategy. It’s about more than just selling products—it’s about creating a lasting impression and building meaningful connections with your customers. A strong brand strategy defines who you are, what you stand for, and how you want people to perceive you.

Defining Your Messaging Framework: Determining who you are as a company, what values you stand for, and the personality you want to portray. This includes elements like your brand story, promise, positioning, and persona.

Identifying Your Target Audience: Who are the individuals or businesses that would find the most value in your offerings? Understanding their needs, pain points, and aspirations is crucial.

Creating Emotional Connections: Going beyond the functional aspects of your offerings and forging emotional connections with your customers. This involves understanding their aspirations and aligning your brand values with theirs.

The Overlap: Where Marketing and Branding Align

While marketing strategy and brand strategy have distinct focuses, they do intersect in various ways. Let’s explore the areas where they overlap:

Consistent Messaging: Both strategies rely on clear and consistent messaging. Your marketing messages need to align with your brand’s values and promises, ensuring a unified voice across all customer touchpoints.

Customer Experience: Both strategies aim to create positive experiences for your customers. A well-executed marketing strategy enhances the customer journey, while a strong brand strategy shapes the overall experience, leaving a memorable impression.

Differentiation: Both strategies contribute to setting your business apart from competitors. Your marketing strategy highlights the unique features and benefits of your solutions, while your brand strategy emphasizes what makes your company special and distinguishes it from others.

Key Differences: Targeted Reach vs. Emotional Connection

Now, let’s pinpoint the key differences between marketing strategy and brand strategy:

Focus: A marketing strategy primarily focuses on reaching and engaging your target audience, while a brand strategy centers around cultivating a strong brand identity and building emotional connections with your customers.

Goals: The goal of a marketing strategy is to drive awareness, generate leads, and ultimately convert them into customers. On the other hand, a brand strategy aims to foster loyalty, create brand advocates, and establish a long-term relationship with customers.

Longevity: Marketing strategies often have a shorter-term focus, with campaigns and tactics designed to achieve immediate or semi-immediate results. Brand strategies, on the other hand, take a long-term perspective, aiming to build a solid foundation and maintain a consistent brand presence over time.

Tangibility: Marketing strategies tend to be more tangible and measurable, as they involve specific tactics, such as online advertising, content marketing, or email campaigns. Brand strategies are more intangible, focusing on shaping perceptions, emotions, and the overall customer experience. 

As you can see – while marketing strategy and brand strategy have distinct objectives and approaches, they are interconnected and crucial for the success of your business growth. By understanding the nuances of both strategies and leveraging them effectively, you can create a powerful and differentiated presence among your intended audience.

The post Marketing and Brand Strategies: Understanding the Difference to Fuel Your Growth appeared first on Olio Branding.

Every company has brand ambassadors but who are they and why should you care? More importantly, how can your company effectively engage and utilize them?

Let’s Start With the Who

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of brand ambassadors, they can be defined as someone who represents the company, offering their support and embodies the brand’s characteristics. They generally fall into three primary categories: paid, customers, and employees. Let’s do a quick breakdown of these:

Paid Ambassadors

Paid ambassadors include both Influencers and Affiliates. These are any highly-visible individuals with a following of fans who agree to help promote your brand. While engaging with influencers requires compensation, the benefit lies in the trust they have built up with their audience. Don’t just grab the biggest celebrity you can, however, focus on who will truly resonate with your brand’s audience.

Customers

Satisfied customers are the brand ambassadors perhaps most trustworthy to prospective customers. Someone who has tried your products or used your services, been happy with the results, and will happily share their experiences with just about anyone who will listen. These ambassadors will cheerfully refer you new business or validate another potential customer’s decision to work with you.

Employees

Employee brand ambassadors are such by default. Happy employees equal opportunities for happy brand ambassadors. Often, your employees already use the company’s products or services and are proud to tell their friends and family of their role within it, your services and products, or benefits community engagement efforts. On the other hand, unhappy employees are dangerous to the brand. When a weak company culture begins to affect their moral, the likelihood of customers having negative interactions with them increases.

Why Are Brand Ambassadors Important?

Every company should be recognizing and utilizing brand ambassadors as part of their overall brand strategy. Ambassador marketing helps grow brand awareness through a variety of channels. Ambassadors are also earned media and help authenticate your company in a way that paid media simply can’t. A whopping 89% of people most trust recommendations from people they know (word of mouth). What’s more, ambassador marketing has soared in recent years. 68% of brands say they plan to use, or launch, ambassador marketing programs in 2023. 

So How to Engage These Ambassadors?

There are dozens of ways to engage brand ambassadors, and your company or organization’s brand strategy, coupled with your marketing efforts, should help determine your best course of action. A few quick ideas to get you started:

• For influencers, having a good pitch is essential to getting them to agree to be ambassadors. Influencers have spent considerable time and capital building up their audience’s trust, and as such, will be very selective in which brands they promote. Do your research and look for any potential influencers who may already be interacting with your brand – they’re the most likely to say yes.
  
  
• If you’re not already, amp up engaging with your customers via social media. Respond to everyone’s comments, tweets, and likes. Retweet or repost your customer’s happy shout-outs. Address negative reviews in a thoughtful, caring manner (and hopefully turn an unhappy customer into a new ambassador!). Your ambassadors won’t necessarily be talking about you in hopes you will recognize them, but it will certainly go a long way when you do.
  
  
• Utilize your happy employees to create testimonials about why they came to work for the company. Did they use the products/services? Did they have an excellent brand experience previously? Were they drawn to the brand’s mission?
  
  
• No matter which type of ambassador you try to engage, make sure you’re giving them the tools they need to be effective. Make your social and blog posts easy to share. If you have products, make some samples available for both them and anyone they refer. Offer incentives, such as previews of new products and services, to better give them the feeling of being part of your brand’s inner circle.

When engaged correctly, brand ambassadors can be an extremely effective piece of your brand’s overall strategy and promotional efforts. If you want help identifying who could be relevant ambassadors for your company or organization, we can help! Connect with us today to get started.

The post Brand Ambassadors – The Who, Why and How appeared first on Olio Branding.