Your Brand & Content Must Stand for Something

Too often brands get caught casting their nets far too wide trying to capture large market caps and endless prospects, and don’t understand their place in a vast and clouded ecosystem.

This leads to generic and bland content, creating an unengaged and blasé audience.

Your Brand’s Value Lies in its Uniqueness

Seventy-nine percent of business leaders surveyed by PwC believe that an organization’s purpose is central to business success. While on the consumer side, data shows that customers view purpose-driven brands as more caring and, as a result, more loyal to them.

Now I’m not just saying you must pigeonhole yourself into a cramped vertical, giving yourself limited opportunities.

I firmly believe a great strategy, approach, and set of skills can be rolled out to be successful for several verticals, products, and services.

However, a brand must find its unique selling point (USP) and audience. After all, if you’re going to compete against the large traditional entrenched companies in your niche you cannot be like them.

You need to present something different. If you’re going to capture the attention of today’s audience, you need to be a micro-brand — both in content and positioning.

Find Your Flavor

Everyone sort of likes vanilla ice cream (or at the very least tolerates it). But almost no one loves vanilla ice cream. If you’re going to attract your ideal client, you’ll have to position yourself for them, and in turn, alienate others.

Most people might not like Rocky Road ice cream, but the people who do, LOVE Rocky Road ice cream. And this is how you establish your tribe today. 

You must find your own distinct flavor.

By living somewhere along the long tail. You might not be for most people, but, for the ones you do vibe with, you’ll establish an ironclad connection.

Fortunately, this guides your content strategy, keeping you focused on topics specific to your flavor. By narrowing your scope, knowing what to write, film or record becomes easier.

For example, if your brand is all about plant-based ice cream, you might start discussing the best milk alternative for making ice cream - soy, oat, almond, etc.

On the flip side, if you’re making ice cream from traditional ingredients, you won’t need to worry about the vegan audience.

Don’t be afraid to make bold statements that resonate with YOUR audience.

Don’t worry about ruffling the feathers of audiences that don’t matter to your business.

The natural state of the universe is entropy — which is order devolving into disorder, meaning we’re in a constant state of flux and change. This includes how we send and receive information.

The most successful are those who can positively ride those waves of change to a better future state. Right now, a tsunami is crashing down on marketing and communications. Are you prepared?