How to Make an Impact with Brand Messaging

Brand messaging. A fundamental element of any brand, yet so commonly misunderstood and under-prioritised.

With the potential to make or break your marketing, reinforce or completely damage your visual identity, I think it's high-time we talk about brand messaging!

Forme builds stunning brands that influence, websites that convert and experiences that resonate.

Above is one of Forme’s key foundational brand messages that we frequently use to communicate what we do to our audience. Strong, simple and to the point - this should be your brand messaging.

But what exactly is brand messaging and what does effective messaging look like?

Your brand messaging is a foundational element of your brand, ultimately communicating the heart, mission and purpose of your business. Defining how you communicate your brand is key to ensuring consistency, building trust and connecting with your target market. Whether you’re writing an engaging social media post, selling a new product or explaining what makes your business different from your competitors, everything comes back to your brand messaging.

If you want to make an impact, your messaging must be consistent whilst remaining genuine and authentic throughout every avenue. Your brand messaging should support and work cohesively with the entirety of your brand strategy.

Remember to always refer back to your target market to ensure your brand messaging is connecting with them in the language they use.

There are 5 key elements to your brand messaging:

1. Personality / Identity – This is your brand’s human characteristics, reflecting your brand heart. Give your brand 3 – 5 personality adjectives (such as elegant, carefree, sincere, witty) and ensure these traits shine through your brand messaging. This will be a powerful differentiator from your competition and a key way your target market will resonate with and form a relationship with your brand.

2. Voice / Tone – This is your general attitude, which your brand heart, target market and personality should be the key influencers of. Your brand voice and tone merely needs to be articulated so you are empowered to consistently communicate with it. Give your brand 3 – 5 voice adjectives (such as calm, warm, direct, hype) and ensure they shine through all of your brand messaging. Think about the way you want to make your audience feel about your brand and how your target market would respond.

3. Tagline - This is a single sentence, phrase or word that summarises your market position, whilst supporting your brand heart. A tagline should be memorable, unique, creative and representative of your brand. Ideally you want to ensure you also include the main benefit of your brand.

4. Value Proposition - This is a succinct explanation of your brand heart and brand position - who you’re for, what and how you solve people’s problems and why they should choose you over the competition.
Your value proposition is what all other messaging should support and what you want to lead with in all your communication. Ensure your value proposition is clear and concise and speaks directly to your target market.

5. Messaging Pillars - These are the key stories you want to tell about your brand, emphasising your brand position and supporting your brand heart. Here you want to get across what differentiates you from your competitors, what your key selling points are and what makes your brand unique. Ensure your messaging pillars are written in your brand voice and communicate your brand personality. It’s important to be authentic here and use your messaging pillars to build trust and relationships with your target market.

Put all together, your brand messaging should radiate the essence of your brand and the direction your business aspires to head. Ensure all throughout your marketing (website, social media, collateral, advertising) your brand messaging speaks out and does the heavy-lifting for your business.

Want YOUR business to make an impact?

Get your messaging consistent with your brand👏