When Everyone is Saying the Same Thing…
For most industries, customers are faced with a number of options when it comes to finding a solution for their needs, and in many cases, the companies offering these solutions are all telling the exact same story.
In fact, consumers believe that 60% of content created by brands is “just clutter,” according to Marketing Week. While your message may be based on sound consumer insight, if everyone is saying the same thing, it’s challenging to cut through the noise and give customers a compelling reason to buy what you are selling.
The Importance of Brand Identity
Brand design is an intentional approach to defining who you are, what you do, and why people should care – creating a unique and differentiated brand identity. The “why people should care” becomes the most important element of standing out among the sea of sameness.
What do you offer that’s different than your competitors and how does it provide a better experience for the customer?
Being Purposefully Bold Versus Unnecessarily Unique
Once you lean wholeheartedly into your brand identity, the next step is to craft engaging content to motivate your audience. The process of being bold and outstanding shouldn’t have to feel like throwing darts at a wall – there’s a sequence of steps that help ensure success.
Identify goals and metrics
Determine what you want the customer to do more or less of and define what success ultimately looks like.
Pinpoint the tension for the customer at that moment and hit it head on
Forming a hypothesis around why a customer may pivot away from your site at a certain moment allows you to directly tackle the problem with content that feels solution oriented and relatable.
Understand what the competition is saying
If you don’t routinely look at competitive content, it’s a good idea to start.
Use your brand voice to be bold
Intentionally say something different than the competition by using your brand voice to put a spin on your company’s offering. Don’t be unique for the sake of being unique, instead be bold in a way that aligns with your brand, tapping into “why people should care.”
Routinely test new creative
A/B testing allows you to test content with customers by pinning two versions of creative against each other. This allows you to take a bold step forward without putting all of your eggs into one basket (or at least not until you know it’s successful anyway).
Measure change
Use analytics to determine if bolder, more brand oriented messaging resonates with customers as well as which content elements have the most impact (i.e., advertisements, website landing pages, headlines, supporting copy, CTA buttons). Determine if you met the goals you set out for yourself in step one and adjust where needed.
Keep things fresh
The process of optimizing and evaluating the impact of your content should not be a one-time exercise. In order to continue to stand out, you should be continuously looking for ways to use the steps above to create meaningful distinction and stay ahead of the curve.
Need help standing out? Contact Zenman. We’re pros at shining a spotlight on your unique brand and business.
The post How To Stand Out in the Digital Sea of Sameness appeared first on Zenman.