Brand messaging can take on many diverse forms – from a single headline of ad copy to your company email signature. But constructing a brand message that’s compact, unforgettable and relevant to your ideal consumer can be a lot harder than you’d imagine. Many times marketers and brands fall into the trap of trying to say too much when creating their content.
So how does one explain in over 500 words the importance of keeping your brand messaging simple and not come across like a giant hypocrite? Well when it comes to crafting your brand’s messaging you have to reevaluate what it means to be simple.
The key to simple brand messaging is finding the core of your idea.
You could pretty much stop reading now, because I’ve just boiled down the entirety of this blog post in one sentence. That’s what it means to be simple. But in the interest of accuracy and comprehensiveness (not to mention SEO and Google-bots) let’s take a deeper dive into what it means to make a brand message simple.
Simplicity isn’t about dumbing down. It’s not about saying something short. On the contrary, compiling your complex brand messaging down into a concise and clear idea is incredibly challenging.
Nowadays the world, more specifically the internet, is a cluttered mess – jammed full of distractions begging for consumer’s attention. And for many consumers, the increased noise of marketing messages isn’t empowering, it’s overwhelming to the point of indecision – or worse – inaction. And rather than converting customers, brands and marketers are pushing them away with information overload and ill-conceived engagement efforts.
To combat this avalanche of digital bedlam brands and marketers need to communicate their message in a very simple and meaningful way that’s both compelling and easy for people to understand. Strong, memorable brand messages are always brief and convey the core aspects of a brand’s values – while showing shades of the brand’s personality.
Brands and marketers must create, or discover, ideas that are simple. Ideas that are so simple – so profound – that anyone could hear it once and spend a lifetime able to repeat it.
But be warned: simple ideas are easy prey for bureaucrats who think in traditional ways. Rather than recognizing the potential in its refinement, they will concentrate on everything that isn’t said. Some people think that it’s safer to over-explain than it is to say more with less. It’s important to remind these people that simplicity requires practicing the art of exclusion and prioritization.
Just remember that there’s no silver bullet, catch-all that will perfectly address all of your vertical markets, attract new consumers while paying tribute to existing clients – oh, and let’s not forget that new software you’ve got launching next quarter. When a brand or marketer attempts to cast a net that wide the messaging ends up saying too many things – and nothing gets heard.
When a brand or marketer finds themselves in a situation where it’s absolutely necessary to split the focus of a message – move away from making long, product-focused content and shift towards short, snackable pieces of content tailored to where the buyer is in the sales cycle. Those smaller pieces of content can retain a simple brand message that might otherwise get watered down in more longform pieces.
From website content and branded video to print and digital advertisements, the clarity and crispness of your message is essential. And crafting a message that is unique and succinct can be tougher than you think. So if you’ve been struggling to better simplify your brand’s messaging, let Amazing Studios help you find your voice.
