Without people, every business would be nothing. And without showing your people, companies risk neglecting a “human” element that customers crave.
We believe that your brand is largely made up of the people behind it—it’s why we tell stories for a living. But how can you practically begin to humanize your business? How can you take (yes, necessary) logos, products, and strong marketing and make it even better?
Making a Human Connection
A human connection is often the most powerful marketing tool available. Need and practicality may be enough to drive the consumer toward your product, but emotional connections are the tipping point when faced with numerous options for less immediate needs. Fostering this connection is a vital part of your brand identity. Consider your logo, company name, and solution to pain points to gauge your connection with consumers.
We see many businesses fail to make this emotional connection with their target audience and in turn, lose growth opportunities.
Who Are Customers Doing Business With?
People like to know who they are doing business with when investing their money into a product or service. Service industries especially should consider ways to communicate who they are and what they stand for. Unfortunately, some companies create their website with a purely technocratic approach, focusing only on the nuts and bolts of the business and product offerings. But even the most informational, practical, and SEO-approved websites need connection.
The Harvard Business Review provides a compelling example of a credit card company whose account growth raised by 40% when designed with emotional connection in mind. This success is one of many reasons we value story-branding at Red Mallard.
Feature the People Behind Your Business
We can’t think of a better way to humanize your content and harness the power of story-branding than by putting the people behind your business at the forefront of your brand message. Trust and connection with real people precede connection with products or services. Story-branding reminds us that humans buy into people first.
You may also establish credibility with future employees and nurture company culture. For example, showcasing current team members builds rapport while suggesting that potential employees will be just as appreciated.
How to Humanize Your Content
Your website, blog, and social media content can be powerful resources. Each of these provides opportunities to highlight team members, from top management to boots on the ground.
Spend time connecting on social media without pitching your product. Asking for the sale without providing value first is tacky in the eyes of potential customers. Instead, focus on using social platforms to connect with others and occasionally encourage them to check out your website to take a closer look.
That being said, your website deserves special attention, including an “about” page that tells the story behind the company. Spice it up by featuring the founders, leaders, and employees behind the business. However, don’t just focus on surface-level information like education and experience. Dig deeper by showing off employee personalities and compelling stories about who they are and what has led them to where they are now.
How to Write an Employee Profile
Beyond your base team content, you can feature employee profiles on your blog, in email blasts, and social media posts. Showcase employees and conversationally tell their stories to engage with your followers. You’ll hit two birds with one stone: employees who feel valued and seamless humanization of your business.
You can also feature company events, exciting news, customer case studies, and interviews within your content marketing. These are all great methods of building emotional connections.
Contact Red Mallard today for assistance in promoting meaningful connections with your customers and employees.
