Let’s talk about the thing that’s top of mind for many business leaders right now: recession. Organizations around the world are battening down the hatches and cutting budgets. Beyond strategic budgeting, here’s my advice to ALL companies right now:
Pictured: Kathy Klotz-Guest (photo from LinkedIn)
KEEP IT HUMAN.
Before I move on, I need to give credit where it’s due for this term. The first time I heard about “keeping it human” was from the incredible Kathy Klotz- Guest.
Her take is that the key to success for business leaders and marketers is to keep in human.
I couldn’t agree more.
Here’s the reality right now. Your customers may be cutting back on spending. Because of this, the way you view marketing needs to shift.
Rather than have a laser focus on the numbers of qualified leads or the conversion rates of paid ads and landing pages, you should instead pivot to using your channels to make human connections.
Why?
Consumers don’t buy from companies, they buy from people. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. The more time I spend in business the more I know in my bones that this is true.
The more authentic, human connection I have with my audience and potential customers the more successful my own business is, and the more yours will be too.
So, even if your customers aren’t ready to purchase right now, when they are, they will choose to spend money with brands who successfully made that human connection.
So you may be thinking to yourself, “What’s the best way to humanize my brand?” Here are my suggestions.
Live Video
An easy starting point is to leverage the live video features of your social media channels. Going live gives a face to your brand name and gives your audience the opportunity to interact with you.
For good examples of brands leveraging live video, look no further than Chewy’s “Ask a Vet” series, or Red Lab Marketing’s “Profits for Purpose” series:
View this post on Instagram
Going live is also a great way to showcase events, spotlight team members, and more. Plus, live-streamed content can be saved and repurposed across your other channels.
Engage in Brand Activism and Acts of Goodwill
For many consumers, myself included, I am far far more likely to give my money to companies that take a stand for their values and also do good in their community. It’s why when I’m buying ice cream I will always buy Ben and Jerry’s.
If I am making a decision about which software or doodad to spend my money on, conscious consumers and organizations will invest in products and services from values-aligned companies that made them feel good about that purchase.
When it comes to putting this in practice, the opportunities to engage in acts of goodwill are endless and will depend on your brand’s mission and values.
Here are some ideas:
- Give staff paid time to engage in voluntarism
- Sponsor an adoption drive for homeless animals
- Give all customers a month of free service for your product
- Start a scholarship program for your products or services
- Offer pro bono services
- Cover the cost of childcare for your team
- Sponsor a local family
- Build a house with Habitat for Humanity
- Donate a portion of your profits to combat climate change
- Offer free mentoring or job retraining services
Since everything is content, make sure to document these efforts and leverage them for your marketing.
When it comes to brand activism, many companies are reassessing how they leverage their platforms to advocate for change. For a recent example of this in action, look no further than Dick’s recent public statement regarding covering travel costs for employees seeking abortion care.
— DICK’S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) June 24, 2022
While your company may choose not to publicly wade into the current abortion fight, you can choose to leverage your platform to advocate for change in other ways.
Engage in Social Listening and Community Management
Lastly, make sure you are considering how you engage your audience and build community. Monitor your comments on social media and respond promptly. Your social media channels shouldn’t be a one-way conversation. Utilize your platform to start conversations with your audience.
You can also choose to double down on creating a community on Mighty Networks, Slack, or Facebook. People have a fundamental need to belong and creating a community for your audience and fans will help ensure that you have an engaged network of folks who will consistently support and help grow your business.
So, to sum it up, in my eyes, marketing of the future will be more about fostering authentic connection and less about big data. Some of the best ways to humanize your brand are to leverage live video content, engage in brand activism, acts of goodwill, and social listening, and build community.
About the Author
Mariana Padilla is Founder and CEO of Red Lab Marketing, a digital marketing agency that specializes in elevating the stories of purpose-driven businesses working to make the world a better place.
Mariana believes in the power of empathy and connecting with others through digital design and a no B.S. approach.
Mariana would love to work with social impact brands or brands that have sustainability and/or equity baked into their DNA. She wants to market products or services that she believes in. Ideally, she’d love to work with smaller teams who have some marketing capabilities of their own, but are looking for additional help.