The cornerstone of marketing your company is to create a consistent personality that customers come to know. Not only will this help the customers know what to expect, but a distinct personality will help you understand how your brand should act, too. There are three key components to shape in order to create your company persona.
1. The Voice Crafting a voice for your brand is the first step to a unique company persona. This should be one of your initial steps as you plan your marketing, since nearly every subsequent aspect will be affected by it. First, consider what you want your brand to convey. Are there any stereotypes you should counteract? For example, toilet paper brand Charmin fights against the idea that their product is "gross" or "unmentionable" by having a hilarious brand voice that makes bathroom jokes in a tasteful manner. Your brand voice can help convey certain ideas about your product, but can also be an important marketing tool. Charmin's funny tweets -- which are written in their brand voice -- garner numerous favorites and retweets.
2. The Visuals Along with the verbal component of your company persona, strong visual content can show customers exactly what the company likes and dislikes. Just like each person you know has a unique Instagram account, each company can craft the public's perception through intentionally choosing images. Consider what you want viewers to discern from looking at your company website and social media accounts. Adopting one style or theme will help you maintain consistency. For example, some brands will edit every picture with the same filter, or always edit images to have a slightly skewed white balance. Use these editing tools to craft cohesive visual imagery. Don't forget that your logo is also showing your company's personality, too.
3. The Visceral Both the visual and verbal content that your company crafts will be a direct reflection of what the company values. Before you think about trying to craft words or pictures to represent the company's personality, sit down and think about the values that are central to the operation. Clarify what you're trying to portray, then move on to the actual content creation process. For example, when clothing store Gap launched the "#dressnormal" project, they enlisted well-known Instagram photographers with a large following to take pictures of people who were both stylish and simple. The store started with a value then moved into a concrete representation of that ideal through visual content.
Once you've crafted your company persona, you'll be surprised by how easy it is to begin consistently creating content that reflects it. Just like a good friend, you'll get to know the company's likes and dislikes. Remember, good friendships take time.
