I’ve been having some interesting conversations with Eliot Frick of Big Wide Sky about branding, and about making brands more human. A nonprofit wing of what he’s doing is the Be Human Project, and he recently asked me to blog over there, which I was honored to do. (Please check that and the other blogs out over there.)
As a Freelance Writer I’m increasingly asked by companies big and small to provide content for websites and on social media sites, so I’m aware of the challenges of reaching today’s audience with any kind of copy or messaging. Eliot and his team of creatives are on to something over there, and I’m learning a lot from him.
Brand You.
There’s a lot of talk of “embracing change” and the roll of disruptive technology in today’s market place, but what I’m excited about in these very modern times is the answer is a very old one: Being Human.
The first step in engaging people is nothing short of the need for total transparency. How a company operates, how it responds to problems and consumer complaints, and how it relays its message needs to be done with this in mind. This can be scary, but it’s really a return of traditional values. Respecting people — their intelligence, their level of sophistication — is the first step in building a relationship.
As Eliot likes to point out, the “top-down messaging” no longer works. You can’t get some creatives in a room, come up with a “message,” and then megaphone it down to the masses and get results (but you sure can watch a great show about doing just that). Today branding is a conversation, a two way street, and while another generation might call it “keepin’ it real,” it’s really just “being human.”
And how easy is that?
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