How can you match brand communication to your goals and values?

1 Define your brand goals and values

Before you can communicate your brand, you need to know what it stands for. What are your brand goals and values? What is your brand mission and vision? How do you want to impact your customers and the world? These questions will help you clarify your brand identity and positioning, and guide your brand communication decisions. Write down your brand goals and values, and use them as a reference point for every communication channel and message.

2 Choose your brand communication channels

There are many ways to communicate your brand, but not all of them are suitable for your goals and values. You need to choose the channels that match your brand personality, reach your target audience, and deliver your brand message effectively. For example, if your brand is fun and playful, you might use social media, video, and gamification to engage your customers. If your brand is professional and authoritative, you might use blogs, podcasts, and webinars to educate your customers. Research your audience preferences, habits, and behaviors, and select the channels that align with them.

3 Craft your brand voice and tone

Your brand voice and tone are the expressions of your brand personality and values. They reflect how you want your customers to perceive and relate to your brand. Your brand voice is the consistent style and attitude of your brand communication, while your tone is the variation of your voice depending on the context and situation. For example, your brand voice might be friendly and helpful, but your tone might change from casual and humorous to formal and respectful depending on the channel and the audience. To craft your brand voice and tone, create a brand voice chart that defines the characteristics, dos, and don'ts of your brand communication.

4 Create a brand communication plan

A brand communication plan is a document that outlines the objectives, strategies, tactics, and metrics of your brand communication. It helps you organize, coordinate, and measure your efforts across different channels and platforms. To create a comprehensive brand communication plan, you should include a summary of your brand goals and values, a description of your target audience and their needs, wants, and pain points, a list of your brand communication channels and their purposes, a calendar of activities and campaigns, as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and evaluate your results.

5 Test and optimize your brand communication

Your brand communication is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process that requires constant testing and optimization. It's essential to monitor and analyze performance, identify what works and what doesn't, and collect feedback from customers and stakeholders to improve your brand communication. A/B testing can be used to compare different versions of elements such as headlines, images, colors, and fonts. Analytics tools measure metrics like reach, engagement, conversion, and retention. Surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online reviews can be conducted to gather customer opinions and insights. Social listening tools should also be used to monitor brand reputation and sentiment online, as well as respond to customer comments and queries.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?