How to Humanise a Brand’s Online Presence

A brand’s value and potential is directly linked to its trustworthiness, relatability, and overall ability to appear human.

Adobe’s Trust Report?stated that 44% of customers will spend an average of $500 or more per year with brands they trust, while 29% spend an average of $1000 or more per year.?

Combine that with the fact that businesses and consumers are increasingly?shifting to social media?for eCommerce, and a trustworthy online presence becomes essential to modern B2C growth.?

So, how do you give your brand a unique voice in a wave of like-minded competitors? Try these tips and enjoy the benefits of a more trusting customer base.?

As a?white label digital marketing agency, Agency Stack is experienced in taking on the unique voice of other businesses and we’ve come to know what works.?

Once this article is digested, get in touch to learn more about our services in SEO, social media, copywriting, graphic design and more.

The Two Sides to Humanise

First, let’s define what we mean by “humanise.” The two sides to a truly “human” brand are the customer interface (CI) and the customer experience (CX).?

The former being the voice and branding of a business to affect awareness and entice customers to interact with them.

The latter is the visceral service a customer receives when they interact with a business. According to a?Sitel whitepaper, 94% of consumers acknowledge the impact of a positive customer experience and 58% consider it one of the most important factors in any purchase.?

Both CI and CX are equally important to gain and retain a loyal customer base, respectively.

A Trustworthy First Impression

The jury is out on exactly how long your brand has to make a good first impression.

Various sources will tell you it’s anywhere from?0.5 seconds?to up to?7 seconds, while others will highlight how?visual elements?make up more than half of the “impression” itself.?

What seems to be agreed upon is that it’s?not very long.?Especially as consumers have decreasingly short attention spans and the competition for their time is only ramping up.?

Oberlo?has compiled some reputable pillars which brands can use to build trust in those initial interactions – authenticity, consistency, transparency. It’s no accident that these three pillars are closely tied together.?

Authenticity can be built by including an About Us page on your website, outlining your company origin, values and mission statement.?

Including these elements lends transparency to your brand as you give customers an intimate understanding of the company.

Once established, your brand can take the messaging and tone of voice from these elements and disperse them across your website, social media and traditional advertising. This will build consistency and reinforce your brand’s conviction.

Consistency can also be improved through the use of a signature colour in all forms of advertising. In fact,?this survey?found that a signature colour increases brand recognition by 80%!

Improved Customer Service

With CI ticked off by consistent and authentic branding and messaging, CX is a brand’s next big ticket to success.?

Not long before the turn of the century, remote customer service had become a frustrating world of automated answering machines. This period involved lengthy yelling matches with mildly intelligent robots which struggled to find the difference between a refund and a refurbishment.?

Fast-forward 25 years and the robots have levelled-up. Artificial intelligence (AI) has allowed automated phone calls to become, well, intelligent.?

So too have online chat bots, where near-genuine conversations can be had about simple issues customers have with a company.?

But the problems arise for AI once issues become more in-depth, according to?Zendesk.

Overall, the software company’s?CX Trends report?stated that around half of people reported not getting accurate answers from chatbots.

That’s probably why this survey from B2B research firm,?Clutch, stated that 88% prefer speaking to a live customer service agent instead of an automated phone menu.

The underlying theme of these findings is that customers value accuracy and responsiveness. Chatbots can’t find the answer straight away and phone menus feel like an arduous task compared to sending a quick message to a brand’s Facebook account.??

This is where brands can use social media to their advantage as they humanise their perception.?Sprout Social?found that 63% expect a response via social media to take between 1 and 24 hours.?

This gives brands time to form a considered response and ensure the customer is satisfied.?

By investing in a team of skilled customer service agents to man the socials, your business will appear trustworthy and will entice more customers with a positive experience.

Simpler Tips to Try

Improving your CI & CX can be a long-term project, involving upskilling, rehiring and?strategising across marketing and customer service departments.

For a short-term fix, try these nifty gimmicks to increase trust and make your brand more approachable.

Pull back the curtain

A look behind the scenes can show exactly how your business works and tells customers there’s nothing to hide.

Try placing the spotlight on a particular employee or team and explain the difference they make to the bigger picture.

Get Quirky on Socials

You might have seen some big names on social media responding to trending topics or interacting with competitors. This is a great way to gain some traction and give your audience a laugh.

Give your funniest employee the keys to the Facebook account and let them go rogue – reply to customer comments, start a fight with your arch-rival, or @ a Kardashian – the choice is yours.

Get a Narrative Going

A relatable story across platforms gives your audience a consistent touchpoint with which to follow along. Drip feed your audience with new developments across your website, socials, and EDMs. Perhaps interlace the narrative with promotions or tips & tricks to give some value to those who are more in tune with your brand.

Contact Agency Stack

We may stick to the shadows as a white label digital marketing agency, but Agency Stack knows how to humanise its clients’ clients.

Take advantage of our skills in SEO, social media, copywriting, graphic design, email marketing and more to take your agency to the next level.

Get in touch?to book a consultation today!