You’ve done the work and created the messaging strategy for your business (read that post first because this one will build on those ideas).
Voice of customer research? Check.
USP? Yep.
Brand values? Got ’em.
Tone of voice? Done.
Perfect.
Time to add another layer and give your messaging strategies more depth.
So you can get more traffic. More conversions. And more loyal customers.
Taking the time to document your voice of customer research (VOC), unique selling proposition (USP), values and tone of voice is a huge step toward setting your business up for success.
You can keep your messaging consistent throughout your marketing and deliverables by having a documented messaging strategy.
Remember: your messaging strategy is a living document, meant to be refined as you gain more knowledge about your customers and your market
To up-level the assets you already have, let’s look at some advanced messaging strategies that will give you the elements you need to write great copy.
(Though I’m not going to discuss brand design in this post, be aware that the two go hand-in-hand. Get the words right, then base your design around them).
For insight into what really makes up a stellar brand messaging strategy, I turned to someone who does this on the regular for her clients: Anna Bolton.
She creates a Copy DNA using (wouldn’t you know it!) techniques she learned from Copyhackers and Copy School.
Anna says that a messaging strategy is an asset every business should have. And it should be optimized for conversions.
“To stay competitive… To get that ROI on your copy and all of your marketing, you need brand messaging that articulates a ‘different and better’ position in your market.”
Anna Bolton
Let’s dive into how you can implement advanced messaging strategies using the four parts (VOC, USP, values and voice) you already have as a starting point.
You’ve got the demographics and behaviors of your customers mapped out.
You have a spreadsheet of stand-out messages you’ve found with review mining or heard in interviews.
Now’s the fun part:
A buyer persona allows you to create a fictional representation of what your ideal customer is like.
Having this persona gives you one reader to focus on when you’re creating any branded messaging.
Messaging strategies to create this persona:
Below is a brief example from Impact.
They’ve included the types of messages “Services Stan” would and would not like to hear and in what formats they’re going to present those messages to him.
The next step in adding a layer to this persona is figuring out:
Your customers can make decisions fast or slow and based on emotional or logical reasoning.
Knowing this helps you decide what messages you need to show, where they need to be and when your customer needs to see them.
The four types of decision-makers are:
In this tutorial, Joanna goes through the four decision-making types, where they land on your website and how to address each of them when writing.
Get to know the four decision-making types and see how they align with your already collected data.
Add a decision-making type to your persona. Based on the decision-making type, document how you will communicate with that persona.
In the Services Stan example, he will “make a decision at his own pace and have plenty of data to sift through.”
We can say that Stan is a methodical decision-maker based on this information.
Knowing that Stan is a methodical decision-maker should impact how we communicate with him.
Your persona can be laid out however is easiest for you.
A bullet list of characteristics.
A full story about them.
I like to create subheads for each data area and then have bulleted sections.
You’ve defined what you do, who you do it for and why you’re the best to do it.
Let’s take this one step further by giving information to back up your statement.
For your USP to get attention, you need to show potential customers it’s true.
Social proof gives your customers a reason to believe in your messaging.
Proof can be:
Toms’ USP is “shoes for moving forward.”
They use a version of this alongside their proof.
They’re donating 1/3 of their profits and have helped over 100,000,000 lives.
Proof shows customers you’re passionate about your solution and serious about delivering results.
The way you leverage this proof and your USP can shape how you appear in the market.
Positioning is all about how your brand fits into and stands out from your industry.
Take a look at the messages you’ve created for your USP section already:
Now, think of how your brand will be known. What will come to mind when customers think of your solution?
This becomes your reputation and allows you to differentiate from other businesses offering similar products or services.
“Effective brand positioning happens when a brand is perceived as favorable, valuable, and credible to the consumer.
The sum of those three becomes unique to your business, and as a result, your customers carve out a place for you in their minds.”
HubSpot
Positioning is done correctly when you can find something that sets your brand apart and use it as a focal point in your messaging.
Tesla is a brand that’s positioned itself well.
The auto industry is saturated, yet Tesla has created a large following and gained customers.
They’ve focused on the quality and technology in their vehicles rather than the standard features every car has.
They also address customers’ concerns about how long the car battery will last.
Adding positioning and proof pages to your strategy document is fairly simple.
Your positioning page should describe your brand and what sets you apart.
Put this page before the proof so readers can reference them after reading your brand’s position strategy.
Keep this page simple enough for all stakeholders to understand and remember. Bulleted lists are always handy.
Your proof page includes any of the social proof listed above.
And make sure to note why each proof is valuable to your customers.
What benefits or objections do they address that will bring your audience closer to saying yes?
You’ve got the main values your business believes in and your mission.
Plus, they’re all written in your brand voice.
To advance the values you already have, we will look at creating the overarching theme for your brand.
The Big Idea is what you’re doing to solve your ideal customer’s number one problem.
And it’s stated in a way that catches the attention of your ideal customers.
Joanna describes it as having three distinct qualities.
“It’s the one thing the reader wants most.
It’s stated in a way no one else has said it before.
And it opens up cognitive dissonance. That is, the reader becomes suspended in a state of curiosity.”
Joanna Wiebe, Copy School lesson
The Big Idea sometimes isn’t easy to get to right away.
It requires using your VOC research and talking it through.
Try to bounce ideas off of someone just as knowledgeable and invested in the brand as you are.
A good example of a Big Idea is Saddleback Leather.
Their Big Idea is to create bags that will outlive you.
The product is for people who are tired of replacing their bags.
Even though there are loads of other bags to choose from, how many brands will give you a 100-year warranty on that bag to back up their Big Idea?
Creating a brand promise is an excellent idea, not only for employees but also to show your customers.
You’re giving customers something to measure your solution by when you make a customer-facing promise.
The promise is something your business stands behind.
“You, however, should be clear about what you’re promising and under what conditions.”
Anna Bolton
You’re giving your audience an idea of what life could look like after using your product or service.
The Girl Scouts has a full Brand Playbook where they outline their promise to everyone participating in scouting.
They include a pyramid showing how the members will feel at each stage –
Promising that they will achieve these if they participate fully in the activities.
Have a page dedicated to the Big Idea at the beginning of your values section, as the messaging in your brand should all stem from this one idea.
As you saw in the Girl Scouts example, your promise can take many different forms, depending on the outcomes you deliver to the customer.
Make sure you support your promise with the successes you plan on helping your customers achieve.
You’ve got your grammar rules and brand voice characteristics documented.
You can use these characteristics as a base for building an entire brand personality.
Customers want to relate to brands on a humanistic level.
This means: if your brand voice sounds stuffy and robotic, customers are going to bounce.
Connecting with your audience and addressing them like an actual human (aka conversationally) goes a long way to winning brand loyalty.
When working on developing your voice, you should focus on a tone that will:
“Enact the value your visitors desire…
Engage your visitors by making your site copy more enjoyable to read…
Stimulate positive feelings…”
Joanna Wiebe
When choosing a brand personality, take into account:
Your personality will be the way you communicate your messages to your audience.
Make sure it covers the objectives Jo mentioned above, and you should be good to go.
Skype has a casual, witty and easy-to-understand brand voice.
They use everyday relationships to describe who their brand personality is.
“You could think of us as that overly generous Aunt who always insists you have a third helping.”
Skype Brand Book
They’ve perfected a humourous ‘friend at the bar’ personality (you can learn more about this voice type from Justin Blackman’s course in Copy School).
Crafting an authentic brand story can pull readers in and make them stay – but only if it holds their attention.
To do this, you need to use a basic story framework:
Like most stories, it needs to be captivating, connect with your customers and answer the question, “why should I buy from you?”
It also needs to be told by your brand personality.
All great brands have a background story to show the audience why they’re in business.
And why they chose to solve this particular problem.
Take Airbnb, for example.
They tell the story of how they first came up with the idea.
They show what their customers are looking for when they book with them.
And what success looks like after using their service.
Below is a section of a letter the founders wrote detailing how they navigated and adapted throughout the pandemic.
There you have it.
Advanced messaging strategies (with lots o’ links) that will add depth to your messaging strategy document.
Using the assets in this post and the previous one will help you create a document that forms a base for all your messaging.
Plus, it’s grounded in research and data.
So get out there and engage and convert your customers.
With messaging that makes them say, “Hey! They’re talking to me!”
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