1) Share your values.

We say this over and over because it matters. A strong brand starts with a strong heart of the brand, which comprises– the purpose, vision, mission, and values. The better you can communicate your brand’s core principles, and the more likely people will want to support you. Customers are more loyal to companies with good ethics.

Articulate your brand’s core principles, then brainstorm ideas that relate to each category: your purpose, vision, mission, or values.

2) Be vulnerable. 

54% of consumers say it’s more complicated than ever for a company to earn their trust. You can counter that by providing transparency and honesty in your content marketing, particularly regarding your vulnerabilities, mistakes, or failures. The more you open up, the more people see you as human and respect you.

If you made a mistake, make an earnest apology. Turn it into a teachable moment if you failed but learned something important. If it took 1000 tries to create the perfect product, show people the process. 

3) Connect people together. 

Creating community is one of the best ways to bring people into your brand story. When you can connect with people around shared interests, values, or challenges, you create a sense of belonging that helps people feel seen. 

There are plenty of ways to do this as a brand—even if you can’t meet in real life. Host a virtual event, start an online group, do a Live Q&A with an industry expert, etc. It doesn’t have to be about customers, either. You can also create a community with your employees and your industry peers. 

4) Talk to people, not at them. 

Interruption marketing is over. Engagement marketing is everything. If you want to be human, act human. Talk to people, ask them about themselves, find out what interests them, what they care about, etc. 

You can engage people in both small and large ways. Ask questions, create quizzes, have them weigh in on a new product, solicit tips, etc. Social is beneficial for this, as things like Twitter polls or Instagram challenges make it easy to engage with people. 

5) Showcase the humans behind your brand. 

From the front desk to R&D and warehouse, there are a lot of people that make your brand what it is. The more you peel back the curtain on who and what makes your brand unique, the more people will be compelled to engage with you. This is also an intelligent way to attract the type of people who will want to work for your brand. 

6) Create content that fills a need. 

Empathy is a core human emotion and one that serves brands well in marketing. The more you prove that you understand people and are genuinely invested in helping them, the more people will view your brand as a trusted resource. 

Create content marketing that serves people’s needs, wants, or challenges. Tools, resources, checklists, e-books, tutorials, or how-to-do are beneficial. 

7) Personalize where possible.

People want to feel seen and understood. Personalizing content is a simple way to make them feel that way. It may also be the difference between getting your emails to read. According to Salesforce, 45% of consumers ignore communications from companies unless they’re personalized. 

Map your buyer’s journey to address people’s needs at every stage. Use automation to personalize your communication. Look for ways to tailor recommendations or serve people’s specific needs. Also, remember that it’s not just about personalizing things for other people. Any communication you send should also be from a specific person on your team. You’ll get bonus points if you include a photo, too. 

8) Share your brand’s origin story.

Nobody becomes an instant success overnight. It takes a strong vision and a lot of hard work to get there. In the spirit of transparency, telling the story of how you got started is a great way to connect with people.

Whether your brand was born of a specific event or a happy accident, share the exciting anecdotes, travails, milestones, and experiences that made your brand what it is. Sharing your early failures can be endearing and inspiring, helping you showcase your perseverance, humanity, and creativity. 

9) Use your human voice. 

This tip is found in almost every article on branding ever. But it bears repeating. Differentiating yourself is more complex than ever—and more critical than ever. Your brand voice is an easy way to infuse your content marketing with a personality to help you stand out. 

Think about who you’re speaking to and how they want to be spoken to. Don’t speak above them or below them. Don’t drown them in jargon. 

10) Ask for user-generated content. 

If you want to bring people into your brand story, invite them to contribute to it directly. User-generated content is a great way to do this, and social platforms have made it easy to solicit. A 2017 Elon University study found that 66.3% of consumers surveyed heavily rely on user generated-content when attempting to make purchasing decisions.

There are plenty of creative ways to ask for UGC: photos, videos, caption contests, hashtags, interactive sites, etc. A visual element is always a smart way to engage, as it lets people see each other’s contributions. 

11) Revamp your CTAs.

This is a simple way to prove that you’re not a faceless robot. Simple things like CTAs, product copy, or site headers can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived, so add as much personality as possible.

Audit your site with fresh eyes to see where you can tweak your CTAs, callouts, or other copy. Add more human-centric images to your site. While you want to add personality, remember that user experience matters. Your CTAs can be clever, but they should also be clear enough that people can contact you, download something, or shop for your products.

At Dimensions, we believe in generating unique content that reaches the heart of the readers or consumers. After all, content marketing is about reaching out to potential customers and building long-lasting relationships of trust and confidence. Our content aims at making your potential customers feel like they are having a personal chit-chat with you because we believe in writing by humans, writing for humans.