Five Ways To Humanize Your Brand

The image of a brand can become cold and detached when every detail is planned out in advance. All formats should be uniform, and so on. To keep your audience engaged, make sure to remind them of the human element behind the brand. Show them that besides a reliable brand, real people are running the machine. Doing so may strike an emotional chord with your customers, who may remember you in the future.

1. Be Authentic

When a brand is authentic, consumers with genuine interest seem to flock towards it. When you know who you are, present that to the world and see what happens. Your values, your goals, and the things you care about should all be at the forefront of any project, but don’t just follow trends because they are popular one minute, and you try to jump on the bandwagon. If you are looking towards collaborations like micro-influencers, if they scream everything your brand stands for, then collaborate, if they don’t, do not have them represent your brand because they will be the face of your brand in the minds of certain people. Anything you do should maintain your company’s mission statement in mind and always stay true to it no matter how big or small the task at hand is. Potential customers and consumers will have a certain expectation once they get to know target audiences well receive your brand and authenticity in most instances.

2. Share your story

Part of humanizing your brand is being vulnerable. When you share a brand with others, you are putting yourself in a position susceptible to criticism. Although this is the case, not everyone will share your value or share your mission, but you will attract a legitimate audience who may even become evangelists for your brand if they follow your mission closely. Let them in and let them see another angle of you that few companies share with the outside world. Do you and your business partner have unique roots? Is there a specific “ah-ha” moment that shaped the company? What’s so unique about your employee culture? Whatever your story is, share it, expose yourself, and become vulnerable!

3. UGC

One of the wonders of social media is User Generated Content. If you remember the 80/20 rule, social media can be your friend. It’s a beautiful thing to see your customers engaging with your service or product. Share quality images and videos produced by your fans on your brand’s official social media channels. Potential customers of the same demographics will be able to relate to these, and they can hear it from the brand evangelist, which will go a long way rather than hearing it from the brand in a constructed manner!

4. Engage

There is no better way to show the world who you are as a brand than to interact with them. Engage with your audience at any opportunity presented. If there is an event, send your representatives in person. If comments and reviews are left online, reply to these promptly! If your brand answers specific questions from the public, your audience can witness how receptive you are and will see that a caring individual is responding to their concerns on behalf of your brand! These small interactions can add up over time, and they provide a lot of value on such public platforms because many people can see one caring response on the platform.

5. Uplift others

Another aspect of humanizing your brand is interacting with others. We all live in a complex world, and you should understand that your brand is part of this world. Many brands collaborate, attend events, and take on special projects to reach broad audiences outside of their immediate network. If there is an event going on that lines up with your brand’s mission, go ahead and support it in any way you can. Not only will you be helping your community, but you will also become more complex, interesting, and well rounded in the eyes of your audience. You may gain the attention of people you may have never reached before through your interactions with other brands.