Brand humanisation: Gaining trust and authenticity
Like many of us, we bet you are besieged by all sorts of marketing messaging telling you to “buy now” or “subscribe today,” which begs for just 10 minutes of your time.
However, there is a deeper and more effective means of engaging with your audience and stakeholders than that. By genuinely humanising your brand, you can foster authentic connections that resonate on a personal level, building trust, loyalty and engagement.
In this blog, we explore “the why” and the benefits of humanising your brand and share practical strategies for ensuring you do it right.
Unveiling the Benefits of Humanising Your Brand
Building Trust and Credibility: Trust is the cornerstone of any meaningful relationship, especially in business. When confidence in companies and institutions seems to be dwindling, people are naturally sceptical of faceless entities. Humanising your brand helps bridge this gap by creating a sense of authenticity and reliability. Stakeholders, whether customers, investors or future employees, are more inclined to trust a brand that feels genuine and relatable. In fact, according to a report by Edelman, 81% of consumers state that trust in a brand is a deal-breaker or deciding factor when making purchase decisions. This statistic highlights the pivotal role trust plays in modern consumer behaviour. By humanising your communications, you cultivate trust and, with it, long-term loyalty.
Emotional Connection: It’s true what they say. People connect with people—not faceless corporations. You’ll make emotional connections with your audience when you reveal the human side of your brand, ensuring deep connections are made. Emotional resonance is integral to creating sustainable relationships with consumers. It’s not a “nice-to-have”; it’s necessary for engagement and long-term loyalty. A study conducted by Harvard Business Review found that emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as highly satisfied customers. Tapping into your audience’s emotions by humanising your brand will unlock an incredibly potent driver for business growth.
Creating Standout in a Crowded Place: Competition is fierce, and consumers have countless options, so humanising your brand can be a game-changer. Through the stories of your business’s values and unique personalities, you can show differentiation in the sea of sameness from your competition. When customers can relate to your brand on a personal level, they are more likely to choose you over a competitor. Storytelling is where the rubber meets the road: it’s your unique differentiator. Whether you’re telling the story of your brand’s journey or shining a spotlight on employees’ personal stories, storytelling forges deep connections. According to the author and branding expert Bernadette Jiwa, “Brands that lead with purpose and values attract customers who buy with their hearts.”
Increased Customer Loyalty: Loyal customers are the backbone of any business. Trust and authenticity are central to creating lasting bonds with your customers and clients. By humanising your brand, you can foster a sense of community, ensuring customers feel seen, heard, and appreciated. Humanisation extends beyond external relationships; it also impacts internal culture. According to Gallup, businesses with highly engaged teams experience 21% greater profitability. Being transparent and creating an authentic work environment will increase morale among employees, thereby increasing productivity and customer experiences.
Social Media Interaction: One of the best opportunities to show the human side of your business is through social media. Being personal in whatever content you post elicits great interest among today’s consumers. Sprout Social found that 86% of people say authenticity is critical in determining which brands they like and support. Other favourites—personal stories, behind-the-scenes views, and leadership insights—have the right “container” to be most effective on social media. Such posts are shareable and help build a more personal and emotional connection with your audience.
Practical Tips for Humanising Your Brand
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of humanising your brand let’s dive into actionable tips you can implement:
Showcase Leadership Personalities: Leadership sets the tone for a brand’s personality. Ask your leadership team to share personal stories, insights, and experiences through blog posts, video messages, or social media updates. This type of communication helps humanise your brand, making it more relatable and approachable. A CEO’s voice or a leadership team’s candid perspective allows customers to see the individuals behind the brand’s decisions, fostering greater trust and credibility.
Share Real-life Content: Give your audience a glimpse into your company’s daily workings. Sharing behind-the-scenes content such as team-building activities, product development processes, and employee stories can humanise your brand and strengthen the connection between your company and stakeholders. For example, clothing company Zappos regularly shares behind-the-scenes moments with their employees, further reinforcing their brand’s core values of happiness and customer service.
Encourage Employee Advocacy: Your employees are influential brand ambassadors. This helps add authenticity and empowers your workforce to share their personal experiences on social media. Authenticity comes when employees share their stories about their journey with the company; corporate marketing cannot duplicate that. In fact, LinkedIn found that content shared by employees has 2x higher engagement rates than when shared by the company itself. This highlights the importance of leveraging employee voices to humanise your brand.
Personalised Customer Engagement: Engage with your audience personally. Respond to comments, reviews, and social media interactions in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Tailored responses show that your brand values its customers and listens to their concerns and feedback.
Host Live Interactions: Live videos, webinars, Q&A sessions, and live events create spontaneous, authentic engagement opportunities. These real-time interactions provide a direct line between your company and customers, allowing them to engage with your brand in a meaningful way.
The Takeaway: Humanising your brand is not just a marketing tactic—it’s a critical strategy for creating genuine, lasting connections with your audience and stakeholders that allows you to create an environment of trust, engagement, and loyalty by revealing the people behind your company, sharing authentic stories, and fostering a transparent work culture.
Want to learn how humanising your brand can drive success for your business? Book a totally FREE no, no-obligation chat.
References:
- Edelman Trust Barometer, “81% of consumers say trust in a brand is a deal-breaker or a deciding factor in their buying decision.” Source
- Harvard Business Review, “Emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as highly satisfied customers.” Source
- Gallup, “Highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability.” Source
- Sprout Social, “86% of people say authenticity is a key factor when deciding which brands to support.” Source
- LinkedIn, “Content shared by employees has 2x higher engagement rates than when shared by the company.” Source