Every Friday morning, I rock up to an upstairs room in a local pub, wearing a red and white badge with my name on it. I pop a smile on my face, a security blanket cup of coffee in my hand, and meet with 40 other local business owners.
Yes, I have joined a cult.
But I promise, I’m fine (I don’t need a “Blink twice if you need rescuing” intervention).
In fact, I’ve brought in a considerable amount of revenue since I joined back in June.
The challenge of consistent brand messaging in networking
My local BNI Chapter is full of inspiring, ambitious people. They’re funny, kind, generous, and driven. And every week we all get 30 seconds to tell the room about our businesses and let them know what we need – who we’re looking to be introduced to, what offers we currently have, which clients we’d like to work with.
The first time I had to do this – I was terrified.
And terrible.
The second time? I was a little more prepared (although I still forgot to breathe).
As I got into the swing of things it became less nervewracking. And, you know, I’m good with words (duh), so I had an advantage.
When consistent brand messaging feels like a struggle
But, as the weeks went on, I started to get a little stuck.
I’d educated the room on what copywriting actually was and wasn’t. I’d explained to them the value a conversion-focused copywriter can bring to their business – in added traffic and revenue. I’d laid out how my approach was maybe a little different with its focus on empathy and research.
But one morning, sitting down to work out what I was going to say in my 30 seconds, I began to panic. 50 weeks a year. How on earth was I going to explain my business each week without boring everyone?
Surely there are only so many ways to describe what I do and why it’s awesome?
The foundation of consistent brand messaging
But, it turns out I didn’t need to be worried.
Why?
Because of the invaluable information I have at my disposal, information that makes it easy to be creative while sticking to the point:
- I know my brand
- I know my voice
- I know my ideal client
- I know the unique value I provide
- I know what services I want to offer
- I know my key brand messages
- And I know which messages work at which stage of the buyer journey.
These slabs of concrete are the foundation my brand is built on – the things that keep me steady in the face of nerves, tiredness, and people who don’t really know what copywriting is.
They are the key to consistent brand messaging (something even Forbes thinks should be integral to your business strategy).
Leveraging your brand knowledge for consistent messaging
With all this information, I can create endless 30 second snippets that consistently reinforce who I am, what I do, and why they should care in the people sitting in that room.
That’s also how I create relevant and on-message social content. Content that brings me impressions, engagement, connections, and qualified leads in my inbox. It’s how I keep a consistent brand message without being so generic and repetitive that it turns into background noise.
The Brand Messaging Guide: your tool for consistency
This is also how my clients use their Brand Messaging Guides. Once they’ve got the foundations of their brand in place, they have the tools they need to communicate consistent brand messaging:
- Brand Voice
- Brand Story
- Brand Archetype
- Customer Avatars with pain points and dreams
- Potential objections and how to overcome them
- Key Messages
- Competitive analysis and positioning
- Unique value propositions and elevator pitches
They can create (or have their team create) blog content, social content, pitch decks, sales pages, email newsletters, and BNI presentations based on the Guide. Safe in the knowledge that they’re being consistent and on message at all times. Building that know, like, and trust factor.
Embracing consistent brand messaging
So, I didn’t need to worry as I wandered into that networking meeting for the first time – I’ll find another 52 ways to tell people about my business, no problem.
How about you?
Feeling a little stuck with your brand messaging? Not sure how to keep it consistent across all your platforms and interactions? It might be time for a Brand Messaging Guide of your own.
Book a free strategy call, and let’s talk about how we can make your brand messaging as consistent and compelling as a Netflix binge-watch. (You know, the kind where you suddenly look up, and it’s 3am, and you’re surrounded by empty snack wrappers. But in a good way.)