With all the buzz, articles, and how-to guides on how to create compelling content, it is easy to be overwhelmed and bewildered on just how to make sure that the efforts you are making in this area are effective, and simply not a waste of time and energy. So breathe, refocus, and ask yourself  “What really is the foundation of my content.” The answer, YOUR BRAND.

Knowing your Brand Value

Contrary to some skeptics, building or refreshing your brand identity doesn’t have to take considerable time or money, it just needs to be concise, accurate, agreed upon by all company stakeholders, and most important, relevant, believable, and provide value to your current and potential customers.

To uncover your brand value, ask yourself three key questions:

1. What does your company stand for?

This doesn’t necessarily mean what products and services you sell, but what your company believes in and aspires to. Do you give back to the community, then one of your company attributes is philanthropy, Is your business family-owned, if so, then another attribute is commitment to family values. Brand attributes are the core of your brand identity, and what enables your company to uncover and deliver on your promise.

2. Who are your customers?

If you don’t know your customer, then all your activities are fruitless – your brand promise, brand value, messaging, and outreach activities.  How can you build brand worth if you don’t know what is valued by your customers?  Don’t worry, there are many ways to build knowledge on your customers, from modeling, segmentation, profiling, to simply surveying your best customers. They all work in varying degrees. Pick-one. The success of your brand depends on it.

3. What is your promise to your customers?

Born from your attributes, it is your brands worth. It transforms your customers. It is the foundation for why customers buy your product or service. It is customer-centric and value driven. It is NOT the features and benefits of your product and service. Most importantly, quantify it and always, always deliver on the promise.

Once you have answers to these questions, you now have the foundation for creating great content. Content that is BRAND-FOCUSED, CUSTOMER-CENTRIC, and ON-TARGET.

Let the content creation begin!

Any questions on this blog post, or just want to chat about helping uncover your brand value, let’s collaborate. Email me at lpapagni@marketingiw.com