The challenge of any business owner is to bring their two-dimensional, online world to life - essentially, to create an online space that crackles with the magic of their offline products, space or unique personality. Ema, a copywriter here in Milan, can’t wait to share her go-to starting points to creating a brand that sparkles both virtually and in real life.
Written by: Ema Fulga (founder of copywriting agency decipher.)
Imagine you’re crafting artisanal beer that’s slightly fizzy and has a tinge of smoked apricot that’s perfect for a warm spring evening. Maybe you’re running a specialty coffee shop where people go to drink a delicious flat white, listen to jazz, and discover their new favorite author.
As long as your business not only delivers on its promise and solves a problem with its products or services, but it also creates an experience for your customers, you’re already ahead of most companies.
Why? Because you’re attaching a feeling to a product or service.
And that’s the first step in creating a brand. While many people run businesses, very few build brands.
Speaking of steps, let me take one back… I’m Ema, copywriter and founder of decipher., a creative agency that bottles up real-life brand experiences and replicates them online but more importantly than all that, I’m a lover of all things creative. I think creating something from scratch is pure magic.
I’ve never been able to paint, take amazing pictures beyond the basic skills that Instagram requires, or sing, but I’m not that bad when it comes to writing. So much so, that I left a career and a network I spent years building, to dedicate myself to developing not only my writing skills, but particularly my persuasive writing skills (aka copywriting).
And believe me (and I wish you could see me as I’m writing this so you can see the big smile on my face), it was the best decision I ever made.
Over the past 7 years, I got a chance to work on everything from rebranding projects for a Spanish jewelry company, product naming for a kids' clothing brand in the States, developing e-learning platforms for UN-affiliated NGOs, websites for the World Intellectual Property Organization, to writing blog posts for tech companies, and working on advertising campaigns with the likes of Publicis (like the Oreo Batman one).
It’s been a whirlwind.
But I’m getting sidetracked.
A while back I noticed how even major brands like LUSH have trouble replicating online the unique experience they work so hard to create for their customers with their amazing stores and products.
If you’ve ever been to a LUSH store you know what I mean. It’s pretty special. But then you visit their website, and it’s a very dry e-commerce website that could belong to any other competitive brand.
On the other hand, you have the likes of Kiehl’s who sell a more apothecary-with-a-skeleton-doctor-meets-modern-classy brand. They have a unique vibe, it’s always fun to go to their shops and their products are great!
Perfect combo!
You go online and what do you see? A similar vibe showcasing their cool products. Great alignment!
(Well…I personally feel it could be even better with some on-brand copywriting, but maybe I’m biased.)
Do you know who does get it right?
Oatly.
If you’re familiar with their products and ever stumbled across their website, it is basically an extension of their kooky, retro-chic brand.
And if you follow them online…
Pure branding, on-point messaging, gold.
And that’s what any business owner is aiming for if they’re creating a brand.
And they should because branding (and brand loyalty) comes down to one thing: creating a unique experience your consumer can't find anywhere else.
Think of that first sip of an ice-cold Coca-Cola with a twist of lemon on a scorching summer Milano day…
You can’t get that exact relief with anything else. Sure, other drinks will quench your thirst, but that feeling of rolling your eyes with the pure pleasure of feeling refreshed instantly is unique.
And you can count on that feeling being exactly the same every time.
People become loyal to brands precisely for that. The consistency in how they make them feel.
Which is easy(-er) to do in the real world if you have a great product, a unique space (going back to the specialty coffee shop I mentioned earlier), an event, etc. but a lot harder to do online.
So, how do you replicate that magic online?
Start by picking the low-hanging fruit (easy fixes) by tackling this exercise:
Do an audit:
Take a look at everything you're doing, like social media posts and website content, and list them in a column in an Excel sheet. Add examples of the texts and screenshots of the stuff you're using. Next to that, add a column with everything you’re doing offline: photos of your products, stores, brochures, etc. You'll be able to spot any obvious mismatches right away.
Create some brand guidelines:
If you don’t have a brand manual, don’t worry, this doesn’t have to be some complex document that will cost you thousands of euros to create and design. Just write down some guidelines. (You can work on the brand manual later). Start by writing down the essence of your brand: everything from words you want to use (and those you don’t want to be associated with your brand), the tone of voice (sassy, conservative, whatever it is just make sure you add some phrases that are aligned so you can always go back to that), the colours, elements (add screenshots), etc.
Cross-reference the Excel from Point 1 with these guidelines:
This exercise will help you correct some things right away or at least learn from them so you avoid doing them later on.
Adopt a consistency mindset:
Always think about consistency. Whenever you create or update content, ask yourself if it aligns with your brand’s voice and style. This mindset ensures that consistency becomes a habit, rather than an afterthought.
Implement a practical consistency checklist:
Create a simple checklist based on your brand guidelines. Before posting any content or producing new materials, go through this list to ensure everything aligns with your brand’s voice, colours, and overall style. This quick check can save you from inconsistencies and keep your brand cohesive.
Or you can take our quiz and see how aligned your online-offline game is. Depending on where you stand, you’ll get some action points you can start implementing right away.
A common mistake I see with new businesses is that they use different tones of voice across the channels.
If your product is artisanal beer that’s slightly fizzy and has a tinge of smoked apricot, your target audience might be 28 to 45-year-old people with medium-to-high purchasing power who wear modern clothes and beanie hats in spring, have eclectic music tastes and listen to The Cure but also smooth jazz DJ, Berlioz (hope you went to his concert in Milano, it was epic!) and want a refreshing beer with a special taste that doesn’t fill their mouths with foam or their noses with bubbles (thus the only slightly fizziness to it).
Your brand’s tone of voice on social media can’t be bubbly and overly excited when you announce a new beer. It has to be fine-tuned to this audience.
That might just be the plight of upcoming businesses where the owner does everything from writing social media posts to talking taxes with the accountant.
So, in the rush of things, they sometimes use their own voice - instead of the brand voice. That’s where a disconnect appears.
But by ‘picking the low-hanging fruit’, you can get one step ahead of this common obstacle of being the business owner that wears all the hats.
If you want to know more about the methodology we use to bridge that branding online-offline gap, go to decipher.agency. And especially for the ladies, I offer a separate service just for you - decip.Her.
Write us at info@decipher.agency if you're even remotely curious about how it works.
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