Oftentimes the conversations you trigger about your brand starts with ‘I’. While it’s a word that speaks of initiative and drive – after all it’s you who has given birth to your brand. But, when we always roundup our brand talks with ‘I’, we also feel that opinion overshadows outcome (in some cases).
Now think of moments when you comment on someone’s post or content, and surprisingly, people understand your perspective, because you also think of your individualism as a plural.
This is where you don’t feel reclusive or a bit sidelined; in better frame of words: your brand is not in its contours of brand-speak. Instead, when you think like your audience – and your community in general -quite pleasantly, people relate to your perspective (which inadvertently speaks about your brand).
So reframe your brand’s positioning by thinking more like ‘us’, more like ‘how can I help my audience’, more like ‘how can I fundamentally ‘get’ my audience?’ And that’s when you relate and effectively respond to conversations.
Your ‘brand’ is not a shop; it’s a platform in itself for people to participate and create a better ecosystem that underpins your purpose. So harness the collective and blend it with your brand’s persona – this anchor spot should help you to stand out from the competitive brand world yet make your brand a part of your audience’s lives.
That said, there is also an audience that sits somewhere in the continuum of your brand’s journey from I to us: people who have contrarian opinions/ perspectives. That’s when you can seed in and also find some ‘grey’ points where you can park in the word ‘I’ with humility and empathy.
Remember: your brand is not alone. It’s just finding the right minds that can speak a language that is better than the two ‘I’ combined. Because, at some point, 1+ 1 can be greater than 2. We can outnumber, outshine and evolve better when voices meld – however only when we understand, relate and empathize with each other instead of going into the rabbit holes of competing and comparing.
Agree?
