Your Brand + [this one thing] =
An engaged audience emotionally connected to your brand.

What is that “one thing”?  INSPIRATION.  The best brands inspire their audience.  And your audience WANTS to be inspired.

Why does that matter?  In a crowded market and so many noisy digital spaces, consumers have a lot of choices out there for whatever they’re looking for.  Whether you are a product or service-based business, there are probably dozens if not more companies out there offering something very similar to you.

Your job is to stand out.  Your brand needs to break through the noise and win the hearts of your best customers.  To do that, you need to create an emotional connection with your audience and the best way to do that is to INSPIRE.

The word inspire means to “breathe life into”…you must breathe life into your brand in order to inspire your audience.

Let me give you an example of why this is so important.  Imagine watching the montage near the end of the movie, Beaches, with no sound.  You can’t hear Bette Midler sing “Wind Beneath My Wings” that normally plays over the footage of these two best friends spending the last days of one of their lives at the beach.  Without hearing the song, the movie would seem bland. It wouldn’t hold much meaning.  And, you wouldn’t know how to feel about what you’re seeing on screen.

Add the song, and I dare you to not need a box of Kleenex by the end of the montage.  The song adds meaning, emotion, and tells the story of their friendship in a way that can’t be conveyed with the footage alone.

Consider your own brand.  How can you add meaning to it?  You have to know your Why and create messaging to articulate it in a way that emotionally connects to your audience.  This is what INSPIRES people.

An inspired audience will stick with you  They’ll become loyal to your brand if you consistently show up this way giving value, meaning, emotion and heart.  They’ll tell others about your brand because they’re so inspired they need to share their own inspiration with more people.

I think of Nike’s multiple campaigns inspiring me to “just do it.” That line, coupled with the images and feeling they conjure with their storytelling lights a fire in my heart and makes me feel connected to their brand.  And it inspires me to take action every time I hear it.

Whether you’re just joining the world of entrepreneurship or you’re working to grow and scale your established business, there are so many things on your to-do list: bookeeping, sales, marketing, promotions, social media management, hiring team members, producing products or delivering services.  It’s easy to get caught up in the doing and forget to express what your brand actually stands for. 

If you haven’t yet done this, consider this your sign and your little nudge of encouragement to take a step back from your day to day business and think about what the bigger purpose of your brand is…why does it exist?  Why should your customers care? What story can you tell to inspire your audience?  Give it some thought, and when you figure it out, don’t just hide the story on the About page of your website…share it.  

You have to share your brand story in order for it to inspire your audience.  I can’t wait to read your story!