Written by The Melotti Content Media Team, checked by Christopher Melotti
Words are free. But how you use them may cost you – or earn you.
So when it comes to marketing, your messages are more than just words – they’re opportunities. They’re the key to connecting with your audience, building trust and turning attention into action.
But here’s the good news!
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Once you break it down, the process becomes clearer and more manageable.
It requires:
- strategy,
- creativity and
- precision
Message marketing isn’t just about what you say; it’s about how you say it –and when. It’s the art of crafting communications that resonate and inspire.
The key is finding that sweet spot where creativity meets strategy, where every word works in harmony with your goals. It’s like baking the perfect cake – mixing the right ingredients in just the right way to create something irresistible. (And we all love cake!)
Don't know where to start? You’re not alone!
In this guide, we’ll kick things off by helping you understand what makes up message marketing, why it’s crucial for your business and how to define a strategy that drives real results.
By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap for creating messages that convert, engage and set your brand apart.
Ready to turn your words into more than just noise? Let’s dive in!
Chapters
Chapter 1: Understanding Message Marketing - Defining Your Strategy
At the core of Marketing lies a strategy around a key marketing message.
Why? Because crafting an effective marketing message gives your brand tangibility by communicating with your target audience in a way they…
- understand,
- can relate to and
- find value in.
The success of your overall marketing lies in your ability to deliver this key message across all channels.
To help you understand the foundation of a successful marketing message, we’ll define a strategy that resonates with your audience and powers your overall marketing efforts.
So, let’s begin!
What is a marketing message?
A marketing message is the core concept in word form that lies at the heart of a particular campaign.
It may be long-standing, like Nike’s “Just Do It”, a temporary seasonal message or both. Regardless of how you use it, it’s about using compelling words and phrases to connect with an ideal customer, engage their interest and inspire positive action.
The practise of developing this message is called Message Marketing.
A Marketing copywriter can help you craft your marketing message to ensure it has an impact.
Once you have it, it’s time to develop the strategy to execute it.
What is a marketing message made up of?
A marketing message isn’t just one thing – it’s a well-crafted combo of three powerful elements that work together to make an impact:
- Positioning statement
- Supporting messages
- Your marketing copy
When all three work in harmony, your message packs a punch!
Now that you know the key elements of a marketing message, let’s get into the heart of it: the positioning statement.
What is a positioning statement?
A positioning statement is your marketing message’s main idea or central theme.
Think of it as the mission control of your marketing strategy – by addressing your target audience’s pain points and highlighting how your products or services can solve them, this statement becomes your business’s core offer.
It’s your brand’s chance to shout, “Hey, we get you – and we’ve got exactly what you need!”
Most often, a positioning statement is declarative and direct to the point.
Since all marketing activities are rooted in your key message, your positioning statement must be adaptable to your different marketing communication types – allowing it to be utilised in product descriptions, sales presentations, digital content or press releases.
Melotti Content Media’s positioning statement is: Our content copywriting services help you engage audiences, inspire action and achieve results (and make you look amazing!).
Here are some examples of core positioning statements:
- Amazon Australia: Shop Millions of Products
- Uber Australia: Earn Money By Driving Or Get A Ride Now
- Commonwealth Bank: We can.
- Deloitte Australia: Make an impact that matters
- Woolworths Group: Quality Brands and Trusted Retailing.
These statements are short, punchy and to the point – just like your positioning statement should be. It’s all about clarity and confidence.
What are supporting marketing messages?
While the positioning statement demonstrates to your target audience the benefits of your products and services, supporting messages step in.
They provide more details on how your business delivers those benefits in a way that makes your audience go, “Oh, now I get it!”
Think of supporting messages as the backstage pass that shows consumers how your products stand out from the competition and how you make their lives better. These supporting claims bring credibility to your positioning statement, making it relatable and trustworthy.
Melotti Content Media’s supporting message is: We’re so much more than copywriters. We’re Message Marketers. We use words + marketing strategy to make brands relevant.
Let’s dive into a few examples of supporting messages:
- Amazon Australia: Huge Selection and Low Prices. Free Delivery on Eligible Orders. Shop online for Electronics, Computers, Clothing, Shoes, Toys, Books, DVDs, Sporting Goods, Beauty & more.
- Uber Australia: Good things happen when people can move, whether across town or toward their dreams. Opportunities appear, open up and become reality. What started as a way to tap a button to get a ride has led to billions of moments of human connection as people around the world go to all kinds of places in all kinds of ways with the help of our technology.
- Commonwealth Bank: We’re Australia’s leading provider of integrated financial services, including retail, premium, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment and share-broking products and services.
- Deloitte Australia: Deloitte is the brand under which thousands of professionals collaborate across a network of offices in Australia to provide audit, economics, financial advisory, human capital, tax and technology services.
- Woolworths Group: Woolworths Group is made up of some of the most recognisable and trusted brands in retailing, serving millions of customers every day with great choices.
Powerful marketing messages are vital in making customers understand the true essence of your business.
To successfully communicate your marketing message, you must employ a strategy that suits your requirements and target audience.
What is marketing copy?
Once you’ve got your core message and supporting points, it’s time to bring them to life through your marketing copy.
Marketing copy is every other word your brand uses to communicate with your audience, from…
- blogs
- websites
- pamphlets
- newsletters
- and so much more!
These should all contain elements of your positioning statement and supporting points.
For more, read What is copywriting? to explore how to craft compelling content that brings it all together.}
Melotti Content Media’s marketing copy is what you’re reading right now, everything on this website and everything else we do!
What is a marketing message strategy?
So now that we know what marketing copy is and how it brings your message to life, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture with a marketing message strategy.
A marketing message strategy is all about how you convey your marketing message to your audience.
This involves making sure you’re using your marketing message consistently across all of your business’ communication channels so you’re building a consistent story and image.
Working as the foundation of promotional campaigns, a well-planned marketing message strategy allows you to easily connect with your target audience in a relatable and consistent way, so your audience can easily recognise and engage with your brand.
What are the types of marketing message strategies?
As with the other aspects of marketing, there’s no-size-fits-all approach when it comes to developing an effective marketing message strategy for your business.
You have to find the right marketing message strategy that positions your brand in front of your audience and works well with your way of doing business.
Here are 6 common marketing message strategies:
1. Emotional
People make purchasing decisions not just rationally, but also emotionally. This strategy works on appealing to your customer’s feelings to capture their attention and earn their trust.
2. Educational
Educational or generic marketing message strategy is all about teaching your target audience. It focuses on creating marketing messages that promote a category, rather than sell your brand.
For example: you may discuss the importance of having a skincare regimen, instead of hard-selling your skincare products directly.
3. Brand Image
Building a psychological connection with people is how this brand image strategy works.
By creating a personality for your brand and enhancing the way your audience perceives you, it’ll be easier for them to relate to your marketing message.
4. Positioning
Positioning is comparing yourself against competitors. This strategy centres around convincing people why your products and services are the best solutions to their pain points.
When you utilise positioning to craft a marketing message, you must pay utmost attention to your differentiating factors.
5. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
The use of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) strategy focuses on stating those elements and features that make your products and services exceptional – i.e., “What sets you apart?” and “What do you offer that can’t be found elsewhere?”
With USP, understanding your “why” or business purpose can help you come up with your main selling point.
6. Pre-emptive
This strategy is about claiming that you are the first in your industry to do something: it can be the use of certain materials in your products, the processes involved in production or the way you deliver a service.
When it comes to pre-emptive marketing message strategy, it does not matter if your competitors are doing the same thing, just as long as you get to be the number one to tell your audience about it.
So, what do you think about these strategies? Which one is more suitable for your overall marketing?
Tips to develop a marketing message strategy
There’s more to discover beyond the common marketing message strategies. Let’s shift gears and focus on how to bring your own strategy to life!
To communicate your marketing message in the best way, it’s essential to have a well-thought-out marketing strategy.
Incorporating these tips can help you:
- Be customer-centric by using your audience’s perspective.
This will help in understanding their concerns and knowing how to address them – both logically and emotionally.
For more, read: What Is Your Customer Finding About Your Business?
- Be straightforward.
Your strategy must focus on crafting marketing messages that are short but powerful and on point.
- Be familiar, but original.
When crafting your positioning statement and supporting messages, avoid using jargon that only you understand. However, give your copy a unique tone by avoiding stereotypical and generic messages.
For more, read: 15 Mistakes To Avoid When Creating Marketing Content
- Be diligent in repeating your message.
Repetition allows you to secure your position. For a marketing message to work, you have to make sure your audience will be able to remember it. Here are a few things to consider:
- A marketing message strategy should last at least 18 months for long-term impact.
- It supports campaigns, promotions and content, ensuring consistent, coherent marketing.
- Developing this strategy takes time, resources and expertise.
- You need the right skills and experience to execute it effectively.
Luckily, you can always rely on professional marketing copywriters to expertly assist you if you’re finding it hard to build a marketing message strategy on your own.
Chapter 2: Crafting Your Marketing Message - Key Elements for Success
Every marketing campaign and branding strategy revolves around communicating with an audience – this means your marketing must have a definite message.
But do you really know what your marketing message is?
Powerful marketing messages are more than just your brand history, features or a tagline.
Businesses need to develop a sharp marketing message that demonstrates relevant value to customers and delivers it in a way that engages and inspires an audience to act.
Since your marketing message is something you’ll say when you’re selling to your audience what you do, you must write engaging and powerful statements that will grab their attention and influence their emotions.
Want to know more about it? Come and let’s dive deeper into how it actually works!
How does an effective message influence a customer?
Your business’ marketing message has one important purpose: to convert strangers into brand advocates.
To achieve this, you must craft a relevant, evolving and compelling message that makes people think and feel emotion.
Your marketing message can come in many forms, from blogs to advertising copy – but it always works together with your brand to inspire an audience.
Why, you ask? Simple.
An effective marketing message sparks curiosity, allowing people to confront their problems and look for solutions in what you do.
A powerful marketing message triggers your audience’s emotions. It enables your brand to reach them on a personal level by allowing them to feel that you understand their concerns and you care.
Keep in mind that creating a message that resonates with your audience can make a difference between the success or failure of your marketing and overall business.
Why is a marketing message important for your business?
Marketing goes hand in hand with a message – that’s why businesses like yours need to spend time developing your messages.
Here are the main reasons why you must focus on crafting an effective marketing message:
- An effective marketing message connects you to your audience. Your consumers are busy with a limited attention span. With the right message, you can clearly let them know about your business and how you can offer value.
- An effective marketing message gives you an edge against competitors. The right message can make you stand out by stating what it is you offer that can’t be found elsewhere.
- An effective marketing message earns your business better results. Businesses that focus on crafting customer-centric messages tend to do well and get positive returns. Some good examples are listed below.
An effective marketing message sparks curiosity, allowing people to confront their problems and look for solutions in what you do.
Let’s take a look at some real-world examples of effective marketing messages that companies use in their strategies:
- Nike’s “Just Do It” It succeeds in addressing the core issues that bother its audience – When should I start exercising? Will I be able to achieve my fitness goal? Can I really do it? Nike’s message has encouraged consumers to push themselves beyond their limits and has motivated them to do it, most importantly, using their shoe products.
- Coca-Cola’s “Choose Happiness” The company’s summer campaign in 2015 centred around this message. Coca-Colahas consistently associated itself synonymously with joy and fun (remember, “Always Coca-Cola”?). In doing so, it has left a distinct impression that every time people buy their drinks, they will feel better and happier.
- Uber All you have to do is look at Uber to see how effective their messaging is for every one of their services. We can let these images do the talking.
So, how can you create an effective marketing message for your brand?
How to create an effective marketing message
Your marketing message will greatly impact your audience’s purchasing decisions.
The message within your marketing will make or break how you communicate with your customers. So, it’s important to spend time getting the words right.
To communicate well and keep your brand in front of your audience, here are some important things to remember when crafting a marketing message:
1. Identify your target audience
How can you deliver an effective message when you don’t know who you’re speaking to? Define your buyer personas and make sure to speak in a relatable tone when delivering a marketing message to them.
For more, read: How To Know Your Customer: 11 Insights Into Behaviour You Need To Know
2. Address your target audience’s main pain points
Consumers don’t care about you unless you start caring for them. It’s necessary to know their challenges so you can answer them with your marketing messages.
See: How To Correctly Address Your Customers’ Pain Points
3. Clearly state your benefit-driven solution
Don’t talk about you. Instead, focus on making your customers understand what’s in it for them. Let your marketing message emphasise the advantages they will gain in choosing your business to solve their problems over others.
For more, read: Why Does Copywriting With Benefits Engage Your Audience More Than Features?
4. Present results
A straightforward marketing message will capture an audience’s attention – so don’t be vague and generic. State clearly what kind of solution they should expect from you – is it a 90% increase in web traffic? A weight loss in 7 days? Or more streamlined processes?
5. Tailor your marketing message to each channel
What works for Facebook may not be effective on LinkedIn, just like a brochure is different from a website. For your business to engage people on their own terms, make sure your marketing message is adapted according to your audience across each channel.
See: 7 Types Of Content Themes You Should Add To Your Content Marketing Mix
6. Be authentic
Work on differentiating your business through authenticity. Discuss the unique benefits you are offering that your competitors don’t have in a genuine way that people can relate to.
For more, read: How To Build A Unique Brand Identity
Remember, creating an effective marketing message isn’t just about getting the words right – it’s about connecting with your audience on a deeper level.
So, take the time to get it right and watch your brand build lasting relationships with your target audience.
Chapter 3: Common Pitfalls to Avoid - Mistakes in Message Creation
After discovering how to craft a compelling marketing message, let’s talk about the flip side – the common mistakes many businesses make when creating their messages.
Writing effective marketing messages is like speaking your audience’s language – one they want to hear!
When done right, these messages show that you understand their needs, offer the perfect solution to their pain points and guarantee a customer experience they won’t forget. It’s not just communication – it’s connection!
What does a marketing message need?
Just to ring a bell, each marketing message is made up of three important elements:
- A positioning statement – which is the main theme of your marketing message
- Supporting messages – that provide the benefits of your products and services, along with how your business differs from competitors
- Marketing copy – which are the words you use in your marketing content to communicate your value
The task of copywriting marketing messages isn’t straightforward but is definitely worth spending the time to get right.
When writing a marketing message, you have to consider a lot of aspects such as your own branding, your audience’s preferences, the market and your competition – all without compromising your goal of selling products and services.
But it is possible if you avoid the following common marketing mistakes!
What are the 8 things you shouldn’t do when writing marketing messages?
Generating responses from your marketing messages requires a deep understanding of your audience, sharp marketing skills and an aptitude for writing. (Think of it as an art!)
Just remember not to do any of these:
1. Not performing customer research
How do you know what kind of message will appeal to your audience if you’re not actually aware of their needs and interests?
Research will help you understand your customers’ pain points, so you can develop the ideal solution that will help them and communicate it in ways that will resonate.
See: Is Your Copy Scaring Your Audience In 5 Ways
2. Forgetting to humanise your marketing message
Businesses can often write marketing messages based on their own internal knowledge and forget that these marketing messages are actually meant for your audience.
Your customer doesn’t know your brand or products as well as you do. So, refocus on how your brand is beneficial to them, how you can be relatable to their circumstances and how your products are aligned to their values.
For more, read: How To Re-Humanise Your Marketing
Your customer doesn’t know your brand or products as well as you do. So, refocus on how your brand is beneficial to them, how you can be relatable to their circumstances and how your products are aligned to their values.
3. Crafting a marketing message without a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is what makes a marketing message stand out. It captures your audience’s attention by emphasising what makes you innovative and special to them.
Without a USP, your marketing message will get lost in the clutter of noise.
4. Not focusing on a specific audience
Not everyone is your ideal customer. So, creating a marketing message for a mass audience may not get the traction you were hoping for.
Instead, it’s best to write a marketing message that will focus on your niche – targeting them with value-adding content that is suitable to their specific needs.
For more, read: Is Your Content Disappointing Your Audience
It’s best to write a marketing message that will focus on your customer niche rather than try to be everything for everyone.
5. Using common phrases and buzzwords
“We have the highest quality of service…” “Our products are the best in the industry…” “We are the market leaders in…”
Are you bored? Well, your audience is tired of hearing those same phrases too. Almost every company uses them anyway, so they don’t hold much credibility anymore.
Also, be careful when using buzzwords. Applying them to your marketing message may help you be topical and current – but it can also bug people too!
6. Causing message fatigue
Thanks to advancements in technology and digital marketing, your marketing messages can easily reach people in just a few clicks. Today, delivering frequent messages across all available platforms is now very simple.
While you may think this is beneficial, you should also consider if it’s becoming tiring for your audience – especially when you’re repeating the same message across multiple channels.
This is a hard balance to get right!
To prevent them from getting sick of you, devise when it’s best to send marketing messages and how often. You can also modify your marketing messages depending on which channel you’re using.
- Not paying attention to your current customers
If your marketing messages are only focused on capturing new customers, you’re overlooking another important segment – your current customers.
Appealing to these current customers will encourage repeat business and turn them into advocates.
- Trying to write your own marketing content
While writing your marketing content in-house can appear to be a cheaper alternative, you may be missing out on leveraging the experience and expertise of a professional marketing copywriter to help you craft powerful marketing messages.
Creating marketing messages is challenging, but it’s an essential part of making your brand successful.
If you want to present your products and services in a value-adding way and achieve your intended response, you must invest in developing your marketing messages.
After all, they hold the key to bridging the gap between you and your audience.
Chapter 4: Competitive Advantages of Message Marketing - Gaining the Edge
It’s time to explore what gives your marketing message a competitive edge!
With all the different marketing practises that businesses are doing today, how can you stand out and be noticed? YES, everyone says they have the answer, but the answer is not complicated – it’s more execution that is.
What’s the answer, you ask? BE RELEVANT TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
People want, desire and crave things that are relevant to them. If you’re relevant, they care.
See – simple? But… how do you become relevant?
Message marketing is the way. Here’s how.
5 Ways Message Marketing gets your business noticed
Your brand is amongst a crowded sea of competitors.
Everyone is. So, do you sound the same? Are you different and is that difference relevant to your customers?
Here’s how Message Marketing helps you get ahead:
- Utter Consistency
Message Marketing ensures that everything you do embodies your core identity as a brand. Once you have established this through your messaging, it’s easy to be consistent with a voice that’s uniquely yours. This helps your audience become deeply aware of who you are as a brand and allows you to establish brand recognition.
- No Confusion
With the focus on strategy and the advantages of effective copywriting, Message Marketing enables you to deliver messages in a way your ideal audiences understand and care about. They’ll appreciate this.
- Provides Value
People only care about things that offer value (entertainment and education). That’s it. Simple. So, everything you do should offer or create relevant value. If you can’t articulate your value, then they’re going to move on. Take the time to determine and communicate the true value of what you offer them.
- Effectively Address the Pain Points of Your Audience
With messaging that’s clear and well-thought-out, you can show them that you’re a solution they need to know about. This includes getting across the message that your product or service is the best answer to whatever their problems are, be it something simple like “I need a more convenient way to manage my team” all the way to “I’m feeling lonely and need support”.
- Build Long-Term Rapport
As a business that caters to the needs of people, it’s important to let them know they can depend on you and your services. With Message Marketing, you can do this effectively and in an appealing way to build strong relationships with your target market. You can’t delight them and turn them into advocates if you’re not ready to find a deeper way to connect.
With these advantages, Message Marketing transforms how your brand connects, communicates and converts.
The result?
A brand that isn’t just noticed but remembered – and preferred.
6 tips to help you apply Message Marketing Principals
Message Marketing obviously presents a lot of advantages to brands – so you want to learn more about how it works. Now that you know how it gives your business the edge, it’s time to put it into action!
Wondering where to begin?
Here are some tips to apply Message Marketing to your business:
- Plan ahead: The real key to the Message Marketing approach is to understand your brand first. If you don’t, how do you expect your audiences to? Take the time to map out why, who, what and how you are.
- Embrace your uniqueness: People are over ‘same-same’. If they want stock-standard, they go to Wikipedia. As mentioned above, define what the brand is, and your messages will flow from there.
- Let YOUR voice out: In Message Marketing, it’s all about using your brand’s unique voice to convey compelling messages to your audience. So, it’s important that your brand’s voice stays true to its core values and what it stands for. Additionally, being original helps you stand out from the crowd.
- No false promises: Being genuine and truthful with the claims and promises you incorporate into your marketing is crucial in earning and holding your audience’s trust.
- Be brief and consistent: Clear messages are the ones that are easily understood and remembered by people. Being consistent with your Message Marketing lets your audience get to know your brand more deeply.
- Study your customers’ pain points: In knowing your customers’ problems well, you will be able to provide messages that effectively target these points. Plus, this lets them know that you genuinely care.
Message Marketing is your gateway to standing out and building genuine connections with your audience.
Remember, great marketing starts with understanding your brand and your audience – and then delivering messages that resonate.
Chapter 5: Developing an Effective Messaging Strategy - Steps to Success
With Message Marketing offering so many benefits, it’s clear that an effective strategy is the backbone of standing out in a crowded market.
But how do you actually go about creating one?
Amidst this chaos, people are craving an antidote to the overwhelming and increasingly vanilla noise of the market.
They’re craving uniqueness and through that uniqueness, trust.
So, how can you give it to them?
With a well-crafted Brand Messaging Strategy!
At Melotti Content Media, we understand the power of brand messaging and see the transformative impact that an effective marketing strategy has on our happy clients every single day.
Together, let’s ensure that your brand’s message isn’t just heard; it’s absorbed, adored and remembered.
What is a Brand Messaging Strategy?
To keep your brand at the forefront of the market, you need to articulate a clear identifying corporate message that resonates with your target audience.
Like it or not, your audience will interpret the value of your business in their minds based on a set of impressions, feelings and perceptions – a business Brand Messaging Strategy ensures that you don’t leave this up to chance.
It’s about crystalising the culture and the personality of your organisation, so your audience doesn’t rely on assumptions to interpret your value.
Think about it…
- When Apple says, “Think different” you feel inspired to be a trendsetter.
- When Nike says, “Just do it”you’re energised and motivated to get active.
- When Subway says, “Eat fresh”you may choose it over a less fresh competitor.
The world’s top brands understand the importance of brand messaging.
They recognise that crafting consistent corporate messages that resonate with your target audience, conveys not just what your product or service is, but more importantly why it matters.
So if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us, right?
The Impact of a Brand Messaging Strategy
Understanding what a Brand Messaging Strategy is only scratches the surface. The real power lies in the impact it can create when applied effectively.
A Brand Messaging Strategy isn’t just about putting a clever slogan together – that might be part of it – but it’s a lot more extensive and valuable than that.
A Corporate Brand Messaging Strategy is about establishing a set of messaging guidelines to direct EVERYTHING that your brand says across all its channels.
More than just a tagline or two, a Brand Messaging Strategy encapsulates the essence of your brand, aligning it with the aspirations and needs of your audience.
The best part is that the more you apply your brand strategy, the more meaningful connections you can create with your customers and the more long-term brand loyalty you can foster.
As was made clear by the previous real-world examples, strong brand messages shape the way your audience perceives your brand. It influences their:
- beliefs,
- attitudes,
- emotions and
- and purchasing decisions.
That’s why a well-crafted message builds trust and differentiates your brand in a crowded market.
With the right brand message, people value your business for more than just what it offers but instead for how it makes them feel.
Conversely, inconsistent or unclear brand messaging can lead to confusion, erode trust and hinder the perceived quality of your business (regardless of its actual quality).
So, to avoid undoing all of your hard work behind the scenes of your business, here’s what you’ll learn moving forward:
- How to identify and target your audience and objective,
- How to develop your Messaging Strategy and a consistent tone of voice,
- How to implement your strategy, ensuring it’s feedback-driven and has the right level of storytelling and emotional appeal,
- The legal and ethical considerations of message marketing and finally,
- Some important forecasts and trends to keep an eye on
In the brand messaging guide chapters that follow, we aim to equip you with the tools to craft an effective Messaging Strategy.
So, let’s get into it!
1. Understanding Your Audience
Precise identification and segmentation of your target audience is fundamental to an effective Brand Messaging Strategy.
Ask yourself: who am I trying to reach with my brand message?
The key is to be as specific as possible.
While the makeup of your audience will depend upon the nature of your business, here are some examples:
- Buyers Agents targeting first-time home buyers.
- Business Coaches targeting new businesses and start-ups.
- Chiropractors targeting busy working professionals.
Ultimately, by segmenting your ideal audience you’re no longer preaching to the masses – instead, you can speak to your ideal customer as if they were one person.
This makes brand messaging more powerful and accurate.
2. The Importance of Understanding Audience Needs and Preferences
Whoever you decide your ideal customer is, it’s worthwhile to gather some basic data on their wants, needs and preferences.
By understanding the characteristics of your audience, you can tailor your Brand Messaging Strategy to resonate with your ideal customer and ensure your communication is both targeted and impactful.
And by defining your ideal customer archetype, you can directly address their dreams and pain points.
This helps craft brand messages that resonate with their concerns, demonstrating your brand’s value. When your audience feels heard, it strengthens brand loyalty, boosting engagement and conversion.
The next question is: where can you gather this customer data?
3. Methods for Audience Brand Research and Analysis
Here’s the answer! Audience research and analysis are vital components of a successful Message Marketing Strategy.
We suggest you employ a mix of both quantitative and qualitative methods, such as:
- surveys,
- interviews,
- customer feedback,
- social media interactions and
- Google Analytics or other market research software.
But importantly, this isn’t a set-and-forget approach – your Brand Messaging Strategy is meant to be a living, breathing, dynamic concept!
By continuing to gather data and further understand your audience’s behaviour and sentiments, you’ll be empowered to adapt your Brand’s Messaging Strategy in real time and align your business’ message with evolving consumer trends and preferences.
But more on that to come.
4. Establishing Clear Objectives
Gaining a clear understanding of your audience is one of many objectives that need to be established before developing your Brand’s Messaging Strategy.
It’s also important to define what success looks like for your messaging efforts – whether that’s:
- increased brand awareness,
- higher conversion rates or
- enhanced customer engagement.
The key is to ensure that the goals you set are tangible, meaning they are both
- specific and
- measurable
For instance, “We aim to achieve an XX% increase in social media engagement” or “We aim to achieve an XX% increase in website traffic”.
Ultimately, this clarity facilitates a data-driven approach to assessing your success and refining your goals for the future.
5. Aligning Your Brand Messaging Objectives with Your Overall Business Goals
Effective messaging helps you meet broader business objectives.
This means that your messaging should not just align with, but explicitly state the vision, mission and purpose of your company.
- If you aim to become the market leader, your messaging your be targeted toward building authority.
- If you want to position yourself as a disruptor, your messaging should be contrarian and innovative.
6. Developing Your Brand Core Message
When developing your Brand Messaging Strategy, the goal is to be as compelling as possible.
You want to “compel” your ideal customers to:
- notice,
- engage and
- recommend
your business as often as possible.
The goal of messaging guidelines is to create a cohesive narrative about your brand that reinforces its identity so that your customers aren’t left to interpret it themselves.
A cohesive corporate message about your business values and mission establishes authenticity and strengthens your brand identity. When done strategically, it resonates with your ideal customers, attracting those who share your values.
To truly connect with your audience, there are two more key ingredients to consider when developing your Core Message…
7. A Clear and Concise Message is a Compelling Message
We’ve got a question for you…
What makes something memorable and relatable?
What makes something recognisable and significant?
- Clarity.
- Consistency.
Why?
When you’re clear in your brand message, there is no confusion about the essence of your brand and when there’s consistency, your audience receives a coherent and reliable narrative, reinforcing your brand’s value across multiple touchpoints.
In a world inundated with information, a message that has these characteristics will quickly cut through the noise, capture your audience’s attention and foster understanding.
So, how can you ensure that you tick all these boxes when developing your core message?
Introducing the Brand Core Messaging Document©
Melotti Content Media’s Core Brand Messaging Document enshrines a reliable set of brand guidelines that act as a starting point for all your marketing messages.
Think of it as a spiel of on-brand messages around how your business talks and the style in which it communicates.
Once you have developed your brand’s core marketing messages, you can then use them to conceptualise and formulate marketing campaigns and produce clear and consistent content that remains in line with your Messaging Strategy both today and into the future.
8. Tone of Voice Consistency
Having core brand message guidelines doesn’t just allow you to communicate your brand’s values, vision, mission and purpose but also helps to establish a clear tone of voice for your brand.
A clear and consistent tone of voice helps you establish a brand that's unique and easily recognised by your audience.
Think of tone of voice as how your brand talks, and how it sounds to your customers. It could be:
- Formal and Professional (e.g for accountants and lawyers)
- Conversational and Friendly (e.g for marketers and event planners)
- Humorous and Witty (e.g for personal trainers and speakers)
- Empathetic and Compassionate (e.g aged care providers and medical professionals)
- Innovative and Cutting-Edge (e.g SaaS companies and start-ups)
Picture it this way: if you’re a divorce lawyer, it’s hard to build rapport if you’re overly humorous or witty, equally, no one wants a personal trainer who isn’t energetic and isn’t going to inspire them to work hard.
Sure, there are times when your tone of voice is completely different to what people expect, but nevertheless, the tone must be deliberate if you want it to work.
In summary: your brand’s tone of voice is how you implant the message behind your business and your brand into your customer's subconscious mind.
How to choose the right channels for Brand Messaging?
Great! You’ve developed your Brand Messaging Strategy – now it’s time to bring it to life.
The next step? Choosing the right channels to get your message out there.
In the digital age, there’s no shortage of channels to consider when it comes to a business’ message marketing.
While we have our preferences, all it really comes down to is where your target customers are most active (that’s why customer segmentation is so vital).
Ask yourself (and the data), where are your customers spending their time the most?
Is it:
The ultimate goal is to present your brand message on as many channels that allow you to amplify your brand as possible.
It’s all about getting eyeballs on your brand!
Best practises for creating relevant Brand Messaging content
Once you’ve selected the right channels, the next step is to focus on the content that will resonate with your audience.
Crafting compelling brand message marketing content involves understanding your audience’s preferences, paint points and dream points.
- What problems do they need to be solved?
- What dreams can you help them achieve?
A great way to frame your content creation is to think of your job as solving problems.
Ask yourself, “How can I build as much goodwill in my audience as possible?”
Ultimately, by consistently producing relevant and engaging content that clearly expresses your brand message, you will deepen audience connections and enhance your brand's influence and recognition.
Pro Tip: stay on top of recent trends that might boost your engagement and encourage audiences to connect with you and your team through calls to action.
Here’s more to take in mind:
1. Incorporating Storytelling and Emotional Appeal
Humans have been drawn to stories since the dawn of time.
This is no different when comes to brands and message marketing.
Storytelling marketing serves as the lifeblood of compelling messaging as it moves beyond the mere transmission of information to create an emotional connection with your audience.
This emotional resonance is the spark for a memorable brand narrative that remains in the minds of your audience encouraging them to build a lasting connection with your brand and perhaps even become a part of your brand’s compelling story.
Put simply, storytelling turns an otherwise transactional exchange into a shared journey.
Take the toiletries company Dove for example.
Their “Real Beauty” campaign masterfully employed storytelling by showcasing the stories of diverse women and challenging traditional beauty standards.
By weaving in various brand narratives of individual struggles and triumphs, Dove didn’t just sell their product, they championed a broader story that resonated with their message of beauty and acceptance.
But storytelling isn’t the only way to generate emotional appeal in your marketing
2. Brand Techniques for Creating Emotional Connections
To create an emotional connection with your audience, it’s essential to craft your brand messaging in a way that resonates on a deeper, personal level.
Here are a few techniques to help you foster those meaningful connections:
- Empathy and Understanding: A great way to demonstrate a genuine understanding of your audience’s needs, challenges, and aspirations and therefore foster a sense of connection is to take an empathetic approach to your messaging content. In other words, put yourself in your audience’s shoes and create marketing content that answers the common concerns and questions of your ideal customer.
- Personalisation: Another great way to foster an emotional connection with your audience is to personalise your brand messaging. This might be as simple as adding audience qualifiers like “Are you a busy professional?” or even addressing customers by their names in email marketing campaigns.
- Humour, Wit and Personality: Injecting a level of humour, wit or personality into your message can create a positive emotional experience. Of course, how you use this is context-dependent, but no one wants to read a Wikipedia page – your message marketing should be captivating!
Just like this article, right!? 😉
3. Feedback, Measurement, and Adaptation
“Feedback is the breakfast of Champions” – Ken Blanchard (Author and Businessman)
Sorry, Weet-Bix but he’s right.
And once you eat the breakfast of champions, how about lunch and dinner? Or as we like to call it – measurement and adaptation.
But first, let’s take a look at feedback.
Legal and ethical considerations of branding
When it comes to your Brand Messaging Strategy, maintaining a positive and ethical approach is vital, not just to preserve your reputation with your customers but also to ensure that you are legally compliant.
So, although we marketers like to get a little crazy sometimes… you must ensure all of your messaging and communications adhere to the legal boundaries and ethical standards of your jurisdiction.
A bad brand reputation is very hard to repair, and prevention is better than cure.
So, ensure your messaging takes into account all of these factors as well.
Conclusion and future branding trends
So… that’s all folks! You made it!
We trust you now know everything there is to know about crafting an effective brand message marketing strategy.
In an information era where ‘content is king’, it’s vital to get it right – and that means matching the correct type of content with the target audience.
So, this investment in your time reading this ultimate guide to brand message marketing was worth it!
Key brand strategy takeaways
As we wrap up this comprehensive guide, let’s reflect on some key takeaways.
- Firstly, understanding your audience and your objectives is essential to crafting corporate messages that are purpose-driven and resonate with customers.
- Secondly, when developing a compelling Core Message, a Core Brand Messaging Document should be the nucleus of your strategy, outlining your tone of voice, vision, mission, purpose and values.
- Then, in the brand implementation phase, ensure you select the right message marketing channels and tailor your message with storytelling and emotional appeal.
- Lastly, seek constant messaging feedback, measure your results and adapt your approach for sustained success – and don’t forget to remain ethical and compliant!
How can Melotti Content Media help you with your Messaging Strategy?
To stand out in today’s crowded business environment and to inspire innovation and action, you need to design and implement your message marketing content strategically.
However, we understand that this is easier said than done.
You’re time-poor and spread thin, and message marketing may not be your expertise. So, focus on what matters, while we take care of all of your content marketing needs.
Let’s start earning the results your business deserves! To speak to your trusted message marketers and Australian copywriters, email us at enquire@melottimedia.com.au or phone 1800 663 342.
The Melotti Content Media Team
Melotti Content Media | Copywriting & Message Marketing Bureau
