“We should do this more often,” Rita said as she hugged her family goodbye before heading to the airport. She had just spent the best Christmas break with her family, which didn’t usually happen due to the distance between their cities. But this year, I guess you could say she got homesick.
As the year drew to a close, it was time for her to get in the right headspace for work. Rita was a young business owner who owned a fashion brand, and she needed 2024 to be a better year.
Although she wasn’t one, Rita was not a stranger to digital marketing. As a small business owner, she managed her online presence and made sales online. She even had her own website.
Like a ritual since she started her business three years ago, she would create a yearly review on how her brand performed. This included audience research, the highs and lows, social media presence and website performance.
And so she took out her laptop from her carry-on, pulled out the little table from the back of the seat in front of her, and propped her laptop on top. With the help of her analytical tools like Google Analytics and social media insights, she began to type and when she was satisfied with what she had typed, the end-of-year reflections became a compass pointing towards a better understanding of her brand’s performance and audience.
Yes, Rita was happy with the information she was able to put down, but this wasn’t her first rodeo. She had done this before, and she had changed some of her designs to suit her audience, changed the time she posted and even put up more discounts and sales but it still seemed like something was missing.
Finally getting back to her city, she decided to catch up with her best friend, Emma. Also, Emma worked in marketing & communications, so she was eager to hear what she had to say.
“So tell me, how was the family Christmas break?” Emma asked as the waiter served their drinks. “It was so nice to see everyone after so long and actually…” Rita started to say but paused to pull up the end-of-year reflections she had typed which was now transferred to her phone. “Look! I also did my yearly brand review,” Rita concluded as she held her phone screen to face Emma. Emma’s eyes widened as she scrolled through having collected the phone from Rita. “You know, you can just give this information to a marketing communication expert and focus on designing alone which you love, instead of doing that and marketing,” Emma said but before Rita could reply, she began to explain to Rita how handy the reflections were because it pointed to what she needed to do to have a better year for her brand. Having this insight would help her create strategic goals in defining and communicating her brand identity right and also forge deeper connections with her audience.
“Yes! That’s what I want. I want to communicate better with my audience and have them be conversant with my brand’s goals, values and overall image. But how exactly do I do that?” Rita asked “With your copy, of course. People usually underestimate the power of brand messaging. The words you use to reach your audience are powerful. You need to craft narratives that emotionally connect to them,” Emma replied.
Rita hadn’t realized how important brand messaging was. She hadn’t realized that her narratives could set the tone for the year which was what she had been trying to achieve. But she wondered, since she was already managing her brand’s online presence, could she take on this responsibility herself or should she partner with an expert. What would you have done?