Breathing Life into Your Business Entity

s a company, you need to recognize and not forget your reason for existing: you are providing a solution to one or more of your customer’s pain point(s). With that in mind, it becomes glaringly obvious that everything you do is for them. Remember that without them, you wouldn’t exist. If you maintain this strategy, it shines through in all that you do as a business entity, and your customers recognize that they’re appreciated. This is the most powerful way to succeed.

And this spills out into all areas of modern life—one of the most prevalent being social media. Every day, more businesses begin to realize the significance of connecting with their customers, clients, peers—everyone on the web. Publicity is correlated with growth, after all. So we see their efforts, and perhaps we even note their successes and failures, their expansion or stagnation. Patterns relating to marketing tactics can be analyzed separately, but for now, let’s consider the more intimate details of these interactions.

Think of the most powerful marketing campaign you’ve encountered—a commercial, for example. It incited emotion. It gave you goosebumps. Maybe it even made you cry, it resonated with you so powerfully. Not to deromanticize the experience… this campaign did what it was supposed to. It contributed to the relationship that you as a consumer share with the company. On some level, whether conscious or not, you formed a connection between the company and that feeling it stirred.

Speaking more generally, companies who produce lively content and interact with customers across social and other media in non-robtic ways will consistently increase their consumer engagement. I don’t need to spell out how this plays into your recipe for success.

Forming a Personality

You should have some grasp on this, whether in the form of a mission statement, brand identity, or something less concrete. These things alone don’t suffice to encompass what could be considered a personality, however. To develop your business entity’s personality, you need to consider a couple of things and weight them in whatever way makes the most sense to you.

• Audience appreciation: This is where we humanize your market research. You’ve (hopefully) identified who you as a business are trying to reach or connect with. What qualities do they appreciate in your business as an entity? How can you exemplify these?
• Your personal vision: What impact do you want to have on the world via your business? How do you want it to be perceived to best accomplish this? Identify what characteristics lend themselves to this perception and determine how best to integrate them with your consumer interaction.

If this seems open-ended, that’s because it is. And it’s supposed to be. You need to be completely unique to separate yourself from the drudgery that so much of the web has become.

That being said, there are a handful of more general qualities that can be appreciated by almost anyone and should be involved in some capacity. Some examples:

• Confidence: You need to believe that what you’re offering is valuable. Help the world to see this. If you don’t exude confidence, why would anyone feel inspired to buy from you? Make statements, be heard and stand by your core values.
• Humor: Your industry may determine to what extent this is really acceptable, but when it comes to interaction via social media, a quick wit always wins. Ensure that whoever is managing your accounts understands that.
• Empathy: This ties in with more than just addressing their pain points. Be unafraid of communicating with people through your business. Keep track of interactions and check in on them. If you’re a large company, there are dozens of high-quality software products to streamline this for you.

With these in mind, you’ve got a pretty solid foundation, but don’t be afraid to let your business’s personality evolve over time. You may realize your priorities have changed or that you want to appeal to a different kind of person. Allow change to best prevent stagnation.

You could do this with a headline or slogan (such as VW’s “Drivers Wanted” campaign), color or layout (Target’s new colorful, simple ads are a testimony to this) or illustration (such as the Red Bull characters or Zoloft’s depressed ball and his ladybug friend).  All good advertising copy is comprised of the same basic elements.

Engaging as an Entity

Now that you’ve stepped away from the world of unopinionated and monotonous engagement, show your new face to the world. Know who you’re wanting to connect with and from there discover how to interact with them and be seen. Do they follow hashtags on Instagram or skulk through threads on Reddit? Like, comment, post, and interact with your company’s new identity at the forefront of your mind. Maintain this whether you are responding to criticism and praise for whatever reasons or as you’re simply interacting with new faces across the web. Remember to stay consistent without being robotic.

Expectations for businesses are higher than ever. People are becoming more informed, and they have options. For some reason or another, you will never appeal to everyone. But by developing a solidifying your personality, you can grab and hold the attention of who you really want to reach. This simplifies processes within your business, contributes to how you grow, and increases your sense of fulfillment as a business owner.

Welcome and be prepared for growth while remembering what’s important.