Let's Make Brand Communication a Bit More Human
Hey everyone,
Finally got around to writing up some thoughts on Kristen McCabe's presentation from September 18th. Thanks for your patience with this recap. (Any volunteers for next time?!) Kristen packed a ton of information into her session, but I've tried to boil it down to four key takeaways that really stood out to me.
For those who want to dig deeper, I've included links to the full video and slides at the bottom of this post.
1. Your Customers Are Living in a Different World
Kristen talked about looking at job listings to understand your audience. Here's the deal:
- Job posts reveal what your customers are actually dealing with day-to-day.
- You'll see the skills they need, the pressures they're under, and what their bosses expect.
- It's a goldmine for understanding their world without the filter of a focus group.
"As a marketer, what is your customer's life like outside of sales calls? Because let's face it, there are a lot of things going on in their life, including related to their job, that they're not going to say in sales calls."
- Emphasizing the need to understand customers' full context beyond formal business interactions
Try this: Grab 20 job listings relevant to your target audience. Dump them into ChatGPT and ask for common themes. Instant insight into your customers' world, no survey required.
2. Embrace Your Inner Awkward Turtle
There was a bit about writing content based on real, awkward experiences. Why it matters:
- It's relatable as heck. Everyone's had an "Oh God, why did I do that?" moment.
- It shows you're human, not a corporate GPT.
- Awkward stories stick in people's minds way more than a thought leadership piece ever will.
"If you're not putting your heart or a piece of yourself into it and critical thinking, what are you bringing to the content that AI can't do?"
- On the importance of human touch in content creation
Next step: Write about a time you royally screwed up at work. Not a humble brag - a real "oh crap" moment. What happened? How'd you fix it? What'd you learn? Share it.
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3. Tell Your Brand Guidelines to Take a Hike (Occasionally)
Kristen challenged the idea of always sticking to brand voice. Here's why it's worth considering:
- Brand guidelines are great for consistency, but they can kill authenticity.
- People connect with people, not brand personas.
"Do you think customers care about your brand guidelines? If we go back to our goal is to help the customer, they don't really care."
- Challenging the importance of strict brand consistency
Do this: Pick a topic your customers care about. Have someone on your team write about it in their own voice. See how it lands.
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4. Use AI, But Don't Let It Use You
There was a smart take on AI in marketing. The gist:
- Use AI to think better, not just faster.
- It's great for rewriting copy to cut out the "we" and "our" corporate speak.
- Use it for brainstorming alternatives to tired words like "optimize" or "leverage".
"'We' is BS's portal into this world."
- Joanna Weeb's perspective on eliminating brand-centric language in marketing
Try this: Take your most snooze-worthy piece of marketing copy. Feed it to ChatGPT and ask for three rewrites: one funny, one dead serious, and one wildly creative. Mix and match the results. See what happens.
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The Bottom Line
Good marketing is understanding your customers as actual humans and talking to them like, well, humans. Everything else is noise.
If your marketing doesn't make you at least a little uncomfortable, you're probably doing it wrong. And if it doesn't make your legal team a little nervous, you're definitely doing it wrong.... JK. Probably.
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