Your brand says a lot about you. Likewise, what your brand is saying to those who see it can make a world of difference in terms of how people interact with it. There are no successful companies out there who haven’t built a strong sense of brand recognition and customer loyalty; without these concepts, your website, blog or business will not achieve the success you originally envisioned. But what exactly does it take to build a brand in terms of meaningful perceptions? In the following article, we’ll discuss three ways in which you can add meaning to your brand and communicate the benefits of your brand to visitors and potential customers.

Surprise Your Audience

Whether you have a large customer base or simply aim to please a base of readers and subscribers, finding ways to surprise and delight your audience is a key part of adding meaningful substance to any brand. There are plenty of ways for you to start pinging users with this kind of approach: social media, email and via the website directly all are viable options. Some examples of how to do this include thoughtful (and unexpected) responses to those who compliment or criticize, adding uniquely human elements to any reply on social media (rather than a generic, sterile corporate-like response) and even providing a gentle ribbing or cheeky reply to those who might take a dig at your brand. All of these methods of interacting with other users can certainly be surprising to your audience, and when done properly can help build rapport.

Let Them Describe Themselves

Some brands make the unfortunate mistake of promoting themselves above all else, without offering people a chance to feel unique or a way in which to describe themselves. People use social media above all else because it gives them an opportunity to express themselves. You’ve no doubt noticed plenty of brands offering some form of personality test relating to their brand or a way to customize this or that, which can then be shared on social media. By providing a way for users to describe themselves – within the context of your own brand – the awareness of your efforts will become exponential as it spreads throughout every corner of social media networks.

Have a Mission

The recent wave of corporate charity is no mere coincidence; more and more brands are realizing that by standing for something bigger than themselves, they open up a plethora of opportunities to connect with people they otherwise might not attract. This can be done in more than one way, depending on your brand type. Some brands decide to embrace a cause or charity for pinging users with a positive message, while others may try to embrace a values set and incorporate that into a recurring series of promotions. It is important that your brand appears to be more than just a soulless blank slate that is out to drive a profit or boost page views. When you provide your audience or customer base with something that transcends traditional corporate behaviour, it is then possible to open up a variety of new opportunities for your brand and add meaning to it at the same time – above all else, people look for the human element in brands.