In the past, business to consumer meant that the consumer had an idea of who might have been the person behind the brand, but there wasn’t always a face with the brand. Consider Pizza Hut — is there a face you can connect with that brand? Now think of Kentucky Fried Chicken — can you place a face with that brand? Chances are you can. The face is what consumers now connect with. Business today is built on H2H — human to human — interactions. This means you need to build an authentic brand and put your best face forward.
How can you build your authentic brand? Here are some ways:
- Put your pictures on your site. Depending on the type of business you have you can either choose professional business-focused photos or you can choose photos that show your employees and yourself in relaxed, out of the office ways. Remember it’s human to human.
- Post profiles of your employees. Don’t make them all of the “where did you go to college” and “what do you love about your career path,” ask off the wall questions such as: what’s your favorite meal, your favorite ice cream flavor, tell us about your pet, etc.
- “Be real” when you post on social media. This doesn’t mean peppering your posts with typos, but to sound like a human not a corporate robot. Also, it’s a good idea to post in real time — don’t rely on schedulers to make your social media posts live.
- Answer your customers if they ask a question — whether good or bad.
- Get involved on the social media pages of those who follow you. Spend time liking and commenting and interacting.
“Being authentic” may be a cliche catch phrase, but it is what your customers are looking for.