One of the biggest problems in marketing is the tendency to fall into ‘business voice’ and become all corporate and official when talking about products and services. While that’s a fit for some industries, for many others, it means your marketing misses your customer entirely.
One way to deal with this is to use humans in your marketing – real people who can showcase what you do.
Here’s how it works.
Staff stories
The idea of staff stories is an interesting one because if it isn’t done correctly, it can appear contrived or fake. To do it well, ask employees to talk about their role such as what they enjoy and share anecdotes about their time with the company.
Employee stories give your brand that human, personal voice that can be hard to portray without real people involved. The key is to find stories that are genuine and real but also relevant for the marketing you want to do.
Aim for stories that have context but also some kind of conflict and resolution. Provide a little backstory, talk about the challenge and how the employee within their role solved the problem.
Behind the scenes
Another powerful marketing tool is ‘behind the scenes’ content. This can be anything from real team photos to videos from a corporate event.
The aim here is to showcase the people who work in the business, the ones that customers will be coming into contact with when they work with you. There are lots of ways to do this that range from formal shots of team members displayed on the wall to more casual photos of events.
Images and videos from around the workplace are great for this kind of marketing. They offer a glimpse of what goes on each day in the business and how the products or services come to be.
Corporate culture can also feature in this kind of marketing with shots from company events, seminars, team building and community activities.
Relationships with customers
The final way to use real humans in your marketing is to highlight your customers and the relationships you have with them.
If you are a B2B company this is essentially free promotion for both your businesses and can help form strong connections.
If you are B2C, highlighting your customers is also a strong marketing approach. Showcase how they use your products or how your services help them in their own words. User-generated content such as reviews and video testimonials is influential social proof to help potential customers choose you.
A powerful marketing approach
Bringing real people into your marketing makes sense. Even if you don’t have a big team, there are going to be stories, memories and events to capture around the business. And every business can make their customers feel special by showcasing them in their marketing.
If you need help with your business marketing and printing, we are here to offer bespoke services and advice. Check out our business services page for more details.