By Wendy Rall

Great branding is one of the most important elements of your business.

People are beginning to realize the importance of what I call “the human element” in their branding, advertising and marketing efforts. Technology has changed the way we live and has such an impact on how we work, but moreover it has effected our relationships, connecting us as never before.

With the prevalence of social media and online marketing, it is so easy to “reach out and touch someone.” Building strong relationships with your team and suppliers gives a sense of security to the work at hand, but what about the relationship you are working to build with your customers?

The importance of emotions

When building a brand, it’s important to realize that emotions play a large part in the decision-making process of a product or service. What will your brand help your customer to achieve? If you are providing medicine or a medicated product, you’ll want your customer to know that purchasing your brand will help them and how.

Your brand image should make a statement that shows that you product will help them to feel better overall, experience relief, sleep well, or heal emotional and physical conditions, etc. If you are providing an ancillary service, you want your customer to trust you, to know that the service you provide will be something that can they count on, that you will take their stress, fear or worries away.

So how can we use the “human element” to come in to play in your advertising and marketing? And more importantly why do we want to use a “human element”? Let’s address why first.

Leveraging the human element

Looking at an advertisement that includes a face showing an emotional state, such as relief or despair, will touch the emotions of most people. It will help them to relate and see that they are not alone. This can give a sense of trust, as they will feel that you, as a brand, understand your needs, and in the end they will connect with your brand and make the purchase.

We can show the “human element”  by including expressive photos of people in your marketing efforts. If you are using a marketing tool that does not include visuals, you can convey trust by telling stories that include personal experiences evoking an emotional response.

This will link the client to your brand. Images of a person with your clients same need, and personal stories, connect the mind and heart and can be the deciding factor in choosing the brand that your customer becomes loyal to purchasing.

Vol 3 Article 2 in a series on Branding Advice. Please see additional Branding Advice articles on this site or visit http://www.buddbranding.com/brandingadvice