Why Brand Responsibility Should Be Your Priority

Are you looking for effective ways to boost your brand equity? Don’t fret. You’re in the right spot. You’re about to learn one or two tricks of having a socially responsible brand.

But before we dive into it, first things first:

Table of Contents

1. What is Brand Responsibility?
2. How Does Brand Responsibility Influence Your Agency’s Growth?
3. Top Eight Tips for Improving Your Brand Responsibility
   1. 1. Avoid Using Multiple Messages
   2. 2. Know Where Your Ads Will Appear
   3. 3. Live Your Core Values
   4. 4. Avoid Cheap Ads
   5. 5. Know Your Target Audience Well
   6. 6. Spy Your Competitors
   7. 7. Be Socially Responsible
   8. 8. Strike a Balance

What is Brand Responsibility?

Brand responsibility refers to the commitment and consideration to your target market. When you’re a socially responsible brand, not only will customers trust your brand but also advocate for it. Other than that, your agency will get a buy-in a lot quicker.

The above will only happen if you identify, create, and manage the cumulative assets and actions effectively. This way, you will shape the perception of your brand in the minds of clients.

How Does Brand Responsibility Influence Your Agency’s Growth?

• A strong brand helps you build trust effortlessly.
• Having a strong brand makes it reasonably easy to advertise.
• A strong brand creates a memorable impression on your potential and existing clients.
• It helps in setting your agency apart from your direct or indirect competitors.
• It increases brand value.

Top Eight Tips for Improving Your Brand Responsibility

1. Avoid Using Multiple Messages

Essentially, most marketing executives are guilty of organizing marketing communication along hierarchies that only make sense to them.

For instance, you may set up one message for print advertising, another for TV commercials, another for a website, for Google Ads, and so on.

It might make sense from an internal control standpoint. But not for your target audience. If you expose your audience to confusing messages, they will detach from your brand.

Your campaign doesn’t need multiple messages. All it needs is a clear and consistent message.

2. Know Where Your Ads Will Appear

It’s also always crucial to know where your Ads will appear. You should know this even before you start crafting a message.

If your ad planning doesn’t include this, then you’re doomed. Here is what could go wrong:

• You won’t be able to engage your prospective clients at a personal level.
• You won’t be able to reach the right potential customers.
• You won’t know what type of ads to use. For instance, there are situations where Bing Ads are more efficient than Google Ads.

By knowing where your ads will appear, we don’t just mean media channels. But we mean asking yourself the following questions:

• Which state are my ads going to appear in?
• At what time will my ads appear?
• Who am I targeting with this ad?
• What will be the frequency of my ad?

3. Live Your Core Values

Core values have become more crucial than before. And a brand without core values is like a car without wheels. Or a cup of coffee without milk and sugar.

Your core brand values serve as the compass that guides your brand story, advertising campaigns, behaviors, and your overall marketing efforts.

Hence, at least 80% of potential clients will likely forget your branded content, but not your core values.

While it’s critical to have your brand values on your website, you must live those brand values.

Because let’s face it, you can’t take your brand to the next level without living your brand values.

Today, clients are more interested in corporate integrity, defined by the agency’s core values.

4. Avoid Cheap Ads

It may be tempting to use cheap advertising, but it can be costly to your reputation. You don’t want to be known as that agency that uses cheap advertising.

What will often set your agency apart is the branding responsibility. You only achieve it through using quality advertising. And quality advertising doesn’t come cheap.

Unfortunately, when some marketing execs try to trim costs, the first thing they do is slash advertising costs. Then they will start using cheap ads, which is okay until they realize how much reputational damage those ads can cause.

To stay ahead of the curve, keep the following in mind:

• Partner with only the best whoever did it.
• Use kick-ass copywriting.
• Be creative.
• And never use cheap ads to promote a brand.

5. Know Your Target Audience Well

You can only serve your clients well if you know them. Also, you need to invest time to know everything about them.

It would help to go beyond where potential customers come from. Understand what makes them tick, their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, and so on.

Start by researching your existing customers. In most cases, they will share certain traits and behaviors.

Remember, potential clients that gravitate towards your brand usually share common characteristics. For instance, they may all fit in a certain age or income bracket.

Use the demographic information of your current clients to craft messages that hit the mark.

Once you convert prospects into paying clients, make an effort to retain them. You can do this by offering the best service. Or by exceeding their expectations. If your clients are happy, they will be your sources of brand advocacy and referrals.

6. Spy Your Competitors

Competition is part of the game. Unfortunately, you can’t change that. But what you can change though is gaining a competitive edge over your competitors.

Even if you think you are the most award-winning agency in your city, there is always competition. That boutique agency that seems to hire only “the best creative talent”. Sometimes, your competitor may be one of your former employees. It doesn’t matter who your competitor is. What matters is what you do to raise the bar.

Spend some time spying on your competition. Keep an eye on their online campaigns, newsletters, or social media posts. And improve your services based on the information you gather from those touchpoints.

Fortunately, there are numerous tools that you can use:

• Use social media tools. These tools will help you understand their social media strategy.
• Use SEO tools to monitor their web traffic. For instance, you can use a tool such as SEMRush.

7. Be Socially Responsible

You can’t ignore social responsibility and still expect your brand to thrive. Social responsibility and brand equity go hand in hand.

There is a good reason companies spend billions on social responsibility initiatives such as philanthropy or cause-related marketing. The ultimate goal is to maintain a good brand reputation.

This research found that consumer purchase intention is influenced by two key factors: 60% perception of your brand and 40% perception of your products or service.

Do the following to become a socially responsible brand:

• Be ethical in your advertising. Truthfulness should guide all your advertising endeavors.
• Use only responsible messaging in your advertising.

8. Strike a Balance

Lastly, always strive to achieve a balance between honesty and persuasiveness. For instance, follow a basic tenet that calls for treating clients as you would like to be treated yourself.

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