6 P's Of Brand Communication For Digital Era

To perfect the art of brand communication in digital era, here are the six essential P’s

that are recommend for integrating into your strategy

There is a popular perception that with the plethora of media options in the digital

era, there is a growing clutter. But is there really a clutter? Aren’t customers smart

enough to break through the clutter and receive the communication they want? Are

the increasing mediums of reach creating a clutter or breaking the clutter? Are the

4P’s and 6P’s that marketers have studied still relevant and if not what is relevant

today?

Assessing the situation, it’s clear that the relationship of a brand with a customer has

moved far beyond being transactional. Infact customer is no longer just a customer

but an influencer, a brand advocate, a co-creator and even a co-conspirator. In the

digital era, brands have become an intrinsic part of the consumer’s lifestyle. A brand

must stand for values that the consumer identifies with and desires to be associated

with. For this purpose, a brand must connect with the customer in a personalized

and relatable way across all forms of its communication.

To perfect the art of brand communication in the digital era, here are the six essential

P’s that are recommend for integrating into your strategy.

1. Purpose: To put it very simply, a sense of purpose gives the brand a reason to

exist other than to make a profit. This purpose while internal must then be

communicated effectively to the new-age customer who needs to understand it and

is inclined to align with it. For example, if the brand promotes sustainable and ethical

practices, then this must be the highlight of every public communication, to draw and

retain the attention of customers who internally believe in these causes.

2. Taking a Position: Having a purpose also means standing by it and taking the

right position even when there are chances of it going down negatively with some

stakeholders. Many brands have lost their sheen because they didn’t practice what

they preached when the time came. For instance, a brand that always supports

transparency and honesty can’t suddenly go silent when internal issues come out.

3. Using the art of Persuasion: Among the few things that a brand should have,

persuasiveness is undoubtedly one. The brand must consistently persuade

audiences to prefer it to everything else in the market that’s vying for their attention.

Here are a few highly useful tips for building persuasiveness into the brand based on

an amazing book on the topic by Robert Cialdini:

a. Reciprocity: When the brand gives the customer something of value, they feel a

sense of reciprocity that prompts them to give something back, which often

translates into brand loyalty. Thoughtful gestures and small favours go a long way in

winning over customers.

b. Scarcity: Something as simple as “sold out” or “last few items remaining”

propels customers to act promptly. The sense that something is much in demand

and therefore scarce is all it takes to pump up the sales.

c. Social acceptability: If the brand stands for a cause that the customer desires to

identify with, then you can expect a higher level of engagement that promotes a

sense of social acceptability for the customer.

d. Likability: This is where influencer marketing comes into play. Customers see

influencers as likeable and accessible figures. Their opinions and standpoint are

seen as authentic. So, when this figure endorses the brand, there is all the more

reason for customers to subscribe to it.

e. Authority: The brand must be perceived as a figure of authority through its

display of sound industry knowledge, relevant facts and other data points. Such

brands are perceived as substantial and reliable.

4. Precision: When it comes to brand communication, accuracy is critical. With fast

dwindling attention spans, even a two-minute video clip is sometimes too long. The

point is to keep it to the point, whether the brand is choosing text, audio or video.

Every line that goes into the communication should convey something of relevance

to the audience.

5. Personal: With advancing tech tools and social media strategy, micro-targeting

has come to the aid of brands. Micro-targeting enables brands to personalize their

communication as per the individual. The communication has to be personal and

one-to-one, the days of one—to-many are over. Focusing on the relatability of the

communication yields far better conversions rates at reduced costs.

6. Platform management: The tailoring of brand communication shouldn’t be

restricted to personalization. It’s just as important to identify the types of audiences

and communities the brand will find on every kind of communication platform. For

instance, the audience on Twitter is different from those on Instagram. In offline

spaces, your outdoor ads will have a diverse audience than print or TV commercials.

Therefore, for higher efficacy, brand communication must be tailored as per the

dictates of every platform.

With rapid technological changes entering marketing and even Emotion AI being

used for understanding customers emotions towards things like packaging and

campaigns, marketing is in for a great time ahead.

Source : http://www.mavcommgroup.com/insight/6-p-s-of-brand-communication-for-digital-era/