As a marketing agency we love that everyone is getting on board with the importance of branding – students are now lectured on their personal brand from day one university. Sadly, too many businesses think that “branding” only refers to graphic design – logos, colours, and all things visual
Your brand is anything that makes an impression on people (think of cattle being branded in the yard – maybe a little more extreme, but it’s the same thing). A venue with substance and a story to tell will have stronger brand, keeping customers’ attention (and money) longer than a dull, what-you-see-is-what-you-get business.
But just like a book, people are more likely to pick up (and spend time with) a story that grabs their attention. Here are five ways to tell your story without boring your audience to teats:
Photos
It’s become too easy to pass off “a picture’s worth a thousand words” as a meaningless cliché – it’s time to go back to accepting it as gospel. Do your custom-made fittings and vintage tables make your venue what it is? No matter how good a wordsmith you are, you’ll never be able to describe them the way a photo can. Having a good supply of ready-to-go imagery also dramatically increases your chances of getting the help of everyone’s favourite storytellers: journalists.
Profiling
Let everyone see the people behind your business to help them build a connection, rather than thinking of you as a faceless building they’ve walked past a few times. If you’ve got someone truly exceptional and want to splash some cash, a public relations campaign could see your chef smiling out at thousands of people from the newspaper (thanks to Masterchef, we all like to think we know kitchen teams personally). If you’re working on a lower budget, try a series of quick “meet the team” posts on social media – you might find that a few patrons have “I remember that bartender! She’s the bomb!” moments.
Events
Special events let your audience to engage with your story directly – and for once, when we say “engage” we don’t mean hitting like on a Facebook post. What makes your venue unique? Your after-five atmosphere? Hard-to-find and rarely-seen ingredients? Throw a perfectly-planned event that showcases your best angle (an open-invite party, an intimate ticketed dinner or a guided wine-tasting – whatever you do best) and your audience will be directly experiencing your story, as told by you.
Need a hand telling your story? Whether you had PR, a party or a website refresh in mind, our Brisbane marketing agency can help – email us today on hello@liquiditymarketing.com.au