I talk and write a lot about the importance of brand messaging for your small business.

As a refresher, brand messaging is a strategy-informed style and set of communication assets that capture your brand’s voice and articulate its value to your audience.

In short, it’s what you say and how you say it.

But having your brand style and messaging assets created isn’t enough. You have to activate your messaging to reap all the benefits.  

Think of your brand messaging assets (things like your mission statement, core values, and brand voice guidelines) as a pantry full of ingredients. You don’t just open the pantry and find a delicious cake waiting. But when you have the right high-quality ingredients on hand, you are prepared to bake up something tasty at a moment’s notice.

So let’s get baking, shall we?

Grab your brand style and messaging assets, and get ready to learn some of my favorite quick-win ways to put them to use as you build a consistent, memorable brand.

You’ll learn the first marketing to-dos I recommend my clients tackle once their messaging is defined. The marketing efforts we’ll cover include:

Website

Social Media

Email Marketing

Networking Efforts

Be sure to have the following brand messaging assets established before you begin:

• Big Three Core Messages + Proof Points

• About Statement(s)

• Conversational Elevator Pitch

• Tagline

• Core Values Statement

• Brand Voice Guidelines

Your Website

Your website is your digital home base, so it's one of the first places to begin using your brand messaging.

Start by auditing each page of your existing site to ensure that your big three messages are present throughout. Remember, website visitors won't necessarily hit every single page, so you want to find natural places to reinforce those same messages on your homepage, service pages, and about page in particular.

As you review each page and form on your site, confirm that your website copy uses your newly established brand voice, tone, and style guidelines. In particular, check to ensure that:

• your point of view is consistent (for example, do you use “I” or “we” to refer to your brand)

• the way you format dates, times, and numbers matches your style guide

• you are using your brand tone throughout and the vocabulary identified in your brand lexicon

Other easy updates to make on your website include updating your About page with your new About Statement (and possibly your core values) and adding your tagline to your website footer.

Your Social Media

Since social media is a primary marketing effort for many small businesses, updating your social profiles and strategy is next on your list!

Use your short about statement or mission statement as the starting point for updating your social media profiles. Character counts for these bios are tight. Luckily, you now confidently know the most important things to communicate.

Once bios are set, it’s time to turn to content strategy!

Use Instagram stories, DMs, and other more casual, personal aspects of social media to showcase your brand personality and values. On your main feed, use reels, carousels, images, and captions to create content that supports your brand's core messages and speaks directly to the target audience you've identified.

As with your website, keep your voice and tone on brand, paying particular attention to things like emoji use, brand lexicon (the words and phrases your brand uses most), and point of view (“I” versus “we”).

Your Email Marketing

One of the hardest things about email marketing is coming up with what to write about!

Thankfully, once you have your brand messaging in hand, focusing on your emails becomes much easier!

Begin by building a story bank that supports your core messages. A story bank can be as simple as a Google Doc or Evernote, where you list your Big Three messages and keep a running brainstorm of real-life moments that support those messages. If you "deposit" anecdotes and ideas regularly, you can draw from them anytime you need to connect with your audience.

Use consistent, thoughtfully selected greetings and sign-offs, and find an email newsletter format that feels aligned with your brand's voice and values.

Your Networking Efforts

Networking can be time-intensive, but personal connections matter so much when you're a small business brand.

You can build genuine connections and have fun while still making every interaction count.

Begin by determining how much time you plan to devote to 1:1 meetings, group networking events, participation in online communities, and follow-up contact. Having a game plan can make networking feel manageable. It can also help you focus your energy on interactions that energize you, not deplete you. Consider your brand's core values as you decide which groups and collaborations make sense.

When you do participate in live or virtual networking events, think about how you can offer generous contributions through the lens of your expertise. Have your conversational elevator pitch ready and find opportunities to incorporate your Big Three messages into the conversation.

By consistently staying on message, you'll get better referrals and start to be known for your unique skills and services!

Activating your brand messaging will become more automatic as time goes on. Beyond that, your messaging can inform more than just your marketing efforts—it can help you enhance your client experience and make business decisions. 

If you're ready to learn how to take your messaging beyond marketing to support five core areas of your business, I've got a post for that.