In a recent survey, over half of customers said they tend to buy from brands with big personalities. Results showed that 57.5% of customers buy from brands with strong personalities, and 51.2% have purchased from a brand because of how they spoke online. 

These numbers show what we already know – the way your brand speaks matters.

Although we’re at a point in time where AI-generated content is the norm, it doesn’t mean it should be the standard. Standing out in a crowded digital space is only possible through personality-led content

In this blog, I’ll explain what personality-led content is, why it’s important, and how you can implement it. 

What is personality-led content?

Personality-led content emphasizes your brand’s distinct personality, voice, and values in your communication with your audience. It goes beyond traditional marketing that simply explains products or services. Instead, personality-led content focuses on creating authentic, relatable connections through your brand’s voice.

Why personality matters for your brand

Personality-led content matters because it’s the foundation of a meaningful relationship with your audience. Like a friendship, we’re drawn to people with vibrant or relatable personalities. Why would the brands we trust be any different?

We’re living in an era of generic content. Although this arguably sounds awful, there are some pros. One pro is that there’s a lot of information readily available – making it easier for us to learn. I personally owe my sanity to Instagram reels that taught me how to sleep-train a baby. But another, lesser-known pro is that vanilla content gives your business an opportunity to stand out (I know, it’s a paradox). 

Generic, low-quality content is characterized by its lack of depth and originality. As an expert in your field whether it’s physical therapy, web design, software development, etc., your lived experience matters. It humanizes your brand with a personal story and creates an emotional connection with your audience. AI-generated content can’t replicate a customer success story or a decade of advanced medical training. It can only summarize and synthesize the information we give it.

5 tips to add personality to your content

Okay, so personality matters. But how can you give a brand a personality? Here are some tactical tips to help you get started:

1. Define your brand’s personality

Think of your brand as a human with real traits. Are you soulful? Playful? Witty? 

One easy way to choose your brand’s personality is to build a persona that mirrors your target audience. Align your personality with their goals, interests, motivations, and challenges. Then, align your content accordingly. 

There are plenty of free guides online that walk you through the steps to define your brand personality. Alternatively, if you want to outsource your brand discovery to a person, I can help!

2. Talk to your audience

One common misconception about marketing is that it’s a one-way effort. You put content out there, people see it, and they contact you. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

Take time to engage with your audience – respond to what they’re saying and proactively talk with them on social channels and your email list. And take it beyond your audience. Think about similar businesses within your industry you can have a meaningful conversation with. For instance, I’m a content marketer, so many people in my online community are web designers and social media managers. These folks offer complementary services and have similar conversations with clients – it’d be a miss not to learn from and engage with them.

3. Put a face and name behind your content 

Third, humanizing your brand goes a long way in marketing. People buy from people. People make products. And people market products. It’s okay to show it! 

Listen, I know showing your face and stating your public opinion is uncomfortable. But people are the root of so many successful brands. For instance, the team at SparkToro (Amanda Natividad and Rand Fishkin) speak frequently about marketing topics and trends on LinkedIn. For this reason – they are trusted sources of information and are relatable.

A beautifully designed website and perfect curated grid will only get you so far. Associating well-intentioned, smart people with your brand whether you’re a CEO or marketing specialist will help your audience connect with you on a deeper level.

Anddddd buy from you HUZZAH.

4. Expand your vocab and ditch corporate jargon

Speaking of relatability, your words are the foundation of personality-led content. Writing marketing content feels more daunting than it is. In reality,  it’s less complicated than most people think. 

Instead of thinking about how you want to sound, think about how you actually sound in your day-to-day interactions. This likely includes using clear, conversational language. For example, using contractions is an easy, effective way to make your marketing conversational.

Corporate jargon like “leverage,” “game changer,” and “deliverable” won’t help you connect with your audience. They just make you sound like a robot.

5. Make it PERSONAL

A final tip to creating personality-led content is… make it personal. I know. A real shock to the system with this last point.

But being personal is different for everyone. For some, it could be integrating memes from The Office into your blogs. For others, it could be telling the story of how your business got started through Instagram videos.

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to personality-led content. The only truth is that it should be consistent and authentic.

Let’s pack a punch with your brand (together)

Need help defining your brand? I’m here for you! My name is Lindsay and I help businesses build content marketing strategies that enable them to show up consistently. From outlining content plans to creating content like social and blogs, I’ll help you get your content marketing on track. Submit a form to get in touch.