There are a plethora of marketing titles out there — brand messaging strategist being one of them. 

It also happens to be a title I hold dearly in my work with copywriting clients. A brand strategist creates the logos, and color pallets, of your brand. A copywriter creates a marketing message to help you sell your offers.

So how does the work of branding and messaging go hand in hand? 

A brand messaging strategist uses words to help you sell your offers and makes sure those words reflect the core of your brand. 

Here’s why that’s important: while there are a ton of businesses that sell the same things you do, your brand isn’t for everyone. 

Strategic brand messaging highlights what makes your brand unique and uses that message to attract the right people interested in what you offer. 

A brand messaging strategist primarily: 

Identifies Your Brand’s Key Differentiators

This step is first and foremost because here, we’re establishing the core foundation of your brand. 

It’s a process I like to call “ brand discovery” where I’m asking questions that are 7 layers deep (I can’t help it, I’m an Enneagram 4). Essentially, we really want to understand why you created your brand, who you intend to serve, what you believe makes you different than the competition out there, and so much more.

These brand equity questions are important because everyone loves a good story. Our brains are actually wired that way. Pulling out the key stories and arguments of your brand makes it easier for us to know how your audience can connect with them. 

I talk a bit more about brand positioning here if you want to read about it — where I walk through the core differentiators which are story, style, solution, and sphere of influence. 

Conducts Market Research 

I’m not necessarily looking for facts and figures (but if that’s important to your brand, that’s part of it).

But I’m looking for a couple of things → 

First, I’m conducting market research on your audience to see how they currently perceive your brand. This typically includes talking to past customers about what drew them to you in the first place, what they enjoyed most about working with you, and the core motivators that drove them to come to you.

I’m also researching your competition (and inspiration).

With your competition, I’m seeking out the gaps that you can fill that they are missing. As per your inspiration, I’m looking at patterns I can use so I can use them as creative jumping-off points as I write for your brand. 

Creates and Refines Your Key Messages 

Once brand discovery and market research are complete, I then work on crafting messages around the insights I found.

Some of the key messages include your …

• Mission
• Vision
• Core Values 
• Value Proposition
• Brand Story 

We also go in to create a word bank library and define your brand voice so it can continue to be on brand no matter where you market yourself online. This happens all inside a brand messaging guide by the way. Not sure if your brand is ready for one? I share 4 reasons you need a brand messaging guide in this blog post.

Creates Consistency Across All Touchpoints 

And finally, once we’ve developed key messages, there’s no ending to where we can translate those key messages into your business.

As a brand messaging strategist, I always recommend updating your website with messaging first because it’s your online home. But this also means updating things like social media bios, onboarding materials with clients, email sequences, and so much more. 

It also means creating more on-brand marketing as well which we can go over together. Whether that means branded content creation, launch strategy, and community engagement campaigns. Because your brand isn’t something you set and forget.

It’s a living breathing thing that needs continued nurturing so it can continue to connect with the right people. 

Ready to work with a brand messaging strategist? 

Brand messaging is one of those things you don’t realize you need upfront. But once you’re in the business game for a while, you realize just how important it is to stand out from a sea of same. 

And whether it’s through copy coaching or full-service website copywriting and brand messaging, I always ALWAYS recommend doing this work with someone to walk you through it. The most glimmering golden nuggets come out of it that way.