5 Things Every Viral Brand Needs
Do you ever wonder what compels someone so much that they not only add an item to their cart, but actually follow through on buying it?
Some might argue it's about necessity, affordability, or thorough research to ensure the best choice. While these factors may hold weight at times, the reality is much deeper and more primal.
People buy from brands that make them feel something.
It’s a common misconception that a business' logo is the extent of their brand. Or that maybe their brand is a particular color that a business is known for. But the truth is, your brand is much more than just aesthetics.
Your brand is the cumulative experience your audience has with your business as a whole. It’s the message your business is sending out to into the world influencing people to buy from you or not.
Humans want to believe we are logical creatures, making decisions based on facts, statistics, and reviews. But the truth is our limbic system is just not that rational. Humans are highly emotional beings. As business owners we want to believe that our product quality is the most important thing in gaining a customer’s trust. But really, if a new customer hasn’t experienced your product yet, then quality is making up zero percent of their decision making process.
A team of MIT neuroscientists discovered that the human brain can process an image in as little as 13 millisecond (Psychonomic). In the literal blink of an eye customers are already making a judgement about your business based on what it looks like. Before they even have a chance to find the reviews on the page, your customer has already decided if your brand, business, and product look trustworthy enough to purchase.
So how exactly can you influence your audience to feel the way that you want them to feel? What does it take to build one of those eye-catching, show stopping, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of brands?
Read on to see 5 things that every viral brand needs to have.
1) Jaw dropping, scroll stopping visual design
When you're ready for editors to jump on your pitches and for your brand to become a household name, it's not enough for your brand to simple look good. Most brands look good. In order to stand out, your brand needs to steal attention.
A premium brand identity requires polished design and professional photography. Premium branding is more than just fonts and colors. It's unique to an individual business. It involves strategy, creativity, and a deep understanding of the goals the business wants to achieve.
Good branding builds credibility. Credibility leads to trust. Trust leads to sales. Trust and credibility are especially important when you're asking customers to spend their hard-earned money. A polished, professional brand feels more put together and trustworthy than a brand that feels scattered and inconsistent.
Below are two examples of scroll stopping visual design.
Above: Margin Coffee Roasters packaging design by Happyland Creative.
This design utilizes high contrast labels to grab the eye, and bold illustration with bright colors to draw in and engage customers.
Above: Cinche, a skincare brand design by Happyland Creative.
Bright purple captures attention, especially amidst a bustling street. The water reflections feel clean and fresh, especially juxtaposed with a city scene, evoking a feeling that ties to the product, Fresh Start Makeup Remover.
The copy encourages the feeling that you can wipe off the troubles of the day and put it behind you. The tagline “Simple skincare to keep it tight,” speaks to the audience, which is primarily Gen-Z and Millennial women who are concerned about aging and would be interested in premium skincare products.
2) Straight to the core, soul-connecting copy
Like people, brands are best recognized by how they look, act, and sound.
Have you ever known someone close to you to do something out of character? Maybe they made a joke that came across more offensive than funny which is very unlike them. Or maybe they started acting differently and you can’t quite predict what they’re doing to do or say next.
In branding, that kind of unpredictability breaks down trust. In addition to a consistent visual design, your brand needs to have a defined personality that your customers can connect with. This kind of connection happens through copywriting.
Generally speaking, people don't like to read on the internet. As a result, your brand's copy must be short, easy to digest, and pack a punch. You only have a few seconds to engage the viewer and create a connection.
Above: HARU, a pet brand design by Happyland Creative.
The navigation is clean and simple and the homepage prominently features the brand’s best sellers, making it easy for customers to find what they are looking for.
3) Top notch, VIP customer experience
Consumer expectations are higher than ever and customers want to feel like more than just a number to the brands they patron.
In fact, customers spend more money with brands that offer a personalized, streamlined shopping experience (Shopify). Personalization strategies like offering suggested recommendations based on previous purchasing habits not only help set you apart from the competition as a memorable brand, but increase KPIs like customer retention and conversion rate.
In the same vein, offering top notch customer service with things like clear and organized navigation and simple shop policies also improve your brand perception by making the customer feel well-taken care of and empowered.
Above: Urb Apothecary Shopify website design by Happyland Creative.
This brand proudly displays icons on their site to illustrate their brand is women-owned and their products are cruelty free, ethically sourced, plant powered, handmade, and high-performance—all things that are important to their customer base.
4) High quality, and even higher standards
These days, people are more eco and socially conscious than ever before. With the growing concern of global climate change customers are making a conscious effort to reduce their footprint.
A Nielsen survey reported that 73% of global consumers would change their buying behavior to reduce their environmental impact. Some reports even indicate that customers are willing to spend more money on products that are easier on the environment. But with that comes the expectation that the products are high quality and created to last.
In addition to eco-friendly practices, there is growing demand for transparency.
Customers want to know that the brands they support not only make good products but are treating their people fairly. People want to know where the brands they support stand on social issues and what efforts they're making to provide fair wages, ethical manufacturing processes, and promote diversity and inclusivity.
Above: Vive Deodorant brand design by Happyland Creative.
Lots of supportive brand collateral helps support the customer brand experience.
5) Can't resist packaging and FOMO inducing unboxing experience
We've already established that consumers buy from brands that make them feel something, and there's nothing that makes people feel something more than scrolling through their social media feeds.
Many people have curated aspirational social feeds filled with beautiful images and inspiring content. In fact, social media influencers now have more impact on some people's purchasing decisions than brand advertising or even celebrities (Pew Research).
Brands who are after PR and social virality must approach their brand strategy from the perspective that their brand and packaging must look good on social media. It's important to keep the end result in mind even when you're still at the starting line.
Some good questions to ask yourself during the design process are:
How will your packaging look in social ads?
How will your product photograph for media pitches?
What's the overall personality of the brand and who is it speaking to?
What kind of novel elements can you hide within your product or packaging that would delight your customers and create a memorable brand experience?
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Learn how to leverage your brand as a money-making tool
If you’d like to learn more about branding as a tool in your business and how to use it, you can follow me over at Happyland Creative and can sign up for my free 4-part video workshop: Leveraging Your Brand As Your Primary Money-Making Tool. This email series delivers a short video workshop straight to your inbox over the course of four days. In each video I dive deeper into the components of a strong brand personality as well as how to use your brand and what you need to know when planning a branding project. Click here to sign up for the free workshop.
Your brand can be next
Brittany is a brand and web designer with 15 years of industry experience, specializing in DTC and CPG brands who are ready to become a household name.
Inquire with her studio, Happyland Creative, to start the conversation about how to take your brand or website to the next level and capture more customers with eye-catching, scroll-stopping visuals.
Written by Brittany Wong of Happyland Creative®, a brand identity and web design studio for small and mid-size DTC & CPG brands. Since 2018, Happyland Creative® has served over 80 clients holding firm to the belief that brands can be both playful and professional. When she's not matching Pantone swatches or drawing up wireframes, Brittany spends her days watching reality TV, thinking about Disneyland, and chasing down her five year old.
This is a guest post by our friend, Brittany of Happyland Creative. She’s a brand identity and website designer for brands who want to go viral.
Click here to sign up for Brittany’s free 4-part workshop on leveraging your brand to make more money.