You could have an amazing product or service but without smart, creative branding and a powerful tagline, it would be difficult to market. A business needs to stand out, be recognisable and most importantly, needs to be remembered. This can be tough if you are a start-up or small business. Although there are several tactics used by businesses to captivate an audience, having a strong, clear tagline is a valuable part of your brand identity. Do you know the difference between a slogan and tagline?
Tagline
A tagline is related to the business entity as a whole and should communicate the essential benefits or overall purpose of the business. It highlights the mission, purpose or culture of your entity and provides clarity about who you are and the promise you make to your customers. It is often part of your business logo or graphics.
Slogan
A slogan is a short phrase tied to a single product and is mostly used in advertising campaigns with the aim of highlighting a particular product. It is meant to change over time but can last for decades.
Attributes of a Successful Tagline
Keep it Simple
Don’t get caught up in creating a lengthy tagline that could be confusing or detract from the key message. Keep it witty, concise and easy to understand and stay away from overused buzzwords. If your tagline or slogan is too long, customers are more likely to forget it and if it’s too clever then it takes extra effort to figure out the underlying message. Short taglines and slogans create lasting impressions.
Know your Target Market
Before you do anything, you should intimately understand your target audience and know how your service or product is going to benefit them or solve their problems. If you can express this in your tagline then you are successfully creating a connection between your business and your customers.
Focus on the Benefits of your Business
You should create a tagline that effectively conveys and sells the benefits of your business to your target audience. It must communicate why you are in business and what customers will reap from using your services or products.
Make it Memorable
People should be able to recognise your tagline quickly and without too much thought. Aim to include some common and catchy words used in a creative and unique way to draw attention and make your business stand out. Another way to get your tagline to reach its full potential is to share the story of your business and make it personal. People are emotional beings and stories have the ability to stir these up. Use the power of words to your advantage.
Keep it Up-Beat
Stay away from words that carry negative connotations and rather use positive, reinforcing words and results in your tagline and slogan. This will make your customers feel happier and leave a positive impression.
Having a powerful tagline and slogan is vital for your business. It takes a lot of careful thought, brainstorming and should consider elements like clarity, phrase length, question-answering, problem-solving and must appeal to your target audience. After all, it is the core value of your business!
