Marketly 360: Build a Brand That Resonates

A strong brand strategy is the backbone of any successful marketing effort. It’s more than just a logo; it’s your company’s promise, personality, and purpose. Are you ready to build a brand that resonates and drives results?

## Step 1: Accessing the Brand Strategy Builder in Marketly 360

Marketly 360 is a comprehensive marketing platform, and its Brand Strategy Builder is where we’ll lay the groundwork for your brand.

### Navigating to the Tool

1. Log into your Marketly 360 account.
2. In the left-hand navigation menu, locate the “Strategy” section. (It’s the icon that looks like a compass.)
3. Click on “Brand Strategy Builder.” This will open the main dashboard.

### Understanding the Dashboard

The dashboard presents a workflow with several key modules: Brand Archetype, Customer Avatar, Brand Voice & Tone, and Competitive Analysis. We’ll tackle them one by one.

Pro Tip: Marketly 360 automatically saves your progress, but it’s always a good idea to download a PDF of your completed strategy at each major step. You can find the “Download PDF” button in the upper right corner.

Common Mistake: Many users skip the initial tutorial videos. Don’t! They provide valuable context and shortcuts for using the tool effectively.

Expected Outcome: Familiarity with the Marketly 360 interface and a clear understanding of the Brand Strategy Builder’s workflow.

## Step 2: Defining Your Brand Archetype

Your brand archetype is the foundation of your brand’s personality. It helps you connect with your audience on an emotional level.

### Choosing Your Archetype

1. In the Brand Strategy Builder, click on the “Brand Archetype” module.
2. You’ll see a list of 12 archetypes (e.g., The Innocent, The Explorer, The Hero, The Rebel).
3. Click on each archetype to read a detailed description, including its core values, fears, and motivations.

### Selecting Your Primary and Secondary Archetypes

1. Choose the archetype that best aligns with your brand’s values and target audience. Click the “Select as Primary” button.
2. You can also select a secondary archetype to add nuance to your brand’s personality.
3. The tool will then ask you to provide 3-5 words that describe your brand’s core values, based on the archetype you selected.

Pro Tip: Don’t overthink it! Choose the archetype that feels right. Your gut instinct is often the best guide.

Common Mistake: Trying to force your brand into an archetype that doesn’t fit. This will lead to inconsistent messaging and a lack of authenticity.

Expected Outcome: A clear understanding of your brand’s archetype and its implications for your overall strategy. For example, if you choose “The Caregiver,” your messaging should emphasize empathy and support.

## Step 3: Crafting Your Customer Avatar

Knowing your ideal customer is paramount. This step uses Marketly 360 to build a detailed avatar.

### Accessing the Customer Avatar Module

1. From the Brand Strategy Builder dashboard, click on the “Customer Avatar” module.
2. Click “Create New Avatar”.

### Defining Demographics

1. Enter your ideal customer’s basic information: age, gender, location (e.g., Midtown Atlanta, zip code 30308), income, education, and occupation.
2. The tool integrates with the US Census Bureau database to provide average income and education levels for specific locations. For instance, you can see that the median household income in Buckhead is significantly higher than in other parts of Atlanta.

### Understanding Psychographics

This is where Marketly 360 truly shines.

1. Click on the “Psychographics” tab.
2. Define your customer’s values, interests, lifestyle, and opinions.
3. The tool provides a list of pre-defined options, but you can also add your own. For example, you might add “Enjoys weekend hiking in the North Georgia mountains” or “Active in the local PTA at Morningside Elementary.”

### Identifying Pain Points and Goals

1. Click on the “Pain Points & Goals” tab.
2. List your customer’s biggest challenges and aspirations. What keeps them up at night? What are they trying to achieve?
3. Marketly 360 suggests pain points and goals based on the demographic and psychographic information you’ve already entered.

Pro Tip: Conduct real customer interviews to gather accurate information for your avatar. I had a client last year, a local bakery in Decatur, who discovered their target customer was more environmentally conscious than they initially thought, leading to a shift in their packaging and messaging.

Common Mistake: Creating a generic avatar that doesn’t accurately represent your ideal customer.

Expected Outcome: A detailed customer avatar that provides a clear picture of your target audience, including their demographics, psychographics, pain points, and goals.

## Step 4: Developing Your Brand Voice and Tone

Consistency is key. This module ensures your brand speaks with one voice. If you’re trying to boost profits, keeping experienced marketers on your team can help ensure that voice is consistent and effective.

### Accessing the Brand Voice & Tone Module

1. From the Brand Strategy Builder dashboard, click on the “Brand Voice & Tone” module.

### Defining Your Brand Voice

1. The tool presents a series of sliders with opposing adjectives (e.g., “Formal” vs. “Informal,” “Serious” vs. “Playful,” “Technical” vs. “Simple”).
2. Adjust the sliders to define your brand’s voice.
3. For each slider, you can add a brief explanation of why you chose that particular setting.

### Crafting Your Tone

1. The tool then asks you to define your brand’s tone in different situations (e.g., when responding to a customer complaint, when announcing a new product, when sharing company news).
2. For each situation, write a short sample response that reflects your brand’s voice and tone.

Pro Tip: Refer back to your brand archetype and customer avatar when defining your voice and tone. Ensure that your communication style aligns with your brand’s personality and resonates with your target audience.

Common Mistake: Confusing brand voice and tone. Voice is your overall personality; tone is how that personality is expressed in specific situations.

Expected Outcome: A documented brand voice and tone guide that ensures consistent communication across all marketing channels. This is what nobody tells you: this will be invaluable when onboarding new team members.

## Step 5: Analyzing Your Competition

Understanding your competition is vital for differentiation. When evaluating competitors, consider how personalized marketing is impacting their customer experience.

### Accessing the Competitive Analysis Module

1. From the Brand Strategy Builder dashboard, click on the “Competitive Analysis” module.

### Identifying Your Competitors

1. Enter the names of your top 3-5 competitors.
2. The tool will automatically pull in publicly available information about their brands, including their website, social media profiles, and recent news articles.

### Evaluating Their Strengths and Weaknesses

1. For each competitor, assess their strengths and weaknesses in terms of brand positioning, messaging, customer experience, and marketing strategy.
2. The tool provides a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis template to guide your evaluation.

### Identifying Opportunities for Differentiation

1. Based on your competitive analysis, identify opportunities to differentiate your brand. What can you do better than your competitors? What unique value can you offer to your target audience?
2. Document these opportunities in the tool.

Pro Tip: Don’t just focus on direct competitors. Consider indirect competitors as well. For example, if you’re a coffee shop, your indirect competitors might include tea shops, juice bars, and even breakfast restaurants.

Common Mistake: Copying your competitors. Instead, focus on identifying your unique selling proposition and building a brand that stands out from the crowd.

Expected Outcome: A clear understanding of your competitive landscape and a plan for differentiating your brand.

Let’s consider a concrete example. Imagine you are starting a new organic dog food company in the Grant Park neighborhood. Using Marketly 360, you define your archetype as “The Caregiver,” your customer avatar as a health-conscious millennial dog owner, and your voice as “Informative and Empathetic.” You analyze competitors like “Blue Buffalo” and smaller local brands. You discover a gap in the market for sustainable packaging. The result? You launch with a strong brand identity focused on quality, sustainability, and the well-being of dogs, attracting a loyal customer base. After six months, your customer acquisition cost decreased by 15% due to more targeted marketing.

Building a strong brand strategy using tools like Marketly 360 isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about understanding your audience and crafting a compelling narrative. That clear understanding will guide every marketing decision you make.

By following these steps within Marketly 360, you’ll have a solid brand strategy in place, ready to guide your marketing efforts and drive meaningful results. Now, take that documented strategy and use it as a filter — every marketing decision must align with it. To ensure that strategy translates to real-world success, build teams and cut waste.