The gem inside purpose-led brands

Working with purpose-led brands over the years, one of the biggest challenges I see is with reaching people and bringing them into their brand. So many companies create websites and content that is educational without considering how they’re connecting with people – they’re not thinking of being inspiring or inviting. While they tell people what the company does, for whom and how it works, it isn’t audience-centric. Successful content needs to focus on what the people they’re trying to reach care about, what keeps them up at night. Without inspiring or inviting audiences, the best response might be, “That sounds great, I’ll let you know when we can afford that.”
 
I accidentally came up with the little three-faceted gem to inspire/inform/invite years ago in startups when I realized it was the one thing that everyone needed for growth. It still holds true, no matter what kind of company I’m working with. When people shift their mindset to position their brand and their content to inspire, inform and invite people, things change dramatically. They get meetings, sales, partnerships, media coverage, whatever it is they had identified for success.
 
All of a brand’s educational information (what the product/company is, how it works etc) fits in the middle stage of engagement, where we inform people. But if you haven’t first inspired them with your vision and purpose or the change you represent (your why!), the rest of the information isn’t interesting. And once you’ve got them inspired and they have learned more, if you don’t close the loop and invite them in, you’ve lost the chance to cultivate a relationship which might lead to growth. 
 
Brands that are improving life for people and the planet have a double advantage of a valuable offering paired with a purpose-led story that can build awareness and attract people to become advocates for your brand. People become invested in your success – this is the effect we see when people want to buy local, from people or communities they know. It all works when you build your brand around that gem that engages the specific people you are trying to reach.