Tagline Advice: The Power of a Tempting Tagline
The Art of the Tempting Tagline
Today's story is #3 in my 7-week series on how to put your "best foot forward" in your small business so you can attract more ideal clients and customers.
My story today is about harnessing the power of a small business tagline.
FYI - I'm doing this series to give you a sneak peek at my first-ever complimentary seminar on branding your small business - coming to NC this February - Small Business: Best Foot Forward - 7 Steps to a Profitable and Relatable Brand. (Register for free here. Durham is sold out and the remaining events are 85% booked - it's possible they will sell out too.)
So, let's talk taglines and how the right one can do a lot for your small business.
Tagline, You're It
To me, taglines represent an underutilized value to most small businesses. I want to talk about one best practice for picking your tagline and how it can help attract more customers to your company.
A tagline is a short and ideally memorable phrase that can accompany your logo and branding elements for your business and that communicates an additional part of your business story. It's also known as a "slogan."
Here are some pretty major examples of taglines:
Apple - "Think Different"
Nike - "Just Do It"
Lay's Chips - "Betcha Can't Eat Just One"
Burger King - "Have it Your Way"
(and here's a list of 50 more!)
Alright, you probably get it and can think of a dozen others when it comes to big companies. In my work with small business owners at Greatest Story Creative, when we create a logo - we also develop a tagline at the same time. The reason we do this is that a tagline helps add more emotion and context to the logo and the overall way you present your business to others. Developing them together ensures that they'll work hand-in-hand for a full experience for your clients.
One of my favorite best practices for taglines is to have a primary or secondary tagline that is an invitation to the benefit your business provides. When you have a memorable invitation, that's the kind of welcome that can draw more people in vs. having just a logo and your business name.
These big brands do a great job with this idea. "Just do it" - Nike is inviting us to use its clothes, shoes, and other products to make things happen in our lives. "Think Different" - Apple is giving us technology that will allow us to be different, think different, succeed outside the box. "Have It Your Way" - Burger King is practically daring us to come in and order anything the way we want it.
And what's awesome is that you can use the same tagline strategy the big guys use.
Think about your business or business idea.
Do you have a tagline?
Does it invite your customer or client into your business in some way?
If it doesn't - what could you do to make it more of an invitation to work with you or invest in your product?
And along these lines, is there some way to tie it back into your business name for added memorability?
For example, Greatest Story Creative's tagline is "Let's celebrate your story." It's literally "Let us (you and me/our agency) celebrate your story" - aka what sets you and your business apart. It's a direct invitation to embrace those strengths by collaborating with us.
A few more taglines we've written for our clients bring this idea to life in different ways:
BrianaBakes: "Southern Goodness That'll Whisk You Away"
H & Arrow Fitness: "Let's Find Your Fitness"
Ballantine Bros.:"Good-for-You Food Adventures"
MatterSpark Consulting: "Let's Ignite What Matters Most"
Whatever work you do - making your tagline tempting - a clever line to invite us in - is just one way a tagline can add value to how you visually and verbally present your business.
Taglines can also do great things like help you add more clarity and context to a business name (especially helpful if it's an abstract or foreign word). Today's example is just one way that having a tagline can be a powerful way to set yourself apart in the small business world.
Looking to Next Week
In next week's story in our "Best Foot Forward" series, I'll be looking at other aspects of writing that you need to support your visual brand. If you have specific questions about writing / messaging for your business, reply to this and let me know!
