7 Steps to Crafting Your Own Brand Manifesto

Are you struggling to differentiate your brand from the competition? Do you want to create a strong connection with your target audience? A brand manifesto might be just what you need.

In this article, we'll explore a brand manifesto, the importance of brand manifesto for your business, and how it can improve your SEO performance.

What is brand manifesto?

A brand manifesto declares your company's values, beliefs, and purpose. It's a statement that defines who you are as a brand and what you stand for. A well-crafted manifesto can inspire loyalty among customers and employees alike.

Image taken from Strikingly Manifesto

A compelling brand manifesto should be:

• Authentic

It should reflect the real motivations and principles behind your business. Don't just say what your audience wants to hear. Be transparent about what truly drives you and shapes your brand vision.

• Ambitious

Set out a vision that is genuinely compelling and will inspire loyalty and passion in your customers and employees. Mediocre mission and value statements won't have the same power or impact. Think big.

• Differentiating

Your manifesto should clarify what unique value your brand provides and what sets it apart. This helps to claim a memorable position in the market and the minds of customers.

• Concise

While your manifesto aims to be compelling, keep it relatively short—you want it to be easily understood, remembered, and shareable. A few powerful sentences or paragraphs at most.

• Actionable

When you write a brand manifesto, it should motivate your audience to support your brand in meaningful ways. Tell customers exactly what they can do to embrace the vision and impact the change you want to make. Make it real and action-based.

Why do you need a brand manifesto?

A good product or service is insufficient in today's crowded marketplace. You must have a clear identity that sets you apart from the competition. A brand manifesto helps you define and communicate that identity effectively to your target audience.

Some key benefits of a well-crafted brand manifesto include:

• It gives your brand purpose and direction. A manifesto outlines the "why" behind your business and what you want to achieve. This provides focus and guidance for brand strategy and decision-making.
• It attracts loyal customers. A compelling manifesto builds an emotional connection with your audience. Those who share your values and purpose will become loyal advocates and long-term customers.
• It inspires your team. A bold vision outlined in your manifesto gives your employees motivation, passion, and clarity on their role in building your brand. It helps unify and align your team.
• It shapes a consistent experience. Your manifesto defines what interactions with your brand should feel like. It informs how you communicate with and provides value to your audience through every touchpoint. Consistency leads to familiarity and trust.
• It gains media interest. An intriguing brand manifesto tells a story that others will want to share. Media outlets are always looking for companies doing something new, different, or meaningful. Pitch your manifesto to gain earned media coverage and reach new audiences.

Ready? Let's learn how to write a brand manifesto.

Step 1: Define Your Brand Values

Every brand needs a manifesto to communicate its values and beliefs to its audience. Writing a brand manifesto helps you define your brand's identity, mission, and vision. It is a powerful tool to help you stand out in a crowded market and connect with your target audience.

Analyze your brand's purpose

The first step in writing a brand manifesto is to analyze your brand's purpose. Ask yourself why your brand exists and what it aims to achieve. What problem does it solve? What makes it unique? Understanding your brand's purpose will help you identify the core values that drive it.

Identify what your brand stands for

When you write a brand manifesto, remember that your brand stands for something beyond the products or services it offers. It represents a set of beliefs, principles, and ideals that guide its actions and decisions. Identify what your brand stands for by defining its core values, such as honesty, innovation, sustainability, or customer-centricity.

Determine what your brand believes in

What does your brand believe in? What are the underlying principles that shape its worldview? For example, if you are running an eco-friendly fashion line, you may believe in sustainable production practices, ethical sourcing of materials, and reducing waste in the fashion industry.

Image taken from Strikingly - Fresh Finest Template

Defining your brand values is crucial because they will be the foundation for everything you do as a company. They will guide your decisions about product development, marketing messaging, customer service policies, and more.

By having clear values that align with those of your target audience, you can establish a deeper connection with them and build a loyal customer base. In the next step, we'll look at how to define your target audience.

Step 2: Define Your Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is crucial when you write a brand manifesto that resonates with them. Your ideal customers are the people who are most likely to engage with your brand and become loyal customers.

Who are your ideal customers?

To define your target audience, you need to understand who they are. Consider their age, gender, location, income level, and other demographics that may be relevant to your brand. You should also think about their interests, values, and lifestyle choices.

What drives their decisions?

Understanding what motivates your target audience can help you create a brand manifesto that speaks directly to them. Are they driven by price? Quality? Convenience? Environmental concerns? Knowing what matters most to them can help you craft a message that resonates.

What are their preferences?

Finally, it's important to consider the preferences of your target audience when creating a brand manifesto.

• What kind of messaging do they respond best to?
• Do they prefer visuals or text-based content?
• Are they more likely to engage with social media or email marketing campaigns?

Step 3: Craft Your

Brand Story

Crafting a compelling brand story is crucial to creating a brand manifesto that resonates with your audience. Your brand story should answer three key questions:

Why does your brand exist?

Your brand's purpose is the foundation of your story. It's the reason why you do what you do, and it should be at the heart of everything you communicate. When crafting your brand story, start by asking yourself why your brand exists in the first place.

Perhaps you saw a gap in the market that needed to be filled, or you were inspired to create something that would make people's lives better. Whatever the reason, make sure it's clear and compelling.

What are the challenges you're solving?

Your brand's purpose should tie into the challenges that you're solving for your customers. What problems or pain points are they experiencing, and how does your product or service solve them? This is where you can really differentiate yourself from competitors.

Make sure to be specific about the challenges you're solving and how they impact your customers' lives. This will help readers connect with your brand on an emotional level.

How do you solve them?

Finally, explain how exactly your product or service solves those challenges for customers. What makes it unique? What benefits does it offer? Make sure to highlight any features or aspects of your product/service that set it apart from competitors.

Remember to focus on benefits rather than features when crafting this section of your manifesto. Customers want to know what's in it for them, so make sure to explain how their lives will be better as a result of choosing your brand.

Telling Your Story on Strikingly

To bring all these elements together into a cohesive narrative, consider using Strikingly to create a visually appealing and engaging landing page for your manifesto.

Strikingly allows users to easily create beautiful, professional-looking websites without coding knowledge. You can use it to showcase your brand story through a combination of text, images, and videos.

By leveraging the power of Strikingly, you can create a landing page that tells your brand story and encourages readers to take action and engage with your brand further.

Image taken from Strikingly - Perspective Blog Template

Step 4: Develop Your Brand Promise

Your brand promise is a statement that communicates what customers can expect from your brand and how you plan to deliver on those expectations. It's an essential component of your brand manifesto, as it sets the tone for how you interact with customers and what they can expect from your products or services.

What can customers expect from your brand?

When developing your brand promise, it's important to consider what benefits customers will receive when they choose to do business with you. Will they receive exceptional customer service? High-quality products? Fast and efficient delivery? Whatever your promise may be, ensure it aligns with the values and beliefs outlined in your brand manifesto.

How do you plan to deliver on your promises?

Once you've defined what customers can expect from your brand, it's time to determine how you plan to deliver on those promises. This may involve investing in new technologies or processes, hiring additional staff members, or reevaluating current practices. Whatever changes are necessary, ensure they align with your business's overall mission and purpose.

What are the benefits of your promise to customers?

Your brand promise should clearly communicate the benefits that customers will receive when they choose to do business with you. These benefits may include increased productivity, improved quality of life, or enhanced customer satisfaction. By clearly communicating these benefits in your brand manifesto, you'll be able to attract more loyal customers who are invested in the success of your business.

Using Strikingly to showcase your promise

Strikingly is an excellent platform for showcasing your brand promise and communicating it effectively to potential customers. With its user-friendly interface and customizable templates, Strikingly makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to create a professional-looking website that accurately represents their values and beliefs.

Step 5: Define Your Brand Voice

Your brand voice is the personality and tone of your brand's communication. It's how you want your audience to perceive your brand. This is an integral part of your process when you write a brand manifesto.

To define your brand voice, consider the following:

What tone do you want to communicate?

Do you want to be playful, professional, or serious? Your tone should align with your brand values and target audience. For example, a playful tone may be appropriate if you're a children's toy company.

What kind of language do you want to use?

Consider the language that resonates with your target audience. Do they prefer formal or informal language? Do they respond well to industry jargon or simpler terms? Use language that aligns with their preferences.

How do you want your brand to be perceived?

Think about the emotions and feelings you want your audience to associate with your brand. Do you want them to feel inspired, comforted, or motivated? Your brand voice should reflect these emotions.

Using Strikingly to create a consistent

brand voice

Strikingly offers templates and customization options for creating a consistent brand voice across all of your communication channels. Use their design tools to select fonts and colors that align with your desired tone and personality.

Step 6: Define Your Brand Aesthetics

Your brand's visual aesthetic is crucial in creating a strong and memorable brand manifesto. It's the first thing your audience will notice, setting the tone for how they perceive your brand. So, what visual aesthetic represents your brand?

What visual aesthetic represents your brand?

Your visual aesthetic should align with your brand values, target audience, and overall message. Are you a luxury brand with a sophisticated audience? Or are you a fun and playful brand targeting millennials? Your visuals should reflect this.

What colors, fonts, and images align with your brand?

Choose colors that represent your brand's personality and values. For example, blue is often associated with trustworthiness and professionalism, while red is associated with excitement and energy.

Fonts also play an important role in establishing your brand's tone. A serif font can give off a more traditional or formal vibe while a sans-serif font can feel more modern or casual.

Images should also align with your overall message and target audience. If you're targeting nature enthusiasts, use images of landscapes or wildlife to appeal to their interests.

How can you make your brand stand out visually?

One way to make your brand stand out visually is by using unique design elements that are specific to your brand. This could be anything from a custom logo or icon to an unusual color palette.

Another way to stand out is by using consistent, consistent visuals across all platforms - from social media to website design.

Showcasing Your Brand Aesthetic on Strikingly

Strikingly offers various customization options for showcasing your visual branding on their platform. You can choose from templates that incorporate specific colors, fonts, images, and other design elements that align with your branding guidelines.

Step 7: Share and Implement Your Manifesto

Once you have crafted your brand manifesto, it's time to share it with the world. Here are some tips on how to publish and promote your manifesto:

Publish your manifesto

There are several ways to publish your brand manifesto. You can create a dedicated page on your website, share it on social media, or even print it out and distribute it at events.

One effective way to showcase your brand manifesto is by using Strikingly, a website builder that allows you to create beautiful, professional-looking pages in minutes. With Strikingly's easy-to-use interface, you can customize your page with different fonts, colors, and images to reflect your brand's aesthetics.

Promote your manifesto to your audience

To get the most out of your brand manifesto, you need to promote it effectively. Share it on all your social media channels and encourage others to share it. You can also include a link to your manifesto in your marketing materials, such as email signatures, business cards, and brochures.

Another effective way to promote your manifesto is by partnering with other brands or influencers with similar values. By collaborating with others who align with your mission, you can amplify the reach of your message.

How to use your manifesto for internal brand alignment

Your brand manifesto is not just for external promotion - it can also be used internally as a tool for brand alignment. Share the document with all members of your team and make sure everyone understands the values and beliefs that drive the company.

Image taken from Strikingly - Ventures Template

Using the manifesto as a guide for decision-making and goal-setting within the company, you can ensure that everyone is working towards the same vision.

Leveraging Strikingly to get your manifesto out there

Strikingly offers many features that can help you get maximum exposure for your brand manifesto. For example, you can use the platform's SEO tools to optimize your page for search engines, making it easier for people to find.

You can also use Strikingly's analytics dashboard to track how many people view your page and where they are coming from. This information can help refine your promotion strategy and reach a wider audience.

With these tips, you can leverage your brand manifesto to build a strong brand identity and connect with your target audience.

Manifest. Create. Grow.

A brand manifesto is crucial for SEO because it helps establish your brand's identity and purpose, which can attract more customers and improve your search engine rankings. To create a powerful manifesto, follow the seven steps outlined in this article.

Strikingly can help you write a brand manifesto and provide you with an easy-to-use platform for showcasing your brand, your manifesto, and who you are in one place. With Strikingly's templates and drag-and-drop interface, creating a professional-looking manifesto is simple.

It’s time to manifest success and push your brand online. Sign up with Strikingly today!