Finding your Brand Tribe – for Bloggers

We like certain brands because they help define and clarify who we are. And to have a successful blog ‘brand’, we need to know our audience. It sounds simple, but what does it mean in practice?

We covered how to define your brand and grow your audience in our free downloadable [link]. In this blog, we’ll be looking at defining your brand and why understanding that audience is critical.

What is a brand tribe?

Consider this (plausible but made-up) statement: “I don’t buy shampoo from the Body Shop because it’s shampoo. I buy it because the Body Shop aligns with my environmental views and animal welfare beliefs. I admire their dedication to vegan and cruelty-free products, as well as their donating of profits to charity. It’s not the best shampoo I’ve used, but it makes me feel like a better person, and so I’ll keep buying it.”

In branding, this is known as “tribal identification”, and it’s done by “consumer tribes”. Where people once formed physical tribes over territory, today we create psychological ones. Tribes that exist in our hearts and minds; tribes that mean something to us.

Tribes are built around a set of beliefs and values that we share with others. You can find the tribe in almost all brands. Nike has a tribe of “just do it” everyday athletes that push the boundaries of everyday fitness. When you power up your Apple MacBook, you’re joining a tribe of free-thinking rebels that like to challenge the status quo. When you subscribe to a blog, you’re joining a tribe of people that think like you, share your interests, and hold the same values as you. These brands resonate with you on a deeper level than others, and so you choose them over others.

Brand tribalism for bloggers

You don’t have to be selling a product or service to benefit from understanding your tribe. It’s hugely important for bloggers looking to increase their readership.

Understanding your tribe will enable you to create quality content that resonates. You’ll be able to craft your content for a specific group of people, rather than trying to please everyone (which never works!) Some good questions to ask when thinking about your niche and its tribe might be:

• What do these readers love?
• What do they believe in?
• What motivates them?
• What problems do they have?
• What’s missing from their lives?  

Understanding your tribe will help you develop a solid core of readers who subscribe to your blog, relentlessly scroll your social media, and can’t wait for your next blog post. If you’re keen to branch out into sales or affiliate marketing, a strong and loyal tribe will be more likely to buy.

It’s important to take the time to get to know your audience. This way you can tailor your content to suit them. Your tribe will feel reached out to, understood, and will be more likely to become a loyal reader.

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