Page 18 - 2016 february issue

Brand Messaging:
Encapsulating vs. Explaining
by Janet Hager
So, what do you do? —It’s one of the most
commonly asked questions. It’s a simple ques-
tion. Why is it so hard to answer smoothly?
It’s legitimately difficult to sum up years
of experience, an approach you’ve fine-tuned
over time, a unique set of services, and your
passion for the work you do. It’s damn nigh
impossible to do it off the cuff. You have to
spend some time crafting a response that says
what you want it to say, in a way that is not
just understandable to the people you want
to reach, but resonates with them.
Then you have to practice it until it sounds
natural when you say it, and not canned; until
the words roll out of your mouth in a delight-
fully interesting stream of scintillation and
deliciousness.
Do all of that, and you’ve got yourself some
solid brand messaging.
It’s the difference between explaining and
encapsulating.
Explaining is what happens when you don’t
prepare, when you try to talk about what you
do extemporaneously. When you explain, you
sound like you don’t quite know what you’re
talking about. You lose credibility. And you
confuse people.
For example, this is explaining: I do
marketing and branding, you know, logos and
websites and other communication tools. And
strategy. Basically anything a company needs in
order to connect with the people they want to connect joined Toastmasters for Speaking Professionals in
with, you know?
The listener is thinking: You “do” marketing
and branding? Is that even grammatically correct?
Okay, marketing and branding, I know what that
means. Oh wait, websites are branding? Maybe I
don’t know what it means… And what the hell is a
communication tool?
Encapsulating, by contrast, is when you
craft phrases and sentences that speak about
what you bring to the table in a way that rein-
forces what’s different about your company,
and that resonates with the people who are a
best fit for you. It’s when you choose exactly the
18 Volume 2 Issue 7 - FEBRUARY 2016
right words to convey all of that meaning and
nuance and subtext, as concisely as possible.
And it’s practiced, so when you’re called upon
to use those phrases and sentences, you can
deliver them confidently and passionately.
This is encapsulating: I help companies figure
out how they’re different, who needs to know about
it, and how to connect with those people. Then I
create anything we need to build those relationships.
I know it seems like you should be able to
talk intelligently about your company sponta-
neously. It’s your company, it’s what you do all
day every day, and this ain’t your first rodeo.
But like many aspects of life, if you want to
make the most of those fleeting opportunities
to make a first impression with a new contact
about your company, a little prep goes a long
way.
When it comes to your Toastmasters club,
you’ve got multiple members, all out and
about talking about your club. What are you
all saying? Are you presenting a consistent view
of what your club has to offer, or are you all
saying something different?
Spend some time encapsulating. Build a
strong brand message, for your company or
your club. Then you can make a good impres-
sion any time you get an opportunity.
Janet Clesse Hager can help you fine tune your
brand messaging, and then some. She’s a marketing
and branding specialist, a dynamic speaker,
distiller of information, and solver of problems.
Her company is called Tinfish Initiatives. Janet
May 2015.
The keys to brand success are self-
definition, transparency, authenticity
and accountability.
Simon Mainwaring