dreamstime.com
At my most recent branding workshop, a participant who runs a successful business inquired into whether she needed a slogan to highlight her brand.
People often get slogan and tagline confused. In order to answer this question, first let’s figure out what is a “slogan” versus a “tagline”. According to Wikipedia, a slogan is a short, often memorable phrases used in ads and are claimed to be the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of your service or product. So slogans give a credible impression of your brand. For example, KFC had “finger lickin’ good”.
By comparison, a tagline is a type of slogan that is a memorable phrase summing up the tone and premise of your brand, or to reinforce the audience’s memory of your brand. For example, Star Trek used, “To boldly go where no man has gone before”.
Not that different, huh? In fact, it seems a tagline is a type of slogan! So do you need one for your personal brand to be highlighted? Well, there are many different theories.
My answer is first work on building a personal brand that stands out, is memorable and resonates well with your target market. Make it genuine and comfortable and about your unique qualities as a person. Learn to network well with your personal brand.
Once you have become the master of who you are and your personal brand AND have infused it into your business brand, then step back and see how and if you can incorporate your personal brand into a slogan and/or tagline. The slogan and/or tagline must represent you and your personal brand well. They should be the cherry on the sundae and linger on in the consumer’s mind about your personal brand.
Otherwise, don’t just slap together a slogan or tagline that is not well thought out. Too many people just want something because they think they look polished and successful in business. The opposite happens when you don’t think through your personal brand and jump into creating a slogan or tagline in a vacuum. You create a messy foundation for your business brand.
