The What, Why and How of Tag Lines

The What, Why and How of Tag Lines
Like your logo, your tag line is part of your brand or business identity. It is a one to two-line phrase that, crafted well, helps you stand out from your competition and in the minds of your customers and prospective customers. It communicates your company’s most important quality or benefit and/or what you want people to remember about you.
Great tag lines often appear to have been created without effort. In fact, it takes a lot of time and thought to create one. Large companies pay a lot of money to advertising agencies to come up with the perfect tag line. Chances are your budget doesn’t compare to that of the big corporations. But that doesn’t mean that you have to go without.
To craft your own tag line, first decide on your message. What is it you want to communicate? In answering this question, consider your target market, the benefits of your product or service, the emotions you want to evoke, the actions you want customers to take, and your unique selling proposition: what differentiates you from your competition?
Once you’ve settled on your message, try any or all of the following:

• research other company’s tag lines (for inspiration only, of course – not for copying!)
• generate a list of words related to your business
• use those words to free associate and come up with new words
• consult  a thesaurus for synonyms
• try an on-line tag line generator; you’re not likely to get the perfect tag line, but you might get some good ideas
• get a group together to brainstorm possible tag lines, or brainstorm on your own
• short-list the best tag lines you generate and survey others for their opinion

Aim for concision and precision: shorter tag lines are easier to remember, and precise ones ensure you don’t leave people confused and guessing about your message.
If you’ve been putting off coming up with a tag line, there is no better time than now to get to work. As Nike says, “Just do it”!
Donna Willon
President – Focused Networking Ltd
I help You Generate More Business Through Networking Relationships, LinkedIn Training and Business Coaching
604-328-2290
donna@focusednetworking.com
www.focusednetworking.com