I'm coming at you with a BIG brand move that you can jump on today that is one of THE most important and overlooked brand marketing strategies that can instantly boost your creds, reach and trust. Brand relevance — and more specifically cultural relevance.

Something that is more important than ever if we want to build deep, loyal and connected relationships with our audience in a social first, fast moving and uncertain world. You may think it's reserved for the big brands with big campaign budgets. Well I am here to tell you that it's not.

Any brand at any stage can be tapped into and relating their brand back to what's happening in culture and it can be a HUGE opportunity for defining your distinctive point of view. I see so many businesses not leveraging this yet.

What is brand relevance and why does it matter?

Brand relevance is how well your brand connects to what your audience actually cares about right now and the messaging you create around the moments that matter. The thought leaders they are learning from, the political stories they are following, the communities they are joining and the tiny micro moments of culture that resonate deeply with their identity.

Without cultural relevance, although your audience may not notice, you will absolutely feel it. Your brand becomes passive, impartial and not tapped into what's happening right now. It will lack the real world connection and meaning that audiences are craving. And if we are not being relevant, our audience will categorise us in their minds as irrelevant.

It's the 'she gets me' moments. The inside jokes. The nodding along and saving for later in agreement with a point of view. It's the difference between a brand that feels like it's part of your audience's world, and one that feels like it's talking to them in a vacuum of its own messaging. A brand that gets referenced, shared, trusted and creates conversations that real people want to be part of.

Why is cultural relevance no longer a nice-to-have?

But its not about jumping on annnyy old cultural moment anymore because culture is no longer mass market. It exists within bubbles and pockets of communities and niche groups. Specific influencers, styles, tones of voice, belief systems. Your brand needs to be tapped into the right cultural commentary of your niche or community to resonate. In fact, jumping on the wrong trends or slinging your opinions around before you deeply know your audience can be cultural brand suicide.

So what we need to be doing as brands who want to stay culturally relevant and become even more embedded in our audience's identity is this: Figure out the moments, movements, topics and trends that matter to our specific audience and then be there, speaking up and relating your brand back to their reality in a way that deeply aligns your values with theirs.

This is such an exciting and fulfilling thing for founders to be jumping on right now. Not just because it matters, but because it brings your message, brand and opinions into the real world. Not just existing within the bubble of your own messaging or sitting on a dusty Google doc.

How do you know if your brand is culturally relevant?

So how can you tell if your brand is relevant or not? Do this quick stress test to get a gage on how relevant (or irrelevant) your brand is?

Can you easily relate your movement and message to what's actually going on in the world today? Are the foundations of your POV, purpose and belief system super clear, both internally as a company and externally? Do you find it easy to jump on niche-specific trends and interpret them in a way that feels true to you and your brand? Is there someone in your team who is keeping up to date with cultural and consumer shifts and making sure your brand and marketing is staying relevant? Does your brand look like it was built in 2020, maybe it was? Minimal assets, safe options, millennial polish, no room to flex or grow? Do you know your audience and the micro bubbles of culture they are tapped into?

If you answered mainly no, let's get you more culturally relevant right now so you can get cracking.

Five moves to make your brand more culturally relevant right now

So what does staying relevant actually look like in practice? Here are the moves worth making.

01. Know your customer's world, not just their problem

Get to know your customer even more deeply than you already do. What they are experiencing, shopping, reading and thinking about, current affairs and cultural shifts included. You need to make sure that your brand is resonating and reflecting what your audience cares about and is experiencing.

→ Choose a sub-section of your audience on LinkedIn or Instagram and do a deep dive into who they follow, what they are commenting on and how they are reacting to moments in real time. Map their cultural landscape and context so that you can stay relevant.

02. Be first to the table

Being the first to the table and picking up on small shifts as and when they arise shows your people that you care, you get it and you are tapped into their reality. Don't wait to jump on something that feels relevant. Take the topic, moment or trend and make it mean something.

→ Set up news alerts for your industry and three topics your audience cares about. Check them weekly and see what you can embed into your content. Follow cultural commentary accounts relevant to your industry and share other people's content with your own opinion added.

03. Pressure test your mission

Make sure your mission and vision makes sense in today's world. Something that was set in stone three years ago could have resonated back then, but if it's out of date it's already behind.

→ Read your mission statement out loud today as if you're a new customer. Does it still land? Does it still feel necessary?

04. Stay genuinely close to culture

Stay up to date with your industry news, consumer shifts and general cultural shifts. Understand these and how they affect your customer and make sure you are showing them that you get it. Read the trend reports, have Medium notifications on and absorb what's going on in the real world.

→ Block one hour a month to read one trend report and one piece of cultural commentary outside your industry.

05. Speak your mind, but speak it wisely

Don't self-censor or hold back on speaking your mind and standing up for what you believe in, but make sure it's in alignment with your audience. POV-led brands who have something to say and a point of view on their industry, how things are done and what they believe in signal relevance. They speak up straight away when something shifts.

→ What's one thing happening in your industry right now that you have a real opinion on? Write it down. That's your next piece of content.

So there you have it. A master class (if I dont say so myself) on how to make your brand relevant, so you are no longer irrelevant.

If this kind of thinking is what your brand needs, explore our consultancy and positioning work. And if you want more of this in your inbox every week, join the Big Brand Moves newsletter.