When you think of slogans or taglines, you probably think of iconic brands like Nike or FedEx. But today’s taglines and slogans, and headlines serve a different purpose than they used to.
In this article, I’m going to show you how your business can use simple slogans and taglines to actually stand out from the competition.
A Little History About Slogans and Taglines
The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic and Irish sluagh-ghairm or battle cry.
Taglines actually come from the entertainment industry. It was actually a short statement meant to clarify a thought or a concept.
Slogans and taglines were extremely popular from the 19th century through the early 20th century. But then something interesting happened — consumers evolved.
As advertising evolved and consumers became more sophisticated, so did brands and companies in their use of slogans and taglines. For examples, some of your favorite taglines actually started as slogans — Nike’s “Just Do It” was such a popular campaign, that it turned into a tagline. The same is true for Apple’s “Think Different”.
As small businesses, we aspire to be just as memorable and great as a big brand, but let’s face it. As small business owners, we’re more concerned with revenue than the popularity of a slogan or tagline.
Slogan vs Tagline: What’s the Difference?
a slogan and a tagline are both short phrases that are used to promote a brand or product, but they have slightly different purposes and uses.
A slogan is a catchy phrase that is often used in an advertising or marketing campaign to help promote a brand’s core values.
Slogans are typically longer than taglines and can include more information about a company’s values or offerings. Slogans are often used to help differentiate a brand from its competitors, and they may be used in a variety of marketing materials, such as print ads, billboards, and TV commercials.
On the other hand, a tagline is a short and snappy phrase that is used to capture the essence of a brand or product. Taglines are usually just a few words long and are designed to be memorable and easily recognizable. Taglines raise awareness. They are often used on websites, social media, and other marketing materials to help create a brand identity and establish a connection with customers.
While there is a technical difference between slogans and taglines; slogans are for individual marketing campaigns and can change from one product to another. Taglines are a verbal logo. They are more permanent and associated with a specific brand.
But, for our purposes as solopreneurs, there’s not much of a difference. For the purposes of small business marketing, we’re going to use slogans and taglines interchangeably because they are doing the same job — giving your customers a reason to choose you over another business.
Do I need a slogan or tagline?
Not every business needs a tagline. In fact, a lot of small businesses, consultants and solopreneurs will never need a tagline. I like to think of brand slogans or taglines as key elements of your marketing message.
Let’s see where you fit in:
You’ll want a slogan, phrase or tagline if:
- Your company name doesn’t clearly describe what you offer.
- You have a specific differentiating offer that is reflected in all of your offers
You don’t need a slogan or tagline if:
- Your company name specifically states what you offer
- You offer a variety of different offers with different promises
The ONE Place You MUST Have a Slogan or Headline
Your website is the BEST place to put your slogan or tagline! This is, by far the biggest return on your creative investment.
Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about.
Let’s compare two popular email marketing websites:
Mailchimp is promoting your service by growing your email list and your revenue.
Keap is promoting everything an entrepreneur needs to win.
The difference in these two company slogans or taglines is obvious. MailChimp is more of a small business email system while Keap is targeting online entrepreneurs with an all-in-one platform.
Now let’s look at a local elder law attorney.
Now, an elder law attorney is a very specific type of law practice. And you can see here, that the home page has a lot of information, but it’s missing that powerful slogan headline.
What NOT to Do With a Slogan or Tagline
I’ll get straight to the point — don’t try to be artistic, witty, creative or cute. You have to look at slogans, branding and taglines inside the context of the world we live in.
Our world is digital. People don’t have time to think about what you mean or what you were trying to say.
Slogans and Taglines Give Your Customer a Reason to Choose You
The purpose of a slogan vs tagline or headline is to get YOU chosen instead of the other guy. So get to the point. Tell your customer why they should choose you.
Todays slogan and tagline must focus on key words. Use simple words that a 5-year-old can understand. Ok, you can go older, let’s say 12 year old. But keep it that simple.
How to Come Up With a Slogan or a Tagline
Ask your customers
Slogans and taglines are a lot like nicknames — especially in today’s landscape where there is so much engagement with your customer.
The best place to look for a great slogan or tagline is to your customer. Why do your customers say that they chose you?
You can even ask your clients and customers “What was it about my business that made me the obvious choice for you?”
Your goal is to come up with a series of “seed” words that best describe your business, your brand message the desired outcome for your clients, and/or the promise that you make.
Answer these 3 questions
One of my favorite exercises to get to a slogan or tagline is to answer these three questions:
- Who are you being in the world? What do you stand for? This is really nothing more than a combination of your values and beliefs. Keep it simple. Make it a simple sentence that you might share with someone at a party or networking event. Don’t use flowery language.
- What are you committed to? This is a sentence that describes a commitment that you have for something bigger than yourself. Some consultants and coaches say that they are committed to making millionaires, for example.
- What can people count on you for? This is a statement of deliverables that you stand behind. This answer should start with a verb. “Simplifying marketing” or “Delivery in 30 minutes” or “Proven low-cost marketing advice”.
Use Tools and Generators for Your Slogans or Taglines
I decided to post a $100 reward for a slogan.
One of the great things about today’s technology is that there are a lot of tools out there to help you come up with a slogan or tagline.
Play with Simplified
Simplified has a forever free version that you can use to help you come up with some creative ideas.
Select the one-liner description, and throw your ideas into the form. Click on “Generate” and see what slogans or taglines come up.
Slogans are Ideal for Specific Marketing Campaigns
As I was putting this article together, I asked myself what role do slogans and taglines play in marketing campaigns. Let’s break that down.
Marketing campaigns will often have a slogan. The goal of that slogan is to position the company’s product in a way that connects the target audience to the brand and create brand recognition.
The goal is to convey positive feelings about the brand with short sentences, outline key differences between the brand and other alternatives, and create a trigger event that gets that target customer to choose the specific products the best represent the customer’s goals and the company’s mission.
How Will You Use Your Slogan or Tagline
Now that you understand the importance of a slogan or tagline in a marketing campaign, it’s time to get to work on creating one for your business. Keep in mind that your slogan or tagline should focus on key words that will help your customers choose you instead of the other guy.
