Growing up going to the cabin many weekends, sitting at the lake became my peaceful place, still is. Basking in the wonder of a place and being at ease is a feeling that just feels right.

This is similar to the feeling you get when a brand aligns with you. That positive feeling to opening an email from a brand that you love, seeing a social post from an influencer who brings light to your feed, getting targeted with an ad for something you want or watching a vlog on YouTube that makes your thoughts feel echoed.

Reflecting on Standouts

Personalization: Spotify Wrapped is genius. You get a custom email, app experience and downloadable images that beg to be shared. Since it’s what you listened to, it resonates with your essence and you want to tell everyone about it. You get a glimpse of yourself with data collected that really speaks to you.

Relatability: De-influencing vlogs have quickly caught on, and for good reason. Where it used to be comparison culture and aspirational to watch your favorite mommy vlogger, now it’s far more captivating to see their lives look more like our real experience – love, mess, fun, challenges, wins and deep emotions. I recently started watching again after a year-long break because their de-influencing vlog was unlike their weekly highlights reel.

Belonging: Sephora has marketing that extends across natural influencer coverage, targeted emails, consistent SMS messages and in-app brand pushes. When you purchase there, it becomes the place you want to buy as much as you can from to earn points and hold status. There is an air about the brands sold and the VIB member experience that makes it feel elevated above other retail outlets. You can’t miss the many influencers creating proactive “what I’m buying during the Sephora sale” videos and it makes you feel a part of something bigger to be buying the same things.

Connection: Simple & Dainty is a small business jewelry brand that impressed me as I was originally targeted via Instagram ad when searching for sensitive ears jewelry. I visited their website and put a couple items in my cart. They sent me a message that I left something behind and their employee reached out to ask what type of jewelry I was looking for. She found items I would like and answered any questions I had. Needless to say, I ended up buying a necklace and bracelet set.

Beyond Surface Level

Some of the best marketing are from brands that know their target audience deeper than other brands. One thing I just realized about my examples above is they show up for their customers in multiple channels where their audience spends time – and they make them feel good.

• Spotify: We know what music you like and are excited to celebrate it with you
• De-influencing videos: We have the same struggles and you’re not alone
• Sephora: We help you buy beauty products that make you feel good
• Simple & Dainty: We want to help you find jewelry that you’ll love

Marketing that aligns with your target audience feels good to them and keeps them engaged with your brand.