Quick summary
A business tagline can help clarify what you do and make your brand more memorable — but only if it’s simple, meaningful, and actually useful to your audience. A good tagline supports your messaging; a vague one doesn’t.
A clear description of what you do often matters more than a catchy line.
First of all, there’s no law that you need a tagline! You can survive happily in business without one!
But if you feel you need one, read on and learn how to craft a compelling tagline for your business.
What is a tagline (strapline), and what’s a slogan?
These three words are often used interchangeably, but two mean the same thing, while one is meant for something different. The words usually appear close to a logo at the bottom or in the header of a website and are said with the same breath as the company name.
According to Hubspot:
- A slogan encompasses a company‘s mission, what it stands for, and even how it’s helping customers in the individual campaigns the company might run. Slogans can, therefore, be longer than taglines.
- A tagline is a catchy quip that evokes an image of your brand in the minds of your customers. Taglines enable people to make lighthearted associations with your business.
Here are some excellent examples (Hubspot):
- MasterCard: ‘There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard.’
- M&M: ‘Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands’
- Nike: ‘Just Do It.’
- Apple: ‘Think Different.’
- L’Oréal Paris: ‘Because You’re Worth It.’
- Tesco: ‘Every Little Helps’
- McDonald’s: ‘I’m Lovin’ It’
A tagline or strapline is the same thing, whereby a slogan is often used for specific campaigns or products. Taglines/straplines are permanent and are associated with your brand.
Here are some tagline examples – they are brand-specific
Here are some slogan examples – product & campaign-specific
Slogan: 1,000 songs in your pocket.
Slogan: Packed with more juice.
What’s the purpose of a tagline or strapline?
A tagline in business is essential for several reasons:
- Making your brand known: It helps people recognise and remember your brand.
- Showing what your brand is about: Tell people what your brand stands for or offers.
- Standing out: It makes your brand different from others, so it’s more noticeable.
- Connecting with people: Create a bond with your customers, making them more loyal to your brand.
- Use it as a guide in your marketing: It gives a clear, consistent message in all your brand’s advertising and marketing.
- Easy to remember: It’s catchy, so people remember your brand better.
- Encourage buying: It can make people want to buy by highlighting what’s good about your brand.
Who should use a tagline?
Virtually any type of business can benefit from using a tagline, but it’s beneficial for:
- You’re just starting or running a small business: You want to make a strong first impression and quickly communicate what you offer.
- You’re in a very competitive market: Use a catchy tagline to differentiate yourself from your competition. You can talk about unique selling points or your brand values.
- If you’re directly serving consumers (retail, restaurants, other services): Use a tagline to become memorable and encourage repeat business.
- Thinking about rebranding? Use a new tagline to show a change in direction, values, or services, helping to refresh your image.
- Expanding or diversifying: If you’re entering a new market or introducing a new product, you can use a tagline to communicate your evolving brand.
- You’re an online business or have an online shop: Your tagline can quickly convey your brand’s essence.
Here’s an example that plays with words, but says exactly what the company does.
What are the characteristics of a compelling tagline?
A good tagline should have these simple characteristics:
- Short and sweet.
- Easy to remember.
- Clear message: It should tell something important about your business or what makes it special.
- Catchy.
- Relevant.
How to create a catchy tagline?
Creating a catchy tagline is like making a mini-advertisement for your business. Here’s how to do it in simple steps:
- Think about your target audience
- What are your unique selling points?
- Brainstorm ideas (use ChatGPT for example)
- What’s special about your business?
- What do you offer that others don’t?
- Keep it short: A tagline should be brief. Aim for a few words, no more than a short sentence.
- Make it memorable: Use words that are easy to remember. Rhymes, alliteration (where words start with the same letter), or something funny can help.
- Be clear: The tagline should clearly say something about your business. Avoid being too vague or complicated.
- Test it out: Say it out loud. Does it sound good? Ask friends or family what they think. Does it stick in their mind?
- Stay true to your brand: The tagline should match the feel and values of your business. If your business is fun and friendly, your tagline should be too.
What common mistakes do small business owners make when creating a strapline?
We’ve all seen bland straplines. The most common mistakes in creating a tagline are:
- Too complicated, too long or hard to understand. Don’t use technical jargon only experts would know.
- Not related to your business, for example, a bakery using a strapline that doesn’t mention anything about bread or cakes.
- Being too generic or too vague or it could apply to any business. For example, “Quality Service You Can Trust” could be used by any company, from a plumber to a lawyer.
- Copying others: Don’t do it! If a local burger place uses “I’m Lovin’ It,” people will think of McDonald’s.
- Not memorable: It needs to stick in people’s minds.
- Not testing it out: It’s important to see how potential customers react to it.
A good strapline should be clear, specific to your business, original, memorable, and well-tested with your target audience.
Examples of bad straplines
Here I have put a list of ineffective taglines together and explained what’s “wrong” with them.
- High-Quality Solutions for Your Needs: Too vague and generic; could apply to any business.
- Doing Business Right: Lacks specificity; doesn’t indicate what the business does or its unique value.
- Just Like the Other Guys: Suggests no unique selling point; sounds like a copy of competitors.
- We Work Hard: Too broad and doesn’t highlight any special feature or benefit of the business.
- Complex Solutions for Complex Problems: Sounds complicated and possibly intimidating to customers.
- Technology and Other Things: Unclear and too broad; doesn’t specify what the business actually does or excels in.
These examples show some common mistakes like being too vague, lacking uniqueness, sounding unprofessional, or failing to communicate the specific value or nature of the business.
You’ve got a strapline. What now?
Once you’ve got a strapline, you should use it in your marketing like this:
- Website: Put the strapline prominently on your website, especially near your logo or at the top of the homepage. This helps visitors quickly understand what your business is about.
- Social media: Use your strapline in your social media profiles and posts. It’s a quick way to reinforce your brand identity whenever someone sees your content.
- Business cards and stationery: It makes every piece of communication from your business carry your brand message (check out Moo.com – you don’t have to order 1000s!).
- Email signatures: Add your strapline to your email signature. This way, every email you send out helps spread your brand message (read my blog post on how to create a professional email signature in 2 minutes).
- Advertising materials: Whether you’re making flyers, brochures, or online ads, include your strapline. It helps people remember your brand when they see your ads.
- Product packaging and labels: If you sell physical products, put your strapline on the packaging or labels. It’s a great way to remind customers of your brand’s value every time they use your product.
- Signage and physical locations: Use your strapline on signs, banners, or at your physical location (if you have one). This helps to reinforce your brand identity in the physical world.
Use your tagline wherever you use your brand – online or offline! It’s a powerful tool to consistently communicate your business’s core message and values to your audience.
Is it time to update your tagline? Try these ChatGPT prompts
No idea how to go about it?
Caution: AI tools are useful for brainstorming and refining ideas, but the strongest taglines still come from your own experience, tone, and understanding of your audience rather than relying on generic AI suggestions alone.
Head over to ChatGPT and enter this prompt:
I am creating a strapline for my business. I offer [enter your product type in here] to [enter your target customer here]. My unique selling point is [enter it here]. Give me 10 examples that are short, memorable, clear, catchy and relevant.
Here’s what ChatGPT suggested for the SEO Services:
- “SEO Success, Simply Explained.”
- “Your SEO Journey, Personally Guided.”
- “Elevate Your Website, Effortlessly.”
- “SEO Made Simple, Support Made Personal.”
- “Direct Guidance, Dazzling Results.”
- “Simplify SEO, Amplify Success.”
- “Empowering Your SEO, Enhancing Your Site.”
- “Short Lessons, Long-Term Growth.”
- “Personalized SEO, Powerful Outcomes.”
- “Transform Your Site, With a Personal Touch.”
Some of these are better than others. I can then go back into the chat and ask it this:
I like option 4, give me 5 more examples around this concept
If you don’t like the answers, maybe go a bit broader. What is your business trying to achieve?
If you have a very specific target audience, for example women only, you can change the prompt to this:
Make the tagline more about business growth and more aimed at women, you can also make up words.
Here are the new answers:
- GrowHer Business: Simplified SEO, Empowering Support.
- BloomSEO: Cultivate Growth, Nurture Success.
- EmpowerLift: Elevating Women’s Business, Simplifying SEO.
- SheGrows: Streamlined SEO for Business Blossom.
- FlourishFrame: Crafting Growth with Simplified SEO.
I then asked this:can you give me 5 more options starting with "shegrows"
Here are the answers:
- “SheGrows: Thrive Online with Easy SEO & Expert Support.”
- “SheGrows: Simplifying SEO, Amplifying Women’s Business Success.”
- “SheGrows: Elevate Your Web Presence, Empower Your Business.”
- “SheGrows: SEO Made Simple, Your Business Made Stronger.”
- “SheGrows: Where Women’s Websites Flourish.”
This is getting really good, right?
Use Google for brainstorming
Simply enter your business tupe and then add “tagline ideas” behind it. You will find numerous ideas.
If your business is too specific, go a bit broader, for example wedding industry, or finance expert instead of bookkeeper.
In most cases, you will get hundreds of ideas. You can then use these ideas as a basis for ChatGPT prompts and work on your own strapline.
Still unsure?
Even if you’ve played around with different taglines and you can’t quite decide one for your business, simply say exactly what it is you do. For example: Wedding Cake maker in London.
Sometimes, the more direct approach is also the easiest.
