With Halloween right around the corner, have you given any thought to your favorite horror movies lately? As a business owner that’s trying to build a brand, you probably don’t give that much thought to horror movies, but believe it or not, classic horror movie tropes aren’t all that different from the strategies you should be employing to help strengthen your brand.

A few cases in point include…

Don’t Show Everything Right Away:  In horror movies, the big reveal of the monster or killer isn’t shown until at least halfway through the movie (although the best ones are able to save this reveal until the end). This is a great practice for our brand as well; save something for your customer to discover after the fact. This could include unexpected offers or even services that you only offer those that are loyal to your brand.

Keep Building Mystery: In movies, the ability to keep the audience on the edge of their seats is something you want to get for as much of the film as you can. For your brand while you may not want to keep people guessing, there is a certain allure to having a certain air of mystery about you. Try not to reveal every single thing about your brand in your marketing efforts—leave some of that up to the word of mouth from your satisfied customers.

Know Your Audience: While it might be hard to tell with the generic remakes and needless sequels, the horror crowd can be fickle—especially the purists. It’s only those directors that know their audience well than can effectively surprise an audience that believes that they have seen it all. If you can manage to do this with your brand, you’re sure to keep your audience happy and coming back for more.

So how well versed are you when it comes to horror movies? Did you ever think your strategies for marketing your brand could be lifted from some of their bloody plots?

Maybe this Halloween you should unleash your inner monster and try borrowing some of these clever ideas from horror masters.