Building a brand is all about connecting with your customers. One of the most powerful ways to do so is to establish your brand’s voice. Customers that are loyal to a brand are so because they feel a connection with that particular brand.
By having a distinct brand voice, you are inviting those customers that resonate with your words to stick around and see what you have in store.
Brand Voice Defined
A brand voice is the type of wording and personality that is instilled within a company’s communication channels. It involves the words, language, and emotions used to demonstrate a certain image. All this is used to make a meaningful impact and impression on potential customers.
Why Is Brand Voice Important?
The mark of a good company, that stands the test of time, is the one that demonstrates a robust personality and a defined purpose. All of their messaging is consistent throughout the entirety of their communication channels. Their message is delivered in their “established brand voice”.
In order to have solid brand recognition, you need to develop a brand voice that is not only repeated but consistent with your customers. If you have the tendency to change things around to keep things fresh, this will only confuse customers. They won’t know what your company is all about.
Eventually, they will be drawn to a company whose brand voice is consistent and communicated repeatedly. This cements who they are in your customer’s minds and therefore, they are more likely to be drawn to this brand versus an inconsistent one.
In this increasingly crowded digital market, you have to know how to differentiate yourself in order to stand out and get noticed. According to the Sprout Social Index, consumers were surveyed to determine why certain brands stood out more than others.
Forty percent mentioned that it was the “memorable content” that made them stand out. Then there were 33% that said that they had a “distinct personality”. And 32% said that they liked the “compelling storytelling”.
The results of this survey clearly demonstrate that brand voice plays a vital role. If you want to have a distinguishable personality, you must have a distinguishable brand voice.
This same study conducted research as to what would drive a consumer to unfollow a company on social media. A surprising forty-five percent mentioned that irrelevant content would drive them to unfollow a brand. If you are posting content that is vastly different from your brand’s “perceived style”, you are most likely to get unfollowed.
How To Develop Your Brand Voice?
Now that you have discovered why developing your brand voice is important, let’s dive into the methods you can use to develop the brand voice that fits your company’s vision and goals.
1. Determine your target audience and their personas
Find out who your audience really is. Is your target audience younger? Then you must get familiar with the current jargon they use and use that language in your marketing efforts. Discover their traits and the type of common vocabulary they use and incorporate that into your communication.
The key here is balance. You must communicate in a way that resonates with your target audience, however, do not move away from the core of your brand’s message. You don’t want to appear trendy. You want to be genuine in your communication.
2. Study your current voice
Want to get an idea of what your current brand voice sounds like? Look no further than your own communications. Take a look at all your communication channels and see an overview of how your brand voice comes across.
Do you see any inconsistencies in wording? This could be attributed to using different writers that have not incorporated your brand voice. How is your audience communicating and interacting with you? What do you see in your top-rated posts? Are there certain voice traits that are sending the message clearly to your audience?
3. Have a brand voice document
To ensure that your employees and your business stay on track with your brand message and brand voice have a “brand voice document”.
A brand voice document is essentially a reference or a guide that is available for anyone that writes any type of communication for the company. It contains the company’s mission statement and values. Personality traits can definitely be determined in the text.
Other elements that could be found in the brand voice documents include common vocabulary, “brand phrases”, and examples. This document is the ultimate guide to keeping all marketing copy and social media posts on-brand and consistent.
4. What is your brand’s tone?
If a brand’s voice is what you say, then your brand’s tone is how you say it. Of course, it could change, depending on the situation. Naturally, when you announce the launch of a new product, your brand tone will differ from the brand tone you use when addressing a serious customer complaint.
Ensure that you outline all the possible scenarios that your brand could encounter and document what tone should be used for every possible situation.
5. Assess and Adopt
Your brand message and voice will take on a multitude of transformations as your company grows and changes. Consider assessing and making necessary changes at least once a year or when your brand is undergoing a major update or a complete revamping.
Words, like technology, lose their relevance and must be updated and changed. The words you used just a couple of years ago may not mean the same today. What you don’t want to do is sound like you are losing touch with current events.
In Closing
A brand’s voice is what makes your brand and its message come to life. It is also the foundation on which your customers relate to your company. It promotes a meaningful connection and community. It can also generate more trust in a brand’s products. It embodies the company’s goals and values.