Crafting your brand's voice
Your brand's voice is crucial in setting your company apart in the marketplace. It influences how customers perceive and interact with your brand. This guide will provide practical steps to define, shape, and consistently use your brand's voice.
Understand your core values and personality
Your brand's voice encompasses the emotions and perceptions triggered by your communication. It's influenced by your brand's values, mission, and audience. Understanding these elements is the first step in crafting a voice that truly represents your brand.
Actions:
Reflect on your brand's mission, vision, and the core values that define it.
Identify the personality traits that best represent your brand. Is your brand more professional and authoritative, or friendly and conversational?
Consider your brand as a person. What are its characteristics? Is it professional or casual? The personality you choose will shape the tone of your voice across all your communications.
Know your audience
A brand's voice becomes impactful when it resonates with its audience. This phase involves delving deep into understanding who your audience is. Detailed audience analysis goes beyond demographics; it's about grasping their preferences, desires, and the challenges they face. It's crucial to discern the communication style that appeals to your audience, aligning your brand's voice with the language and tone that they find engaging and trustworthy.
Actions:
Research and create profiles for your target audience. Understand their demographics, preferences, pain points, and language style.
Consider the kind of communication that resonates with your audience. What tone and language do they use and respond to positively?
Examine your current content
Your existing content is a goldmine of insights about your brand's current voice. This step calls for a meticulous review of your content across various platforms. Look for patterns in tone, language, and the overall personality that shines through your content. Does your current voice align with how you want your brand to be perceived? Consistency and alignment in your content set the stage for a cohesive brand experience, making this evaluation a pivotal step in refining your brand's voice.
Actions:
Review your existing content across various platforms, noting the tone, language, and personality traits.
Evaluate whether the current voice is consistent and aligns with your desired brand perception.
Define the pillars of your brand voice
With a clear understanding of your brand's personality and your audience's expectations, you're now ready to define the pillars of your brand voice. This involves crystallizing the key attributes that your brand voice should consistently reflect. Whether it's being "informative, professional, and reassuring" or "energetic, inspiring, and friendly", these pillars will serve as the guiding principles for all your communication. A brand voice chart can be an invaluable tool at this stage, offering a clear directive on the tone and language to use and avoid, ensuring your communication is on-brand every time.
Actions:
Based on your brand's personality and audience insights, establish the key attributes of your brand voice, like "informative, professional, and reassuring" or "energetic, inspiring, and friendly."
Create a brand voice chart that articulates these attributes and provides clear guidelines on what to embrace and avoid in your communication.
Create and use a brand voice guide
A brand voice guide acts as the definitive manual for your brand's communication. It encapsulates your brand voice pillars, provides tangible examples, and outlines sample messages. This guide is not just a reference document; it's a dynamic tool that ensures everyone who communicates on behalf of your brand is aligned and coherent. Ensuring that your team understands and has access to this guide is pivotal for maintaining a unified brand voice across all touchpoints.
Actions:
Develop a detailed brand voice guide that includes your voice attributes, examples, and sample messages.
Ensure that everyone involved in your brand's communication understands and has access to this guide.
Apply your brand voice across all communications
The true test of a well-defined brand voice is its consistent application across all forms of communication. From your website copy to social media posts, every piece of content should be a reflection of your brand's unique voice. Regular application of this voice solidifies your brand's identity and fosters a deeper connection with your audience. As the market and your audience evolve, it's equally important to regularly revisit and refine your brand voice, ensuring that it remains as impactful and relevant as ever.
Actions:
Consistently use your defined brand voice across all channels and content types, from website copy to social media posts.
Regularly review and tweak your brand voice to ensure it remains effective and relevant.
Take action
You can apply this approach to your organizatoin to help in establish a strong and consistent brand voice but also ensure that your communication resonates well with your audience, fostering trust and loyalty.
