5 Ways to Create an Authentic, Engaging Brand Voice that You Can Do Now (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this article on brand voice, we explored signs that your brand voice has been stifled or gone missing altogether.
What can you do now to identify your brand voice and get it life in all your communications?
- Start by considering your brand personality. What three or four words best describe it? What’s your brand archetype (if you’re not sure what this is, Inc. Magazine has a good brief overview of brand archetypes.) Think about what is most authentically your brand. Write those down.
- Consider your top two or three competitors. What can you discern of their brand personality and voice? What specifically stands out as unique about your brand?
- Next, consider your target audience (try to be as narrowly focused as you can). How do they communicate? What’s their general personality? If you noted “Irreverent” as a descriptor in step 1, but your target audience is typically more formal, you might need to reconsider your voice to make it more appealing and engaging to your target audience.
- Once you’ve got your three or four words defined, create a simple chart to share with everyone who creates any kind of content for you, to show how they should and shouldn’t bring that characteristic to life.
Sample Brand Voice Chart
5. Share your brand voice guidelines with your team and start a conversation about how to infuse everything you do with your voice. Start with a few of the most prominent or most critical communications. Then work your way down the priority list. Remember to consider how your voice shows up in things like reminder emails, invoices and seemingly small things.
6. Finally, you’ll want to listen to how people respond to your voice and adjust over time. Plan to review once a quarter or at some regular interval, so you can continue to learn about how your brand voice is working for you and your customers.
While brand voice typically refers specifically to the language and style marketing uses to market your company, brand voice should come through in every customer interaction. One of my very favorite examples of brand voice is MOO.com, an online printing and design services company. Every piece of content, every product, and every interaction with MOO.com is infused with the brand personality’s quirky, positive and fun voice. For example, after you place an order, all communications about your order even come from Little Moo. I have an immediate, strong emotional connection with Little Moo. Although I love Moo.com's products and service, Little Moo is why I fell head over heels in love with the company.
If you have a great example of brand voice in business-to-business marketing, share it with me at joan@discoveredbrand.com.