Finding Your Brand Voice in 2022
A company’s brand is what propels it forward. Businesses that understand and invest in brand building are more likely to survive and prosper. Their marketing plan reflects a consistent brand presence and personality that often is instantly recognisable.
In addition to their visual identity, brands have another aspect people often overlook: voice and tone.
We are sure it must have crossed your minds, “Why bother with my brand voice when I can just write whatever I feel like in whatever style I want?”
When developing a brand voice, marketers must use appropriate words and imageries.
What is Brand Voice? Why does it matter?
A brand voice is significantly different from a non-human voice.
A brand voice is simply the format you select to convey your message to your audience. It is your corporate personality expressed verbally. It encapsulates your brand’s overall personality. Brand tone of voice is the feeling or mood conveyed to your audience through specific wordings and writing styles.
Note: While your voice remains consistent, the tone may change according to the context of your messaging.
1. Review Your Company’s Core Identity
Make sure you understand your brand’s core identity before moving forward. You have to define who you are and why your business exists.
Find the brand voice by understanding your mission (what you do), your vision (why you exist) and your values (how you achieve goals). Once you have determined these three factors, you can start looking for your brand voice.
2. Review Your Content
Examine your recent social media posts, blogs, and newsletters. What trends do you see in the content? What unique words and descriptions do you use? Consider what your brand has to offer. Consider your brand as if it were a fictional character created by you. Understanding how people expect your brand to behave will help you leverage every opportunity. Use these insights to your advantage and build your brand voice around them.
3. Identify Your Audience & Persona
The best way to formulate your brand voice is to understand your target audience and marketing personas. As a brand, you should try to communicate differently. It is necessary to determine who your persona is and figure out your terminologies accordingly. If you are trying to reach a younger audience, use a language that resonates with them rather than using the same terms across the board.
4. Create the Brand Voice Chart
A brand voice chart is the visual representation of your company’s brand voice. The chart serves as a quick reference for anyone responsible for producing content on your team.
To understand how the world perceives your brand, including all the employees — junior, senior and founder. Analyse the results and note down the common traits. It will help you identify the common perceptions of your brand and the inconsistencies. The chart indicates what is and is not allowed — making it an actionable tool.
5. Review & Adapt
As you develop your brand voice, it needs to be reviewed and refined periodically. Whenever your brand undergoes a major overhaul, it is necessary to review and refine your strategic plan. Brand voice needs to be updated over time to bring freshness. As languages change over time and words that were in use five years ago may no longer be trending today.
