Introduction
Having a strong and present brand voice will help your business effectively communicate with your customers and convey who you are and what you’re all about. Identifying and strengthening yours isn’t rocket science. When executed correctly, you’ll garner major attention from the customers you want to attract. Here are 3 Tips For Your Brand Voice.
Brand Voice
So, at this point, you’re probably wondering…what is a brand voice anyways? Well, your brand voice can be easily explained by looking at some of those closest to you. Think about your intelligent and informative sister or your hilarious and informal friend. What do their personality and emotions say about them? Their voices are going to be different, yet distinguishable based on who they are in the world.
The main point here is a consistent style of communication.
1) Conduct An Audit
Conducting a brand voice audit will help you gain clarity about the way that you have been speaking to your customers. A couple of questions you may want to answer are:
- Do your current campaigns and advertising efforts align with your brand voice across all advertising mediums?
- Have you deviated from your voice at all?
- If so, why?
When answering these questions you may uncover some important findings about your voice based on customers’ receptiveness to your content. If you’ve adopted a more playful and outspoken voice on Twitter and your customer demographic has begun to love it, as displayed by an increased engagement and overall brand awareness -this may be a sign that your voice is heading in a new direction.
If you’re a new company starting out, this section may not be relevant. However, performing quarterly audits in the future will help to ensure that you are continuously following your brand guidelines and maintaining a unified voice.
2) Understand Your Audience
The best way to define your brand voice is to understand your customer. Who is your target audience? More specifically, what is their age, gender, socioeconomic status, and education level? What are their likes and dislikes?
Based on this information you can create customer personas. You may have a number of customer personas that each speak to your various customer segments. These segments will be distinguished by different slang, products, and content in each segment.
3) Brand Voice Dos & Don’ts
Creating a brand voice chart will help your marketing team and any outsourced marketing teams understand what your brand’s voice is and isn’t. This exercise provides clear guidelines for all future marketing assets and campaigns. Take a look at the example below to help you create your own chart.
4) Monitor and Review
Once you’ve established your brand voice, infuse it into all of your marketing mediums and ensure that it is continuously referred back to when creating new campaigns. Keep your finger on the pulse of what’s relevant in the social media space and what will and will not work given your guidelines. If something sounds or feels outdated, it probably is. And that’s okay! Take a look at your chart and make tweaks to ensure that your brand stays relevant. With trends and industries moving quickly, adapting is key!
Amazing Brand Voices
Strong brand voices build loyal customers through consistent, personality-infused marketing mediums that make them easy to identify. Thus, creating memorable and amazing empires.
Starbucks
An international coffee chain known and recognized globally for providing customers with one common idea: great coffee and great company.
Their brand voices can be defined as expressive and functional.
Their expressive voice is more focused on quality than quantity. They leverage fresh and interesting takes to deliver a clear, clever and concise copy.
Their functional voice delves into the clear and directional world. This type of communication is used to inform customers as they journey through the purchase process.
Check out their full brand guidelines here.
Aritzia
Aritzia, a Canadian-based fashion retailer has built its brand upon the idea that everyday women deserve to experience everyday luxury in their fashion.
Their brand voice is authentic and passionate, while delivering an aspirational yet attainable aura.
They authentically display the various types of women who are Aritzia customers. All of their product lines speak to their various female demographics and personas, which are easily identifiable via their social content and the related copy.
Another important pillar of their brand is their passion and dedication to sustainability within the fashion industry and throughout the world. Browse through their insta feed and you’ll find stunning content with a major ode to social impact and their environmental dedication.
Learn more about Aritzia here.
Your Brand Voice Matters
Brands with strong voices compete at an unparalleled level. Strengthen your brand’s unique voice across all of your marketing channels and see your brand soar.
Need a hand with your brand? Harvard Media wants to help. Let’s build something amazing together.