Raise Your (Brand) Voice!

A brief exploration of what a brand voice is, why it matters, and how to find yours.

When you think about brand identity, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? The logo? The brand colours? The overall aesthetic?

In this age of social media, where short-form video, memes, and gifs are so prominent, it’s not surprising that many people associate brands most closely with their visual elements. And while the attention to colours, fonts, and overall visual appeal that goes into branding work is fully warranted, we think it’s equally important to develop your brand voice. 

What’s a Brand Voice, Anyway?

Just as you have a unique personality, values, and other defining characteristics that make you you, so does your business. 

Your brand voice is that personality. It’s how your brand presents itself to the public. And it’s the manner in which your brand values are represented and communicated through style, tone, language, and messaging.

Why Your Brand Voice Matters

For a business to build strong, enduring relationships with customers, two things need to happen: 1) you need to get noticed, and 2) you need to build trust. Having an authentic and consistent brand voice can help on both fronts.

Let’s start with the first part: getting noticed. 

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and think about how much content you’re shown on a daily basis. Push alerts, memes, social media ads, funny cat videos… there’s a lot vying for your attention. So what makes you want to stop and engage, and best of all, hit that “follow” button?

You guessed it… brand voice! 

Without a distinct, compelling, and unique brand voice, it’s easy for your content to get lost in the shuffle. But an authentic and clear brand voice can help you cut through the noise, make an impression, and resonate with your audience.

Now let’s look at the second part: building trust. 

Building trust with your customers may start with providing quality products or services, but it doesn’t end there. A thoughtfully crafted brand voice can also go a long way in elevating the overall customer experience, inspiring confidence in your brand, and making customers want to stick with you.

But remember, the key is to be authentic and consistent. A brand voice that feels unpredictable, phony, and isn’t easily recognizable as distinctly yours will have the opposite effect.

Finding Your Unique Brand Voice

Now that we’ve explored what a brand voice is and why it matters, we’ve got a few tips to help you develop yours.

1. Lead With Values & Purpose

The same values that guide your business should also guide your brand voice and shine through in your communications. That doesn’t mean you need to make a declaration of your company values every time you send out a newsletter or post on social media. But your audience should be able to get a sense of what you value and what you stand for.

Beyond being reflective of your values, your brand voice should be shaped by your business’s mission or purpose. For example, if you run a dance studio, you might craft a brand voice that is empowering, welcoming, and perhaps a little bit irreverent. On the other hand, if you run an insurance company, you might opt for a brand voice that combines knowledge, professionalism, and helpfulness.

2. Get To Know Your Audience

Think of all the different people in your life you communicate with regularly. Do you communicate with everyone the same way? We’re guessing no. 

If you’re anything like us, you probably adopt a different tone or style of communication when a) emailing your accountant, b) texting your teenage niece, and c) reacting to the latest meme your BFF sent you.

Part of what drives this is situational, but part of it is knowing who you’re talking to. The same rules apply when crafting your brand voice: you have to know your audience. 

We recommend identifying not only the key demographic data about your ideal audience, but also personality traits, pain points, motivations, etc. In other words, all the things that will help you refine your messaging, style, and tone to make the most impact.

3. Audit Your Existing Content

Take a look at the social media content, newsletters, and blogs you’ve shared recently and determine which ones your audience engaged with the most. What kind of content worked well? What kind of feedback did you receive from your audience? How would you describe how your brand voice came across? And most importantly, is it consistent with your current brand identity?

Answering these questions will help you figure out if you’re already on the right track or if there are areas for improvement, in which case, proceed to step four…

4. Define Who You Aren’t

You know how sometimes knowing what you don’t want is equally important as knowing what you do what? Well, sometimes to home in on what your brand voice is you need to identify all the things your brand isn’t.

This might feel like reverse engineering, but defining who you aren’t and what you don’t want to be known for can be a highly instructive exercise—especially if you’re struggling to articulate your brand voice or you want to give your brand voice a refresh. 

Last But Not Least…

Once you’ve found your unique brand voice, make it official with brand voice guidelines. Be sure to include a brief description of your brand voice, a few keywords or phrases that characterize your brand identity (e.g. inclusive, sustainable, the foremost authority on advancements in nuclear fission), and examples of your brand voice in action.

Now you’re ready to go forth and raise your (brand) voice!