Establishing your brand presence is essential to overall success. If you are just emerging in the business world, or part of a well-established business already, creating and maintaining your brand voice is an important step in allowing your clients to get to know you. There are vital questions that you must ask yourself when creating the voice of your brand.
Delving into how you want your business portrayed in your industry is part of the discovery process and should be added to your business and marketing plan. Once established, your brand voice should be used in all business content, from marketing collateral to your next IG story. Consistency is key when talking to your niche audience.
First, what is a brand voice?
Simply put, your brand voice is a curated list, selected by you, of words, feelings, and tones used to convey all messages to your target audience. When creating your brand voice, be sure to pay close attention to how you want your brand portrayed. Are you looking to create a formal, high-class approach or do you prefer to keep it light-hearted and fun? Ask yourself who your ideal target audience is and then dive into the designs that really spark something in them.
Why do I need a specific brand voice?
To aim to be as profitable as possible you want to stand out in the crowd. In most cases, you are competing against other businesses in a well-established market. Your brand voice and story help the consumer understand who you are, what you stand for, and why (or why not!) they should trust you with their business. Transparency is essential in gaining trust with your potential clients. Be open with them and speak to them in a way that they can understand. Using words, messages, and tactics that speak to your ideal client will increase your customer base, establish transparency and trust, and grow your overall social following. Authenticity in a saturated market always wins against the competition.
How do I find my brand voice?
In order to understand your own brand voice, you first must know who your ideal client is.
- Who are you trying to target?
- Are there specific age groups?
- Location-specific requirements?
- Genders?
- Groups of people?
You need to fully understand your target audience and speak directly to them. You wouldn’t try to sell your high-end makeup brand to a dairy farmer, right? What words, phrases, and emotions tie into your brand? How do those make you feel? How do you want your client to feel when scrolling through your IG or seeing an ad on Facebook?
Once you’ve established WHO you are trying to target, pivot your brand and voice to match their needs.
Can I change my brand voice as my company evolves?
Without a doubt! Growth is essential to any viable business. With growth comes change and with change can come to additional target audiences or a change in the audience altogether. Don’t stress it, instead, plan for it. When creating your marketing plan or brand relaunch make sure that your brand guide includes a change in your brand voice from updated keywords to essential new hashtags, establish all of the juicy details. Present your new brand voice as part of a relaunch, large or small. This will convey an established change to your current clientele as well as welcome new targets.
Establishing a brand voice should be included in your marketing plan each year. Reevaluate your voice often and ensure that you are including it in all of your content. Train those who work for your business to understand the brand voice so that when they speak about your business to others the same message and tone are relayed. Be open and honest when speaking through your brand voice and establish yourself above the competition.
