Firstly, what is a brand voice? A brand voice is a personality that guides and informs all of a brand’s communications. This voice will advise what the brand says and how it’s said; it must be distinctive to the brand and reflect its core values. Being unique and defining your brand voice is vital in today’s crowded digital landscape.
We are constantly bombarded by content from brands, individuals and organisations. A brand’s written content needs to be as impactful and consistent as all other elements of its brand presence. It is as important as your brand colours, logo, visual style and consumer features.
Now, let’s take a look at your brand voice. Are you being consistent across all your communications? Your brand doesn’t have to say the same thing across all platforms, but it should carry the same tone from your socials to email communications and packaging! This consistency creates familiarity with your client base, which helps build trust and customer relationships.
So, how do you define your brand voice?
We’ve broken it up into simple steps to get you started.
Company Vision Statement
You likely created a mission or vision statement highlighting your core values and aims when developing your brand or business. This statement will help inform your tone of voice and ensure that your communications align with these initial ideals.
Communications Dos and Don’ts
We often know what we don’t like before we know what we like; this can be the same for defining the right brand voice. Take a moment to note examples of what your brand voice shouldn’t be.
Here are some examples to get you started. What Fresh01 isn’t:
- Our brand voice is not abrasive.
- Our brand voice is not corporate.
- Our brand voice doesn’t promote negativity.
- Our brand voice doesn’t swear or cross the line.
If we were to define Fresh01’s brand voice, we would say:
We are approachable, friendly and creative. We use humour and informality to provide a knowledgeable point of voice without being pretentious. Ultimately, we are self-aware and like to keep it simple.
Understanding Your Audience
Audience research is an essential step in developing your brand voice. You need to know who they are, what your brand offers them and what they need from your brand.
Buyer personas are a helpful tool for developing a deeper understanding of your audience. Based on your analytics and research, these are a semi-fictional representation of your ideal audience or consumer, which help humanise the data! Then you can create content tailored to these buyer personas, which allows you to connect with your audience more effectively.
Analytics
What content resonates with your audience? Whether looking at your analytics through a CRM or the social platform itself, you can access a wide variety of data which can inform your content creation.
Take note of what style of post your audience responds to and what the successful content is about. Does your audience enjoy behind-the-scenes videos about your team? Or do they prefer information-led carousels? Once you understand these basics, you can further utilise your audience’s activity to refine your content schedule, looking at what days and times get the most interaction!
So, before we go. Take a look at your favourite brands, your competitors and your brand to see what is successful and what could be improved! Don’t forget, a successful brand needs good content, but good content cannot exist without a strong brand voice.
Firstly, what is a brand voice? A brand voice is a personality that guides and informs all of a brand’s communications. This voice will advise what the brand says and how it’s said; it must be distinctive to the brand and reflect its core values. Being unique and defining your brand voice is vital in today’s crowded digital landscape.
We are constantly bombarded by content from brands, individuals and organisations. A brand’s written content needs to be as impactful and consistent as all other elements of its brand presence. It is as important as your brand colours, logo, visual style and consumer features.
Now, let’s take a look at your brand voice. Are you being consistent across all your communications? Your brand doesn’t have to say the same thing across all platforms, but it should carry the same tone from your socials to email communications and packaging! This consistency creates familiarity with your client base, which helps build trust and customer relationships.
So, how do you define your brand voice?
We’ve broken it up into simple steps to get you started.
Company Vision Statement
You likely created a mission or vision statement highlighting your core values and aims when developing your brand or business. This statement will help inform your tone of voice and ensure that your communications align with these initial ideals.
Communications Dos and Don’ts
We often know what we don’t like before we know what we like; this can be the same for defining the right brand voice. Take a moment to note examples of what your brand voice shouldn’t be.
Here are some examples to get you started. What Fresh01 isn’t:
- Our brand voice is not abrasive.
- Our brand voice is not corporate.
- Our brand voice doesn’t promote negativity.
- Our brand voice doesn’t swear or cross the line.
If we were to define Fresh01’s brand voice, we would say:
We are approachable, friendly and creative. We use humour and informality to provide a knowledgeable point of voice without being pretentious. Ultimately, we are self-aware and like to keep it simple.
Understanding Your Audience
Audience research is an essential step in developing your brand voice. You need to know who they are, what your brand offers them and what they need from your brand.
Buyer personas are a helpful tool for developing a deeper understanding of your audience. Based on your analytics and research, these are a semi-fictional representation of your ideal audience or consumer, which help humanise the data! Then you can create content tailored to these buyer personas, which allows you to connect with your audience more effectively.
Analytics
What content resonates with your audience? Whether looking at your analytics through a CRM or the social platform itself, you can access a wide variety of data which can inform your content creation.
Take note of what style of post your audience responds to and what the successful content is about. Does your audience enjoy behind-the-scenes videos about your team? Or do they prefer information-led carousels? Once you understand these basics, you can further utilise your audience’s activity to refine your content schedule, looking at what days and times get the most interaction!
So, before we go. Take a look at your favourite brands, your competitors and your brand to see what is successful and what could be improved! Don’t forget, a successful brand needs good content, but good content cannot exist without a strong brand voice.
