How to Find Your Brand Voice: 10 Strategies That Work
The first step in creating a strong, cohesive brand is to define your brand voice. Your brand voice is the personality of your business. So think of how you communicate with your audience, and examine whether or not it is consistent across all channels.
There is no doubt about it—this can be difficult. There are a lot of moving parts and things to think of, but it can be done!
A well-defined brand voice will make your business more relatable and memorable, and it will help you attract and retain customers. Isn't that what we want?! Yes! A big ol' YES!
Now if you're not sure how to get started, we've got 10 strategies you can use to find your brand voice.
Remember you don't need to do it all at once. Set short-term goals or objectives and be consistent... you'll get there.
1. Know Your Target Audience
The first step in finding your brand voice is to know your target audience. What are their demographics? What are their interests? What are their pain points? When you know who you're talking to, it will be easier to figure out what to say.
2. Define Your Brand Personality
Once you know your target audience, you can start to define your brand personality. Are you friendly or formal? Humorous or serious? Helpful or direct? There are no right or wrong answers here; just make sure that your brand personality is authentic and aligns with the needs of your target audience.
3. Consider Your Competitors' Brand Voices
You don't want your brand voice to blend in with the competition, but it's still worth considering how they're positioning themselves in the market. What words do they use? What tone do they take? How can you differentiate yourself while still staying true to your own brand identity?
4. Write Down Keywords That Describe Your Brand Voice
Once you have a general idea of the direction you want to go in, start brainstorming some keywords that describe your desired brand voice. These could be adjectives like "friendly," "approachable," or "professional." Or they could be descriptive phrases like "down-to-earth" or "straightforward." Keep this list handy as you begin creating content; it will help ensure that everything stays on-brand.
5. Develop a Tone Guide
A tone guide is a document that outlines the dos and don'ts of your desired brand voice. It should include things like what words to use (and which ones to avoid), what tone to strike (formal or casual?), and what topics are off-limits (political correctness, profanity, etc.). Having a tone guide will help keep everyone on the same page and ensure that all of your content is consistent with your desired brand voice.
6. Create a Set of Brand Guidelines
In addition to a tone guide, you should also develop a set of comprehensive brand guidelines that cover everything from logo usage to color schemes to typography choices. This will ensure that every touchpoint potential customers have with your business—from seeing an ad on Facebook to receiving a promotional email—is cohesive and on-brand.
7. Test Drive Your Brand Voice
Before fully committing to a new brand voice, test it out on a small scale first. Try using it in social media posts, blog articles, email newsletters, etc., and see how people respond. If they seem receptive, then you can start slowly implementing it across all channels; if not, then go back to the drawing board and try something different.
8. Be Consistent
Once you've settled on a brand voice that feels right for your business, it's important to be consistent with it—across all channels and at all times. That means using the same language, tone, and style in everything from social media posts and blog articles to email newsletters and print ads. Consistency will help create a cohesive experience for customers and reinforce your branding efforts overall.
9. Get Feedback From Customers
One of the best ways to ensure that you're using an effective brand voice is to get feedback directly from customers—either through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or even just informal conversations. Ask them what they think of your current branding efforts; see if they can identify any specific elements that stand out; and find out what kind of experience they have when interacting with your business online or in person. Then use this feedback to fine-tune your efforts moving forward.
10 .Monitor Your Progress
Finally, don't forget to monitor your progress over time! Keep track of key metrics like website traffic, social media engagement levels, conversion rates, customer satisfaction levels, etc., and see how they change as you continue refining and improving upon your brand voice strategy. Doing so will not only help you gauge the effectiveness of your efforts, but also give you valuable insights into where you should focus those efforts going forward .
Creating a strong brand voice is essential for any business that wants to stand out from its competitors . By following these 10 strategies, you can develop a brand voice that will resonate with your target audience and help build trust and loyalty. Have fun with the process! If you need help with any of this, let's get on a call and discuss!