{"id":1491,"date":"2020-01-08T11:41:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T11:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webdesigninhoustontexas.com\/silkcards_blogs\/?p=1491"},"modified":"2023-09-06T09:53:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T16:53:03","slug":"defining-your-brand-voice-what-does-your-brand-have-to-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silkcards.com\/blog\/learn\/defining-your-brand-voice-what-does-your-brand-have-to-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Defining Your Brand Voice: What Does Your Brand Have to Say? \u2013 SilkCards"},"content":{"rendered":"

When your customers and prospective clients communicate with your brand on any given channel, what do they hear and does it invoke a response?<\/p>\n

A brand voice is how your company expresses itself using deliberate vocabulary, style and communication methods. As the essence of your business is consistently communicated through your selected voice, it\u2019s important that voice is saying the right things. Expressing your brand personality in a way that makes people want to engage.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t already, there is no better time than now to start identifying your brand\u2019s defining characteristics, developing a tone of voice to embody them and applying it throughout your chosen visual marketing materials<\/a> and channels.<\/p>\n

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5 Steps to Finding a Brand Voice to Match Your Company Personality<\/h2>\n

A brand voice may seem like a rather abstract concept, one that\u2019s hard to capture. This can make it difficult to know where to start. The following steps can help you set in motion the process of defining your brand personality and crafting a voice to match.<\/p>\n

1. Define your company’s why<\/span><\/p>\n

The journey to effective communication starts with self-examination. A business\u2019 first step is asking themselves, \u201cWho are we? What do we stand for? And what key messages are we trying to tell the world?\u201d You can\u2019t be everything to everyone, and that\u2019s not a bad thing. Be honest about your identity as a company.<\/p>\n

Read: 3 Proactive Questions You Can Ask to Form Your Brand Identity <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Choose words that capture your brand’s personality<\/span><\/p>\n

The development process starts with identifying a few words that encapsulate your brand\u2019s personality traits. These words likely can be siphoned from the answers you generated during your self-examination. A good way to approach this, according to Erika Heald with the Content Marketing Institute, is to pose this question to your team: \u201cIf your brand was a person, how would you describe its personality to someone?\u201d Pick a handful of broad traits, and then further define each other.<\/p>\n

3. Ask your employees for valuable input<\/span><\/p>\n

No one person should be solely responsible for this creative process. For example, your employees are daily immersed in the culture of your company and regularly interacting with suppliers, contractors, customers and other important parties. Because of their insight, they can play a critical role in helping discover the right tone of voice for the brand.<\/p>\n

4. Listen to your customers<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as your employees supply an inside opinion, customers play the role of objective observers. They want something specific from your company, and you should care about that when cultivating the message and expression you plan to use. Pay attention to how customers interact with one another, both within your physical store or office and especially online. For better or worse, people feel comfortable being honest and also conversing with strangers through digital venues.<\/p>\n

Read: 4 Secrets You Might Be Missing When Branding to Millennials<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

5. Write it down and apply it<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve narrowed down and solidified your voice, put it in writing. A chart \u2013 including your words, subwords, and definitions and some do\u2019s and don\u2019ts \u2013 is useful. Then, when you are working with new employees, freelancers or subcontractors, they have a clear, concise guide to help them develop content and materials that coexist seamlessly within your company\u2019s ecosystem. The entire team can refer to what\u2019s written down to ensure they are applying the right tone, no matter what channels they\u2019re dealing with.<\/p>\n

How Having a Voice Helps Your Brand<\/h2>\n

The No. 1 benefit of a brand voice is consistency. According to the Content Marketing Institute<\/a>, by being consistent with the voice you are creating, you are \u201cpositioning yourself as an easily identified and authoritative source for your area of expertise.\u201d Similarly, they add, consistency across tone and vocabulary \u201cis essential to implementing localized content and intelligent content strategies effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

By having a robust voice for your brand \u2013 one that is strident, vivid and clear \u2013 your customers can easily recognize and identify with you. You stand out in your own specific way and become an entity your consumers’ trust.<\/p>\n

Brand Voices Heard Around the World<\/h2>\n

In a world awash with advertising and marketing, there is a lot of white noise. Some companies, however, are nailing it on the head when it comes to routinely applying a tone of voice that embodies their distinct personality. Here are three of the best:<\/p>\n