Your brand is instrumental in any initial contact with potential customers, how you communicate with them, and what impression you makes. One of the most important elements of building a strong brand is cultivating a strong, unique brand voice that is instantly recognizable and unmistakably belongs to the organization.
In the past, traditional media made it easier for a brand to build its voice over time. But with social media shortening the time between brand product updates, creating and sustaining a voice that resonates across the different media channels the company markets within can be a challenging prospect.
Today, there are millions of brands using social media as a marketing tool. That’s a lot of static you’ll need to cut through if you want to make a lasting impression. To give yourself a fighting chance, it’s crucial to create a strong social media brand voice.
Developing a unique voice and style for your brand is the perfect way to stand out from the crowd and make a real connection with your audience. If you’re careful to use this branding consistently across all your social media channels, you’ll be boosting your visibility and making your business more memorable at the same time.
Why Your Brand Voice Matters
Before we get into our voice amplification tips let’s quickly remind ourselves what a brand voice is and why it matters. In a nutshell, your brand voice is a way to describe the style and tone of your business communications and interactions. How would you describe the ‘voice’ of your business – is it funny, casual, formal, or something else entirely? If you have a ready answer to these questions, you’re already on your way to developing your brand voice.
Developing a strong brand voice and using it consistently is the key to making sure your company is recognizable and relatable. Nowhere is this more true than on social media. It’s easy to assume that most people use social networks only for personal reasons. But, around 50% of consumers actually follow one or more brands via social media platforms. So if you want to get their attention, having a unique brand voice is crucial.
Developing your social media brand voice is a process that relies heavily on your specific business, its niche, and its goals. Therefore, everyone’s approach is likely to be a little different. Now, let’s get into those tips we mentioned.
Define your Core Values
Before you can determine what your social media brand voice will look and sound like, you need to figure out what it will be based on. In most cases, your business’ values and goals are what should inform the style of your brand voice.
Using your values and goals as the basis for your brand voice helps you make sure it matches and reflects your company. What’s more, it can make it easier to form a strong connection with your social media audience. Recently, 71% of consumers report that they are more likely to form a trusting relationship with a brand that shares their values.
If you haven’t already, you’ll want to do two things: determine your company’s core values, and write up a mission statement. Here’s how to get started with both:
- Core values: To identify the values that shape your business, you’ll want to ask some key questions. These include determining what kind of image you want to portray, and considering the personal values of the individuals who make up the company.
- Mission statement: This should be a clear, concise statement of what your company does, as well as how and why it does those things.
Part of being heard through the static is making a strong statement of who you are and what you stand for as a brand. This will help your audience identify with you better and pledge their loyalty.
Remember, your core values aren’t only about what you stand for. They’re also about what you don’t do and what you can’t be found associating with. You need to make this known through your social media posts so your followers know you’re the first stop when it comes to certain areas of business that align with their values.
Nail Down the Message and Style You Want to Communicate
Your social media brand voice should be defined by your business’ values and mission. This ensures that your style is a strong match for your company and that it helps to further your goals.
It’s also important to develop a brand voice that’s true to the ‘soul’ of your company because it makes your communications more genuine. This is particularly important on social media since 80% of people say that the main reason they choose to follow a particular brand is that its content feels and sounds authentic.
Using your core values and mission statement as a guide, come up with a list of adjectives and goals that will define your brand voice. Based on this information, you can establish the brand voice for your company. It should be positive and encouraging, honest, and direct. It should also be highly informative, to assist with driving innovation and helping customers learn to solve their own problems.
Try to incorporate all of your business’s core values and goals into your social media brand voice this way. At the end of the process, you should have a short list or paragraph describing the style and tone of your brand voice. After that, you’re ready to start putting it into action.
Know Your Audience
When creating your brand voice, consider exactly who your brand speaks to in order to understand how to credibly and authentically communicate with them.
To better understand your target audience, create buyer personas. Gather all the information you have about your audiences, such as their age, interests, and location. Also note which platforms they interact with your business most, such as on your website or via social media.
To create a more resonant brand voice, you may consider noting the language each buyer persona uses, any slang they use either online or locally, and what words they don’t use as well. For example, if you’re marketing to high-level managers, then you want to keep the slang and emojis to a bare minimum.
Create a Brand Style Guide
Creating a brand style guide helps refine and specify your brand voice. It also helps to keep your brand voice consistent, which is vitally important. Actually developing your brand style guide involves writing down a list of rules and guidelines for how various elements of your marketing and communications will be handled. This involves paying attention to the following elements:
- Brand story: How will you discuss your business and its mission?
- Tone and personality: Will you communicate formally, casually, or via an entirely different tone altogether?
- Keywords and phrases: What words and terms are important to use frequently, and what language do you want to avoid using?
- Typography: When given the choice, what types of fonts will you use (considering that they should reflect your brand voice and personality)?
- Imagery: What types of colors and images will you use to reinforce your brand voice?
There are plenty of excellent guides available that can help you create your brand style guide. It doesn’t have to be overly formal, but you should be as specific as possible. Refining and adding to your brand style guide over time is a smart way to keep it up-to-date.
Apply your Brand Voice to All Social Media Platforms
Now, it’s time to put that voice into action. It’s important to note that you’re best off using the same brand voice for all company content and communications. This includes on your website, as well as on physical materials. However, we’re focusing on social media because it’s the place where your brand voice can do you the most good.
There are millions of negative mentions about U.S. brands on social media every day. So it’s imperative to work at creating a strong and authentic connection with your audience on social media sites.
Remember that consistency is key. Every message and communication your business puts out there should maintain the same voice and personality. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Profiles and company bios – Your social media brand voice should be evident in the way your business is introduced and described.
- Posts and updates – Keeping your brand voice in mind when posting on social media platforms is essential. Remember to support that voice with matching imagery, fonts, and colors.
- Replies and direct messages – It’s important to maintain the same tone and personality used in your posts and status updates.
Everything you post and every interaction you have on social media should be shaped by your chosen brand voice. Think of your business like a person you want customers to easily identify and form a relationship with.
What You Say and How You Say it Matters
In the few words you’ll be using to communicate in social media posts, tone matters. What you’re saying can be less important than how you’re saying it. Unless it’s a video post, you can be easily misinterpreted. So choose your words wisely!
Show your customers how much you care and how important they are. Let them understand you wouldn’t be in business without them. If you’re customer-centric then your brand voice will be louder. Always remember that in today’s world, business isn’t just about transactions. It is about creating meaningful relationships and you need to integrate that aspect into your online engagement.
Conclusion
Social Media is one of the busiest places online for digital marketing. If you want to stand out online, you need to put plenty of time and thought into how you present your business. Developing a strong brand voice and using it consistently across social media platforms is the perfect place to start.
At Obsessed With Success, we help businesses create their unique brand voices every day. Let’s connect and make your brand voice cut through the static.
