Brand voice is the unique personality and tone of your brand; it’s how your brand speaks and communicates with your audience. Developing a strong brand voice is essential for any business and can help you connect with your target audience, build trust and credibility, and differentiate your business from your competitors.
When creating content for your website, social media or email marketing campaigns, it is essential to keep your brand voice in mind. Your brand voice should be consistent across all your marketing materials and written in a way that reflects the personality of your company.
What’s the difference between brand voice and tone?
When it comes to branding, two terms that are often used interchangeably are voice and tone. But while they may seem similar, there is actually a big difference between the two.
Your brand voice as mentioned above is the overall personality of your brand. Your brand tone (or tone of voice) on the other hand, is the specific attitude or feeling you want to convey in your communications. This can change depending on the channel or audience, but ultimately it should always be consistent with your brand voice.
So, when thinking about your brand, be sure to keep these two concepts separate.
Brand voice = overall personality. Brand tone = specific attitude you want to convey.
Following are some helpful tips for crafting your own brand voice…
Review your mission statement
When we think about a company or brand’s mission statement, it’s important to keep in mind a few key things. Firstly, a mission statement should be clear and concise, explaining what your company does and the purpose behind it. Secondly, your mission statement should be aspirational – articulating your company’s vision for the future and what you hope to achieve. Lastly, the mission statement should be memorable; employees and customers should be able to recall it easily and associate it with your brand.
Keeping these things in mind will help ensure that your mission statement is effective and communicates the right message about your brand.
Research your competitors
As a business, it is vital to understand your competitors in the market. Your brand voice should be reflective of your company’s values and mission, and it should be something that your target audience can relate to. But it is also important when establishing or reviewing your brand voice to understand the brand voice of competitors, as this will provide insights into how they are positioning themselves in the market. It also enables you the ability to consider how you can differentiate your own brand from competitors, which can lead to competitive advantage.
When reviewing a competitor’s brand voice, start by taking note of the language they use, their tone in communications and topics they focus on. By completing this, you will be able to understand not only what their intentions are in relation to brand positioning, but also consider options for your own brand in how you can create a brand voice that sets yourself apart from others in your industry.
Audience identification
Your target audience is the foundation of your brand voice. Consider your target audience when determining what kind of voice you want your brand to have. For example, if you are aiming at a younger audience, you’ll want to use a more youthful or edgy voice. If targeting a mature market, a sophisticated or professional voice may be required. And if you are focusing on a global audience, a neutral voice may be more appropriate.
Your target audience will also dictate the tone you use. If appealing to a wide range of people, a tone that is friendly and relatable might be best. If you want to attract attention with your voice, you may opt for a more energetic or exciting tone. And if you want to build trust with your audience, ensure you provide clear transparent communications.
If your brand were a person online, consider who would they be, what would be their social profile and how would they act in their social groups? Thinking along these lines may also help to narrow down both the brand voice and tone.
Your positioning statement
Your positioning statement is important when developing a brand voice because it helps you to understand how your target audience perceives your brand. It also enables you to focus your messaging and content strategy. Your positioning statement should be clear, concise and reflect the unique value that your brand offers.
Consistency is key
When a brand develops a voice for their company, it is essential to be consistent with how this voice is used in all communications. This means that any prior or new content should align with the brand voice that has already been established. This can help to create a cohesive and recognisable brand identity that consumers will remember.
Consider the use of a style guide outlining the dos and don’ts of your brand voice that can be used as a reference for all team members when creating content in your organisation. This will ensure that the voice is consistent across all communications. If possible, nominating one or two editors who check on all public communications related to your brand can also be helpful in maintaining consistency.
Refining your brand voice
Remember, your brand voice is the personality of your business – it is how you communicate with your customers and is an important part of your overall branding strategy. Brand tone is how you say it. If you want to attract and retain customers, it’s essential to make sure your brand voice is refined to suit your target audience.
By following the tips above, you can review and refine your brand voice and ensure that you remain connected with your target audience in a way that resonates with their personality.
If you need help developing your brand voice, reach out to us at hello@moderncurrency.com.au. Our marketing and copywriting experts can assist with all areas of brand voice, tone and content creation.
