Establishing a brand voice begins with getting crystal clear on what role your brand would play at the party. These characteristics are used to create a personality that’s applied to everywhere your brand speaks. From digital marketing, printed resources to even the language used in your internal communication, every time your brand speaks, it should look, feel AND sound like that person at the party.
Branding is often pigeonholed to the visual elements, but tone of voice plays an important role in bringing it all together. It’s not uncommon for a brand to tell us that they’ve never established an official voice as part of their brand guidelines.
With digital chatter at an all-time high and competitiveness rising and rising, elevating your brand through not just what it says but how it says it takes it from noticed to unforgettable.
Brand voice creates connections (and one heck of a first impression)
Let’s face it. Before any of us purchase from a brand for the first time, we do our research, right? Your brand is no different. Customers will explore many of your touchpoints before making that first appointment so first impressions truly do count!
Giving your brand an official voice humanises it to enhance emotional connections. When we feel like a brand has its own unique personality, we’re able to build trust and confidence quicker. Like an old friend that’s a faithful source of knowledge, a strong brand voice should feel familiar and memorable when you come across them.
When a brand’s voice is inconsistent or not aligned with other elements of your brand identity, it can cause confusion about what your customers should expect from you. Think of a loud, bold brand like Evo Hair. From their signature product descriptions, perfectly crafted puns to simplified colours and packaging, every touchpoint of this brand makes them feel like your funny, energetic friend. If all of a sudden, the brand got super strict and serious with us, we’d wonder what happened to them!
This is why everyone who is writing for your brand should have a copy of your tone of voice guide. This ensures that regardless of who has the pen and paper, the customer is none the wiser.
Brand voice helps you to truly understand your dream customer
When you’re clear on your brand voice, you know exactly who you’re speaking to. Aligning with your brand values and the problem you’re solving; your voice should create those “it’s just you just get me” moments for your dream customer.
When crafting your voice for the first time, your customers can be a valuable source of inspiration! Your dream customer’s age, demographic and location can all play a significant role in the kind of language and terms you use within your copy. If your customer is a younger demographic, you’ll want to look at language that really connects with them. Similarly, if your audience is all from the one location (such as a country town or particular suburb), you can integrate phrases and terms that really connect with their lifestyle.
A brand that does an incredible job at using their voice to connect with their dream customer is HÜD Skin + Body. They pair exceptional authority on skin with a casual and conversational tone of voice. They know who their audience is, what problem they’re solving, and they go for it! This voice is consistent throughout all of their touchpoints (even including mirror decals) and showcases that being an industry leader doesn’t have to come at the price of having a bit of fun. In our opinion, this brand nails their voice because the transition from seeing a post on the ‘gram to walking through their door feels familiar and trustworthy every step of the way.
Brand voice gets you standing out from the crowd
More than ever, your brand faces competition for interest, attention and business. We know that a strong brand makes us stand taller amongst the crowd and a strong voice only makes that message louder. Brand voice allows us to communicate what makes us different and our competitive edge quicker and more persuasively. By creating that connection, it convinces the customer that we’re the real deal and helps them to remember us whenever they’re searching for a brand like ours.
When it comes to crafting a strong brand voice, authenticity will always shine through. It isn’t an opportunity for your brand to be something it’s not but rather the freedom to share its value with the world. Brands that scream authenticity to us include James Vivian, Skintifix and Melanie Grant. All very different brands and customer targets, each of these brands sound exactly how you would imagine them to be if they were a person (at our Digital Bloom party, obvs).
Each of these brands are unapologetically themselves from James’ skin-loving puns, Skintifix’s uplifting approach to education and Melanie’s unwavering sense of luxe through language, these are the brands that consistently shine and deliver what you expect them too.
