The Sound of Success: 3 easy ways to craft a Strong Brand Voice

A compelling brand voice helps you connect with your audience, convey your values, and build a loyal customer base. But many companies get it wrong. That's your chance to set yourself apart from the competition!

In this article, I'll guide you through the process of developing a brand voice that aligns perfectly with your entrepreneurial vision and values. 

Get ready to discover the key elements and tips for maintaining consistency across all channels.

Understanding Your Entrepreneurial Vision and Values

To create a brand voice that resonates with your audience, you must first understand your entrepreneurial vision and values. 

What's the purpose and mission of your venture?

For me, it's freeing up time for my clients and helping them be more visible online without the stress that can bring. I enjoy content creation and strategy, but many of my clients do not. Helping them in this area is my mission and the reason for my specific offer.

Think about the purpose of your venture. Usually, it's based on your talents and skills and solves a problem others have. 

Who is your target audience, and what are their preferences?

This one is absolutely crucial. In the past, we looked at a target audience via metrics like age, location and job. But to really connect with your clients, you have to go deeper. That's where most companies fail, and that's why it's so valuable to invest time in that area. 

You need to form a picture of your target audience in your head. To do that, get creative: Follow them on social media and see which topics they like.

Small things like memes can be surprisingly insightful. What kind of memes do they share? What do they say about them? Also, look at their interest. What do they do on a typical day? Which brands do they prefer? In which context do they use them? 

Then, have a look at the words they use. How do they describe things they like? Activities they hate to do? Companies they admire?

Create a word list and use that as the base for your brand voice. You don't have to use all of them, but you need them as the foundation for an authentic brand voice your target audience can identify with. 

By aligning your brand voice with your vision and values, you'll create a genuine and authentic connection with your customers.

Defining Key Elements of Your Brand Voice

Tone: Setting the Right Emotional Connection

Your brand's tone reflects the emotional experience you want to evoke in your audience. Consider different tones, such as professional, playful, or authoritative, and choose the one that aligns with your brand and appeals to your target audience.

Remember, the tone should be consistent across all communication channels to create a cohesive brand experience. That's why you need a content style guide that everyone follows. It should contain words you want and don't want your writers to use, advice on sentence structure and cadence and guidelines on extras like emojis. A content style guide is crucial; that's why it's included in my Complete Content Package. 

Language: Choosing Words that Speak Volumes

Language plays a vital role in shaping your brand voice. Select words and vocabulary that reflect your brand's personality and character. Whether it's using a casual and conversational tone or a more formal and sophisticated approach, pick a language that resonates with your target audience and captures their attention.

Industries like Pharma tend to use more sophisticated language and longer sentences, while Tech loves short, snappy sentences and words you would also use when talking to your friends.

Look at your specific sector before deciding on your brand language. 

Messaging: Conveying Your Brand's Core Messages

Crafting your brand's core messages is essential for building a strong brand voice. Develop a unique value proposition that sets you apart from the competition, and articulate key brand messages that highlight your strengths and resonate with your audience.

How do you do that? By going inward and outward.

Inward: Spend time contemplating why you founded that business in the first place. The reason might not come easily. "To make money" isn't good enough. 

Outward: Look at your competition and create a collection of all their ads and messaging. Eventually, you'll find a pattern. Are you following the same pattern? Or is there something that makes you stand out in a sea of conformity? 

Maintaining Consistency Across All Channels

Consistency in messaging across all touchpoints ensures that your brand voice remains clear and memorable. That means all your writers need to follow the same guidelines. Here, a short workshop can help.

Please don't rely on employees reading your content style guide; it's likely they'll put it off because it's inconvenient to change your already established writing style.

Need help with getting your team on board? I offer training for companies that want to unify their team when it comes to brand voice and messaging. They're bespoke, so contact me to discuss your options. 

Consistency in Visual Branding

That's not my expertise, but I'll mention it here as it's important. Visual branding is just as crucial as your brand voice. Maintain consistency in colour schemes, fonts, and imagery across all platforms. This visual harmony enhances brand recognition and reinforces your brand voice in the minds of your customers.

Consistency in Written Content

Establish style guidelines for your brand's written materials, such as blog posts, social media updates, and marketing collateral. That should also include how to react to complaints made online or sensitive topics.

A content style guide will help you maintain a consistent tone, language, and messaging across all written content, regardless of who is creating it.

Consistency in Customer Interactions

Consistency should extend to customer interactions as well. Train your employees to embody your brand voice in their interactions with customers. This includes phone conversations, emails, and even face-to-face interactions.

Regularly monitor and provide feedback to ensure that your brand voice is consistent and aligned with your brand's values.

Avoid blaming when giving feedback, and ensure your employees know about brand and voice guidelines before you criticise them. Chances are they need to understand the nuances. 

Tips for Developing and Evolving Your Brand Voice

Conduct Regular Brand Voice Audits

Periodically assess your brand voice to ensure it's still aligned with your vision, values, and target audience. As your business grows, you might need to refine or evolve your brand voice to adapt to new market trends or changing customer expectations. 

I offer brand voice audits for existing and new clients. These sessions don't have to be long, and they can really refresh your brand. 

Seek Feedback from Your Target Audience

Don't hesitate to ask your customers for feedback. Their insights can provide valuable guidance on how well your brand voice resonates with them and what improvements can be made.

Consider surveys, social media polls, or direct conversations to gain a deeper understanding of their perceptions. Lunches are especially good for this but refrain from inundating them with questions.

Come prepared, always ask the same questions to get a reliable result, and try to listen more than you speak.

Some of the best comments I've got from clients were said off-handedly and not considered important, but they changed the whole outcome of their content strategy. 

Adapt and Refine as Your Business Grows

As your entrepreneurial venture evolves, so too should your brand voice. Embrace growth opportunities, explore new ideas, and adapt your brand voice accordingly.

Remember, consistency doesn't mean rigidity. Saying "that's ridiculous" is always easier than staging curious. Be open to refining and enhancing your brand voice to stay relevant and engaging.

Crafting a strong brand voice for your entrepreneurial venture is not just a task; it's an opportunity to build a connection with your audience. 

By understanding your vision, defining key elements, and maintaining consistency across all channels, you'll create a brand voice that resonates and leaves a lasting impact. 

Embrace the journey, invest time and effort, and watch as your brand voice becomes the heart of your entrepreneurial success.