What is a brand voice & tone?

A brand voice isn’t something that can be created on a whim, or out of thin air. It’s a verbal identity that comes from within your brand. A unique personality that you present through your messaging and communications. While a brand’s voice remains constant, its tone will change depending on the topic. Tone of voice is altering your communications to make it more emotionally appropriate – and showing your customers you understand how they feel. In this article we’ll be exploring just what it takes to create a set of truly unforgettable brand voice guidelines.

4-Steps to finding your brand’s voice…

A table with a macbook keyboard, a cup and saucer with black coffee in, an iPad, some books and polaroids and a persons hand writing in a diary.

Clarify your vision, mission & values

What are you trying to achieve short-term, and long-term? What do you believe in? Your mission/vision statements and values are key indicators of the personality you want to represent.

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Review existing content

Review your existing content and the brand identity you’ve already established. How does it sound? Does it reflect your mission, vision and values? What would you change about it?

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Observe & understand your audience

Think carefully about what type of human would interact with this person/personality/voice. This will help you better understand your audience and how to speak to them. Tweak your brand voice accordingly based on your findings…

• Market Research: You need to understand your audience’s demographics, values, preferences, channels used and pain points.

• Competitor Analysis: What voice have your competitors adopted? Does it work? What sets them apart? How can you differentiate yourselves from them?

• Actively Interact: Surveys, focus groups, and social media are all great ways to gather feedback, and better understand how they respond to your content.

• Evaluate Brand Mentions: Online mentions are another great indicator of how consumers are reacting to your content, keep tabs on what they are saying and which channels you are being mentioned on. Are they positive or negative, if so what? Do they address your brand directly? What slang do they use? Are they using emojis? What is their tone of voice?

Create a brand voice guidelines document

To remain consistent across your channels, establish a set of predetermined guidelines. Brand voice guidelines will help you build a stronger, more memorable brand voice. A style of writing that becomes synonymous with your identity and communications.

• What to cover? A description of your voice and persona. Use adjectives to describe your voice. Treat it like a real human, be specific, and be concise.

• Tone Topics & Channel Specifics: Write down a collection of topics that you cover, from the most exciting stuff, right down to the more serious matters. List 2-4 ‘tones’ for each topic so your team can better adapt as the content changes. As well as the tone you use for different channels. Suggest which tonal values will take centre stage and which ones will have more of a supporting role. Whilst staying aligned with your overall voice.

• Real-examples: Guide your employees first-hand with tried and tested examples. If you are a new brand, taking the time to write carefully-thought examples will be worth it in the long run. Cover different topics and different channels, including why it works and how it fits into your brand voice strategy.

• Grammar & Spelling Rules: Do you play on words with purposeful grammar mistakes? Think, ‘i’m lovin’ it’. McDonald’s took this approach for their memorable slogan, now you couldn’t imagine seeing ‘lovin’ with the ‘g’ at the end. Within this section, you should include a dictionary of unique branded terminology/ word preferences.

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Establish an effective brand voice with us

By following our tips you’ll be well on your way to developing an effective brand voice. If you looking to get an expert approach to your research and brand voice strategy, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We help brands create a voice with a punch. A verbal identity that sticks out amongst the digital noise, powers meaningful interactions and develops a stronger, more recognisable identity.
Get in touch with our brand strategists today.

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