How to Find Your Brand Voice (And Tell a Story Your Customers Will Listen To)
Customers want to feel like they’re dealing with one cohesive, familiar identity when interacting with your brand.
Otherwise, they’ll start to question whether or not they really who you are as a brand and what you stand for.
Let’s put this into perspective for a minute:
You are on a blind date and your potential paramour keeps sending you mixed messages.
First, they say they don’t want children. But then, in the midst of your conversation, they make a strange remark— “I’m going to be the best parent”.
Later, they mention a recent promotion and humble-brag about the sizable pay increase they received.
But afterwards, when you bring up a trip to the Caribbean you have planned for Spring, they comment, “Wow! I wish I could afford to travel. That must be so nice!”.
And the icing on the cake? They tell you you’re attractive, but toward the end of the evening, they express that brunettes aren’t usually their type.
Would you trust this person?
Most perceptive people would be apprehensive, at the very least.
This is why you need a strong and consistent brand voice.
The more wishy-washy and ambivalent your messaging is, the less trustworthy your brand appears.
But what is a brand voice? And how do you develop it?
These are the questions I’ll be answering today.
What is Brand Voice?
Brand voice is an umbrella term that refers to the attitude, language, and personality a business uses or embodies in its various forms of communication.
What is Brand Tone?
The terms “brand voice” and “brand tone” are often used interchangeably, but there is a distinction between the two.
Your brand voice has more to do with the identity or personality of your company.
Brand tone refers to the cadence used when expressing that identity.
For example:
If you are a non-profit organization that provides support and services for women escaping domestic violence, your identity would likely be warm, non-judgemental, and empathetic.
But your brand tone might be more serious and weighty when discussing the challenges and mistreatment your clients often face.
The Key to Finding Your Voice in Business
Developing a brand voice is an integral part of any content strategy.
After all, it’s how you infuse your messaging with character, humanity, and commonality.
This is why it’s so unfortunate that many businesses, organizations, and institutions struggle to establish a brand voice that truly reflects the core of who they are.
But fret not— there’s a simple solution that can fix this problem.
Are you ready to know what it is?
*Drumroll*
Asking the right questions
The questions you ask when developing a brand voice will directly determine your success.
A comprehensive brand strategy questionnaire can help you:
Point out your company’s purpose
Uncover your core values
Advance your brand authentically
Align your communications with your greater goals
Identify discrepancies in your current branding
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH QUESTIONS ARE THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
In my humble opinion, the best questions are always out of the ordinary.
They’re the ones your competitors haven’t asked themselves yet.
The ones that make your mind expand and your creativity soar.
GET STARTED WITH THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TODAY
I’ve put together 20 insightful, game-changing questions that will help you find your brand voice.
All you have to do is download the questionnaire and fill in your answers!
Using Brand Voice to Strengthen Your Storytelling
After you’ve completed my brand strategy questionnaire, you’ll want to put your answers into action.
How?
By creating (or updating) your brand story.
What is a brand story?
A brand story is simply a narrative that encapsulates the essence of your brand and evokes emotion from those who read it. (Your ideal customers, primarily.)
If your brand were a book, your brand story would be the synopsis on the back cover— the summary potential buyers read before committing to purchasing a novel.
Why are Brand stories so Important?
Storytelling is one of the most compelling forms of communication.
It connects potential customers to your business in a way that few other mediums can.
But don’t just take my word for it. Consider these statistics related to brand storytelling:
80 per cent of people crave authentic stories and wish brands were better at creating them. (Source)
In one University study—where listeners were told both a statistic and a story— 6 percent of people remembered the statistic, but a whopping 63 per cent remembered the story. (Source)
Another study found that stories are 22X more memorable than facts and figures alone. (Source)
How to Strengthen Your Story (By Using Your Brand Voice)
Let’s take a closer look at how to implement your brand voice consistently.
CREATE A LIST OF DO’S AND DON’TS (AND COMPARE YOUR STORY WITH YOUR LIST)
Let’s say you are a fun, bubbly fashion brand wanting to connect with your target market— young women between the ages of 18 and 35.
Your list of brand voice do’s might look like this:
DO use youthful, millennial terms, like “bestie”, “on fleek”, and “FOMO”.
DO be playful and upbeat
DO use feminine descriptive words, like “pretty”, “flawless”, and “chic”
And your brand voice don’ts might look like this:
DON’T use a passive voice
DON’T use an unenthusiastic or blasé tone
DON’T use language that is overtly flirtatious or sexual in nature
By clearly defining what is acceptable and what isn’t ahead of time— and double-checking after your story is written— you greatly reduce the likelihood of inconsistencies making it through to your final draft.
MAKE YOUR INTRODUCTION ABOUT YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
In the brand strategy questionnaire mentioned above, there were five questions that helped you gain a deeper understanding of who your ideal customer is.
When writing your brand story, use this clear picture of your ideal customer to create a powerful first paragraph.
Use the singular, second-person pronoun “you” to speak directly to your readers, and be sure to touch on their pain points.
Here is an example template:
As an (insert profession/personal trait of your ideal customer), you deal with (issue/pain point) every day.
You constantly wonder what it would take to (goal or desired outcome).
But so far, all you’ve managed to do is (current solution or state of being that’s not working).
At (brand name), we want to stop the wondering and start creating the change you want to see.
That’s why we created (name of product or service).
NEVER COMPROMISE CONSISTENCY
After completing your brand strategy questionnaire and establishing an identity you’re proud of, you should have a list of key messages or terms for your business.
These phrases and terms are often referred to as a company’s brand language.
Below are a few examples of phrases and terms I use in my brand language for Dee Higdon Creative:
High-calibre content
Top-tier content
Tying it back
Convince your ideal customer to act
Stay afloat/keep afloat
Using your brand language consistently in all communications (not just in your brand story) is a critical part of creating an unbreakable bond with your ideal customer and building the brand loyalty you need to sail toward success.
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