What Do We Mean When We Talk About Your Brand Voice?

A huge amount of focus is given to the visual aspects of creating a brand, which is great. But what is regularly forgotten about and can be equally as valuable is your brand voice. Read on to find out more.

What is a brand voice?
A brand voice represents the personality of your brand across all communications. It is unique to your brand and helps consumers distinguish your brand from others in the marketplace. Alongside your logo, colours and tagline, brand voice helps to build your brand identity.

Even if you haven’t heard the term “brand voice”, it is more than likely that you have experienced it. The company that sells sunglasses for extreme sports will have a voice that takes on the attitude and vocabulary of the people who do those activities. Whereas the company that sells upmarket clothing will take on a completely different attitude and vocabulary, one that reflects the audience that they are targeting.

Why is this important?
At a time where the noise in the marketplace is louder than ever, it is important to make sure your brand voice stands out from the crowd. Your brand voice makes your brand more recognisable in the marketplace and is able to help you build a stronger connection with your audience.

A great brand voice will make communicating with your audience more authentic in a way that appeals to their needs and wants. You want your customers to get to know, love and become advocates of your brand.

How to create a strong brand voice
Some tips on creating a strong brand voice are

• • • Align your brand voice with the core values of your brand:
      Defining a mission for your brand will help you here. The core values of your brand will guide the personality that you want to portray to your target audience.
    • Know your audience:
      This is hugely important. If you don’t understand what your audience likes and responds to, you may as well be screaming into the wind. What does your audience appeal to? Do they appeal to humour, happiness, nostalgia, comfort, or something else? You need to know your audience so that you can choose the appropriate language and tone that resonates with them.
    • Be authentic:
      There is nothing worse than being inauthentic. Ninety percent of consumers said they’re looking for authenticity when deciding what brands they’ll support. Be honest and real with your target audience to build trust.
    • Create a brand guide:
      Once you have determined your brand voice and how you want to sound to your audience it is a best practice to create a brand guide. Your brand guide will help your team to make all communications consistent with your brand voice.
    • Stay consistent:
      Just like most things in life, consistency is key. Keeping your brand voice consistent across all platforms will help your brand build trust. It will also help to be more recognisable in the marketplace.
    • Review and update where necessary:
      As time goes by you will need to update your brand voice and style guide. Communication and language can evolve quickly.