With more and more of our clients posting on social media to save time and money, management has asked us more than a few times to provide guidelines so that posts made by their employees will still reflect the brand. One thing we include in these guidelines is the brand voice.
A brand’s voice represents the personality that describes your company’s message, statement, core values, and unique selling proposition. For instance, your brand’s personality can be serious, energetic, humorous, etc., and you should use the right voice to express that personality. In order to be relevant and recognizable by your customers, your brand’s voice must remain consistent at all times. If you’re not careful, you can end up with a random assortment of voices and tones in the content produced across your marketing ecosystem that doesn’t provide a clear picture of your brand. Not only does a voice help differentiate a business on the market, but it helps persuade customers to chose your business over any other.
Here are some questions we ask to get our clients started on developing a distinct brand voice:
12 Questions to Develop Your Brand Voice
1. What are some things that make your customers care about your company?
2. Describe customer core motivations, attitudes and behaviors. What things do they care most about?
3. Describe the key challenges currently facing how customers (current and future) view your property.
4. If your brand (company, staff, service) were a person, what attributes would it have?
5. What feelings do you want your audience to have when they view your brand's messaging?
6. What are the core truths about your brand story? (purpose, values, beliefs)
7. Who are your primary competitors?
8. What stories are your competitor’s communicating to the market?
9. What does your company do better than primary competitors?
10. What is another brand you admire and why?
11. If you could choose any celebrity to be your spokesperson, who would it be and why?
12. What attitudes would you like to avoid in your messaging?
How you speak to your audience is crucial. Clear your throat, find that voice and make sure everyone in your company knows exactly how it sounds.
Deborah Hayes is the president and creative director for Deborah Hayes Advertising (DHA). She has over 20 years experience in advertising and design. DHA specializes in branding, design, and advertising for local and national businesses, with a focus on multifamily marketing.
www.debhayesadvertising.com
Kommentare