Have you thought about your brand voice lately? I know, I know. There really isn’t a place for jargon in a blog, but – bear with me here – for a company to have quality and focused content, a brand voice must be fully developed (or at least evolving).
So, what exactly am I asking when “do you have your brand voice defined?” tumbles excitedly out of my mouth in conversation? I mean…that’s pretty jargony, right?
I’m asking if you have the foundational items that form how you speak and develop content for your company. Your brand voice is how you interact with your customers, partners, and employees.
But how do you define this if you haven’t already done so?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say you most likely already have all the pieces – even if they’re sitting in your head for the moment. You just need to pull them out and put them together. So, let’s have a wee “how to” fun on what you should think about when discovering your voice.
Beginners Guide for Writing Style
These are those great pieces that guide your writing style:
- Content tone: what is the overall feeling your content leaves?
- Content personality: what will your content sound like?
- Values: what guides your actions and decisions?
- Key messages: what guides your content pieces’ individual focus?
Beginners Guide for your Writing Focus
These pieces help guide your writing’s focus:
- Culture: what is your company culture and client experience?
- Client value: what value do clients receive when working with you?
- Differentiators: what differentiates your client solutions from everyone else’s?
While there are a number of items that further enhance your brand voice, these are the primary pieces that form the foundation – like the cement foundation in the basement of your house, or those super low basses that choirs build scrumptious chords upon!
Ultimately, why should you care about your brand voice?
Even though your brand voice is super fun to discover, you may be left wondering why you should care at all? It comes down to building a consistent client experience. By building consistency and focus into your content – whether written or verbal – you naturally begin to build trust in your company even before they meet you. Over and above that, your complementary service partners, customers, and other businesses clearly understand why and how you’re different. This also ensures you are better equipped to develop content that purposefully helps grow your business.
Plus, when everyone in your company knows how they should talk/write, all company communications – whether internal or external, phone answers or email signoffs – become that much easier because the style and focus are already there!
When you take the time to build your voice foundation, there’s no telling this missing piece can do for your company’s marketing…and overall business!
And, the next time you’re asked, “do you have your brand voice defined?” you’ll be able to eagerly answer, “Heck yes!” (or, “Yes. I took the time to develop it.” You know, content tone dependent, of course.)