Introduction
Brand voice is the foundation of your brand’s verbal identity. It is the personality you communicate through in your marketing, communications and advertising. Furthermore, it helps you stand out from the crowd. Lastly, it matters because you want your brand to be consistent and recognizable.
Crafting involves setting standards for word choice, writing style and humor presence or absence. Furthermore, it determines whether your content employs slang and colloquialisms or professional, to-the-point wording.
Brand voice is the distinct personality a brand takes on in its communications. The language, words they used and their personality all combined for a memorable experience. In order to determine it, answer the following questions:
- Who is your brand online?
- Who is it talking to?
- If your brand was a person, what personality traits would they take on?
- Moreover, what would they avoid?
- What phrases does your brand use on a consistent basis?
- What is your brand’s goal?
Combine all the answers to create your brand voice. Furthermore, apply it in newsletters, social media posts, internal official communications and advertising.
Importance of a consistent brand voice
Strong first impressions
A consistent brand voice lets consumers absorb your brand quickly and easily. That way it allows you to capture the customer’s attention before he chooses to keep scrolling.
Brand recognition
It should make a brand memorable, sticking in the consumers’ minds until they’re ready to make a purchase. Moreover, it should lead consumers to subconsciously connect certain words, ideas and emotions with your brand.
A competitive edge
In the digital age, brands are competing for consumer attention, interaction and loyalty. Your brand voice is your chance to quickly persuade consumers why is your brand different than the others.
Customer loyalty
A consistent brand voice proves to consumers that the brand understands their pain points and reliably delivers solutions. Furthermore, it convinces consumers that the brand is living up to the company’s mission and following through on its promises to the customer. Consequently, it results in customer loyalty.
Company culture
Healthy company culture should be your priority. It should inspire employees to act as the ambassadors of your company. Moreover, maintaining a clear and consistent brand will give your marketing team confidence in your brand strategy across channels. When your team is confident in who you are, your customers will take notice.
How do you define your brand voice
1. Define your audience
For a start, identify your buyer persona. When crafting your brand voice, have in mind that you are speaking to your target audience.
2. Gather a representative sample of your content
Whittle down your examples unique to your brand. Group them together to see them as a whole. Implement them into your brand voice and communicate consistently.
3. Describe it in three words
If your brand was a person, how would you describe its personality to someone?
How do your brand’s personality traits make you different from the competition?
Then define each one further. Here are 3 examples of brand adjectives further defined:
- Passionate – expressive, enthusiastic, heartfelt, action-oriented
- Quirky – irreverent, unexpected, contrarian
- Authentic – genuine, trustworthy, engaging, direct
4. Create a brand voice chart
Put it into action by creating a visual chart. Describe each adjective in detail and write the words your brand will use and the ones it won’t. Revisit and revise this chart as needed as your company evolves.
Conclusion
Brand voice is the distinct personality a brand takes on in its communications. It requires consistency and as a result, achieves recognition. There are plenty of brand voice types. Hence, when crafting it, it’s important to make it unique for your law firm. Furthermore, it should fit your brand and your target audience. In addition, your company’s priorities might change over time, so consider your brand’s voice as a work in progress.