How to Develop Your Brand Voice

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Building a successful brand requires a lot of writing. You need to write a compelling copy on your website, engaging emails to your subscribers, and attention-grabbing shoutouts on social media. In between these writing tasks, you have to write a blog, create product/service descriptions and branding materials. 

Whew! 

Because it takes a lot of writing to build a business, you should always consider the brand voice that you are using. 

You might think that your brand voice will come naturally as you write, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to sound like yourself when you write! 

Don't worry; even professional writers have issues getting a brand voice right.

What is a Brand Voice?

Why Develop a Brand Voice

To stand out: It’ll be hard to stand out and create a distinction between your business and the competition if you sound just like everyone else! A unique brand voice is memorable; it helps distinguish yourself from the rest and connect with your target audience. 

Use a friendly, approachable, and natural brand voice to make an emotional impact on future prospects. And if you feel like sounding yourself, sure. That way, your brand voice sounds sincere and authentic as opposed to overly professional but stop short at avoiding ill-fitting phrases and terms like “dude” or “girl same,” unless that’s the brand image you’re trying to project. 

To make a connection: With your target audience, that is! People make their decisions based on their emotions, and if your business is not eliciting the right emotion, you might lose to your competitors! 

With the right brand voice, you can establish a connection with your target audience better. You can hold their attention long enough to send the message across properly and eventually, influence customers to take the desired action. 

To create a consistent copy: Your copy should always be in line with your business, and with a clear brand voice, you can maintain a consistent tone of voice. With a consistent copy, you can attract new customers while retaining your existing clients. You’ll never run the risk of confusing your target audience or turning them off entirely because your brand voice and website content are consistent across all platforms.  

The perfect brand voice makes a lasting impression. It can compel potential customers to take the desired action, which in this case, to purchase your products or services. You can also build credibility with a clear brand voice. When you can convey your business values, provide expert insights, or present the breadth of experience you have, you’ll make an impactful connection with your readers and, eventually, earn their trust.

How to Develop Your Ideal Brand Voice

Define Your Brand

To create the perfect brand voice, you need to think about the image you want to project to your target audience. What kind of impression do you want to leave to people whenever they read your website content or check out your product description — friendly or formal? Would you like to sound like an old friend, a supervisor at work, or a loved one to your prospective clients?

If you want to sound like an old friend to your target audience, use a warm, casual tone. If you want to sound like a complete professional, keep your brand voice formal and straightforward but never patronizing. Do not use complicated jargon because it might only confuse the readers. 

If your target audience is within the 24-35-year-old age bracket, sounding like a teenager in writing will put off many people and vice versa. 

Check Your Content

Check previous content that perfectly defines your brand — blogs, Facebook shoutouts, IG captions, email newsletters, or marketing materials you feel are an excellent representation of your brand. Check how you address the readers in these pieces of content, find out what specific tone your target audience responds to, and emulate the same tone of voice. 

Describe Your Brand

When you read your website content or think about the product or service you offer, how would you describe your brand? Are you warm and friendly or formal and professional? Is your content about entertainment or education? Would you say that your brand image is young and bubbly or professional and ambitious? Energetic and playful or soothing and serious?

List down at least 3 of the adjectives that best describe your brand. By creating a list of words or terms that define your brand, you'll know which tone of voice best represents your business. Once you’ve determined the image you’d like your business to project, you can develop a brand voice that matches it.

Tips for Developing Your Brand Voice

Keep it engaging: Be conversational, not stiff like a robot. Create a brand voice that compels people to join in the conversation to build a community of loyal followers. Think about how you’d talk to your client in person. 

Use familiar terms: To create a lasting impact on readers, you need to speak the language of your target audience. Use familiar terms, words that speak to your prospects to elicit the right emotions. 

Define your core values: Your brand voice should always convey your business’ core values and purpose to attract and engage particular groups of people. If you are not sharing your brand’s purpose and core values, you might end up turning off a lot of people. Your target audience would feel deceived and eventually lose people’s trust! 

Creating the brand voice that accurately conveys your business sounds challenging, but as long as you know what your business is all about, you can create a distinctive brand voice that will earn people's trust and, eventually, build an engaged community! With these tips, you are well on your way to creating the right tone of voice for your business. 

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