You need to create a brand voice for your business. How do you make sure it’s the right one?

A good exercise to perform is to look at your target audience: generation, gender, profession, and other traits that may be relevant in connection to your product and industry. Then ask yourself how you want your audience to perceive your brand (as if it were a person): e.g. you're selling lifestyle products to young people and want them to perceive you as a friend of their age - the brand should appear appropriately. Or you're selling educational products to the same audience and you prefer to be looked at as a respected teacher - this requires another identity. Or you are selling a medical product to the elderly - and then you want to be perceived as a trusted doctor.

It's so important to start here, focus internally, and really dig deep to get to the heart of what makes you unique. So many businesses jump to what they want to add to the market, what's going to resonate with the greatest addressable market, and think about the external. But if we're talking about brand voice - a voice being something that's so innately tied to an identity - that work has to start internally.

Finding your brand identity takes some deep thinking. Your business is an entity, not a person. But it still should have a personality. What does your brand stand for in the marketplace? Who or what is the common enemy it is fighting? How does it differentiate itself from the rest of the crowd? A good brand strategist can help lead marketing through a series of exercises to uncover the heart of your brand identity.

One thing I have found useful is ' Being Aligned' to who you are. A Brand Voice is not something you put on , it is who you are. The mistake many organisations make is try to be like someone who they are not and this shows . Brand Voice is not just advertising but also how your employees and customers experience the brand . The key word according to me is being authentic to the core . For leaders this translates to don't just talk , walk the talk and this can be tough in difficult times.

The brand voice starts with the brand personality. Determine personality by understanding the audience you're targeting, then tell them a story in a style they will respond to.

Your ideal audience has a specific, urgent problem they are trying to solve. Your brand voice should be able to communicate in your audience's language that specific problem and how your brand is uniquely positioned to help them solve it. When the messaging is aligned correctly, your brand is the only choice for that audience.

Utilizing tools like buyer personas can be incredibly effective in capturing the essence of your ideal customers. These personas are crafted based on market research and real data about your existing customers. They help in visualizing who you are speaking to and how your brand should communicate to connect with them effectively.

Say you're defining a TA for a garments business. It involves identifying key customer demographics & psychographics. For e.g., if the brand focuses on eco-friendly & sustainable fashion, the target audience might be environmentally conscious individuals, likely aged 20-40, who value ethical production, have a mid-high income level. This group might be active on social media, follow sustainability trends, & prefer quality over quantity. Understanding their lifestyle, spending habits, and fashion preferences helps tailor the brand voice to resonate with them. For example, the brand voice could be modern, responsible, and inspirational, reflecting the values and aspirations of this audience.

Understanding your audience comes next after developing the identity of your brand. Examine your ideal clients' requirements, inclinations, obstacles, and driving forces to determine who they are. Examine how they communicate with each other to find the tone and manner that suits them best. Make a relationship with them that goes beyond simple communication by addressing their distinctive qualities with a customised brand voice. Your brand voice becomes an effective tool for building meaningful relationships and catering to the particular requirements of the people you want to serve when it is understood and aligned with your target audience.

As humans, we surround ourselves with people we naturally get on with. It's in our nature to build relationships with people who share value systems, personality traits and interests. The same needs considered when building an Unforgettable Brand. Brands often adopt a brand archetype when developing their brand voice however often neglect their audience in favour of showing off their own personality. The best brands however know it's a combination of both worlds: crafting a voice that reflects their internal culture whilst sensitively complimenting the common personality traits of their target audience. So, get to know who your audience are, study them and build a brand that will make them feel you exist just for them.

A short list of terms can help solidify the tone and style of your brand voice. You can help reinforce the defining terms by including sample copy that embodies the spirit of the voice -- e.g., effective social media posts, email copy, voice over scripts, etc.

Keeping a small list of attributes is important here! Not only does that make it easy to turn your brand voice into a shorthand that's easy to remember, but it also makes it easier to communicate those brand voice attributes to others on your team, and internalize that brand education.

Determine the characteristics that best capture your brand voice by using a clear brand identification and an awareness of your target market. Select adjectives that accurately convey the intended communication's tone, style, and mood. Whether you're going for a casual, polished, or creative voice, these qualities act as the cornerstones around which your brand will be expressed. By employing these chosen characteristics consistently throughout all communication platforms, you strengthen your brand identity and give your audience a unified and unforgettable experience. With this deliberate approach, you can be confident that every encounter conveys the unique character and values that are part of your brand voice.

When developing a brand voice, it is essential to develop a list of attributes that reflect your brand personality and compliment the typical voice of your target audience. At Highly, we often develop a brand personality that includes 9 brand voice attributes: - 3 Primary Attributes - 3 Secondary Attributes - 3 Tertiary Attributes With that list, you can use frameworks like brand archetypes to develop a clear sense of personality. In my experience though, narrowing the 9 down to the 2 most important traits is going to be the best way to equip your writers and team to speak on behalf of your brand.

After identifying your Brand Voice attributes and with your tone of voice in mind, fill in the blanks to describe how you want to sound to others: we are ______, but we are not _____ we are ______, but we are not _____ we are ______, but we are not _____

The last phase in your brand voice writing process is widespread implementation across all touchpoints and communication platforms. Consistency is key across all media, including your website, blog, social media, email, advertisements, videos, and podcasts. Incorporate your established brand voice into all of the material you create with ease. This all-encompassing strategy makes sure that your audience hears a single, consistent voice, which promotes a seamless brand experience. You can increase the power of your brand voice and create a lasting impression on your audience at every encounter by staying consistent across a variety of channels.

Applying your brand voice consistently across all communication channels is crucial. This includes your website, social media, emails, ads, and any other content. Ensure your brand voice aligns with your visual identity, like logos and colors. To maintain this consistency, develop a brand voice guide detailing your chosen attributes, examples, and content creation best practices. Remember, establishing a brand voice is an ongoing process. Regularly monitor audience reactions and be ready to refine your approach. An authentic, relevant, and distinctive brand voice is a powerful tool in enhancing your brand strategy and business growth.

When choosing a brand voice, too many businesses choose to simply copy the leaders. But non-leaders can't away with this. Because if people have a choice between listening to leaders or non-leaders who sound the same, they'll just listen to the leaders. The only way for non-leaders to be heard is to sound different.

This article doesn't touch on the difference between voice and tone, but it's important to note that a brand voice is not monolithic. Sure it has common attributes, but an attribute can "sound" different. Think about sports teams and listening to an announcer on the radio, or the team posting updates on Twitter: their brand voice is consistent, but the messages sure don't sound the same when the team wins and when it loses.

Having gone through this exercise with a client today, I was struck by the importance of involving individuals from various aspects of the business. This diverse perspective is crucial for obtaining a genuine understanding of how brand voice holds significance at all levels within a company.

Understand your audience in relation to your Purpose. Understand how your target audience connects with your brand purpose. Research their values and interests to see how they align with your purpose, ensuring your brand voice speaks directly to these shared values.

Start with the brand archetype as it influences the brand voice by providing a framework for the desired personality traits. For example, a brand that aligns with the "Explorer" archetype may have an adventurous and daring brand voice, while a brand embodying the "Caregiver" archetype might have a nurturing and empathetic voice.