Finding Your Online Voice
I get the following question from both brands and individuals all the time:
"How do I find my online voice?"
It usually comes when they've been posting for a while without any real engagement and witness other people or brands who are highly pleasurable to read. They know that these accounts have a 'personality' and want to know how to find their own.
The unfortunate answer that many experts offer is a 'Voice and Tone Document'.
The first time I saw a voice and tone document in the wild (around 2011), I scratched my head. It said nothing, offered very little guidance to anyone wanting to implement it, and it came across as incredibly 'safe' and 'generic'. The 'personality' that was written on the page translated into a very bland, neutered individual.
Since then, I've seen dozens of these documents and very few actually have any personality that I could map back to a human being, especially one I'd want to socialize with. A very rare exception is MailChimp, who actually own the url VoiceandTone.com, but even though their voice is strong, they leave it very open to personal interpretation on the part of the author.
The voice and tone document was invented to quell fears and try and give a semblance of order to a brand's 'voice' on social. I believe these documents are another holdover from the brand-centric thinking of yesterday's marketing, which is why they fit like a square peg in a round hole. Along with all sorts of other process exercises introduced to social and digital marketing since around 2009, it tends to work against any potential of being truly social.
Truthfully, companies who have a strong culture don't need or create these types of documents (and MailChimp, consequently, has a strong culture). This week's video is all about finding a better way to find that voice.
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I've been working on this social stuff for over 16 years and I've been a participant in the social web since 1992. My videos will come out every SUNDAY...with 2-5 minute "lessons" on what are truly social practices (and what are NOT).
Writer - Self-published
8 年Hey I like you.
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8 年Look ..always higher! With courage. "I SAW MORE 'FAR FROM OTHER ..because 'I WAS ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS! " (Isaac Newton) And 'This is the way of saying that every man and entrepreneur should impress upon their minds ..to face every challenge of life and Entrepreneurial. We know ..I am ..the difficult challenges. But dare one ..not if you can give by itself in a "particular" period like this. Looks ahead ..sii crowds ..desecrating ..iconoclast ..but always with a sense of respect, education and professional ethics! The ..this crisis knows ..there are ..there were ..and there will be ..! But are cyclical ..before or later pass! I do not have a magic wand, I would not presume to give recipes or substitutes sterile hopes, but I believe deeply that looking ahead, always, ..with eyes "disenchanted" the can is fair ..for everyone! And remember that WE kneel ..just of GOD on! Thanks for your attention and best wishes to you all ..from the wonderful Italy . Gianpaolo PAVONE ( Italian Writer & Corporate communications expert ) Read also COURAGE (Gianpaolo Pavone) here: https://urlin.it/13fdc3
Sales/Marketing Pro | Relationship Builder | Problem Solver | Servant Leader | Team Player/Coach
8 年Thank you, Tara, for your insight! Companies, more than individuals, have a hard time finding their Voice, as they get stuck in the mud of political and legal correctness.
Assistante de direction chez KE ENERGIES
8 年This has been both instructive and funny to watch! Thank you.
lillieruby.com
8 年Bravo--every second was entertaining and refreshingly truthful. "People with a strong sense of self and companies with a strong culture don't even have to think about this stuff (online persona). Work on that part, not rules and documentation."