Make a noise and make it clear.
John Farnham's iconic song, You're The Voice had a lot of moving and motivational lines. My favourite was always the opening three lines:
We have the chance to turn the pages over
We can write what we want to write
We gotta make ends meet, before we get much older
Today I'm looking at finding your voice. Because when you do find it, you'll know what to write so you can make ends meet in your business.
See what I did there?
Let's go!
We have the chance to turn the pages over.
There is no sense in pushing out inspirational quotes and cute memes to your Facebook business page when people won't encounter anything fun and whimsical when they deal with your business.
And if you're giving hardcore business advice on your page but you sell imported candy, then you're probably missing an opportunity to sell candy.?
Having a defined voice matters because it covers almost all the most important bases when it comes to social media.?
It's worth taking the time to look at your voice - and turn the pages over to something new and more clearly defined.
Research conducted by Sprout Social found that what consumers noticed most when it comes to brands (even small ones) is:
Memorable content (40%)
Distinct personality (33%)
Compelling storytelling (32%)
All three of those things are directly impacted by your business' voice. So if you don't know what your voice is, it's time to work it out!
Any journey into sorting out your voice starts with your values.
What is it that you and your business stand for no matter what? What is most important for you to operate towards, believe in or express as part of who you are and what you do?
If you're working in a solar installation business, your values could be around sustainability, environmental care, trustworthy installation services and helping people save money.
If you're a therapist, your values could be around professional care, patient confidentiality and ensuring a better quality of life for clients.
How do you take those values and turn them into a voice?
Make a noise and make it clear.
To work out your voice, lay out your values and expand them a little.
From my combination of values, I was able to build a voice that reflected them.
My voice then could be summed up in a statement like:
Calm, clear and easy to understand; by openly sharing relatable experiences I make myself open to feedback and easy to approach for personal responses to specific issues that people need help with.
Here’s how I built this statement from my values:
?I highlighted the words that I could use to highlight my voice.?
It's easiest when your explanation of how you express your values contains words that describe your communication style.
Here's another example, this time from the solar business above:
Their voice is then one of focusing on benefits to the customer, not lists of features or kilowatts. It's one of education, clear communication and simple terminology, rather than complicated jargon and eco-preaching.
Yet another example from our therapist:
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Professional: our treatments are?proven, trusted?and based on real science
Confidentiality: what?happens in session, stays in session, always
Quality of Life: a?better,?more satisfying and calm life?is possible
Their voice is one where they explain the science behind their treatments in the context of a real person's life. They inspire trust by not telling stories about their clients, but rather talk about potential outcomes in general. They explain what life looks like when issues are addressed and resolved in a calm manner.
With the power to be powerful.
This is the beauty of having a defined voice. The voice itself isn't what makes content compelling. It's just a frame that keeps your content on-topic and relatable.
A defined voice means that your content is easily recognisable as yours.?
It provides consistency without forcing you to say the same thing over and over.
British Autism and ADHD advocate?Ellie Middleton?has mountains of content about Autism and ADHD despite having been only diagnosed around 6 months ago.
All she talks about is Autism and ADHD. But her content resonates with over 155,000 followers who are interested in what she has to say.
She is far from boring.
Her voice could be summed up as:
Providing a positive voice for those with Autism and ADHD by sharing my own stories with the world, explaining the little things that businesses can do to help those with Autism and ADHD be their best, exposing myths about these conditions and highlighting the capabilities of neurodiverse people.
Given her popularity and success over the last year, her voice is definitely resonating with someone!
Believing we can make it better.
This can feel like a bit of an abstract idea for the more logical and analytical of us.
For some, it works better to work out what the voice of a business or individual in the same industry as you may be like - and then use that as a base for forming your own.
For example, you may look at another accounting firm as having values that appear to be:
Professional, Reliable, Easily Understood, Highly Recommended.
You can then expand on each of these values you think they have:
If all this appears to be what your firm is like, then your voice will be:
A reassuring voice that takes the time to explain in simple terms the things that often confuse business owners. We maintain that reassuring voice by giving examples of how we delivered what we promised, and sharing the success stories of our clients.
Your voice doesn't have to be completely original or unique, but it does need to truly reflect who you are, what you think your values are, and ultimately match what the customer will experience when they engage with your business.
That's all for this weekend. Just one short read about finding your voice and expressing it clearly on social media. And a special nod to the legendary John Farnham (whose song I may have butchered in the shower a few times!)
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P.S. When you're ready, here's a few ways I can help out.
This coming Wednesday, November 9, I will be hosting a live-streamed event on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube on How to Write Strategically for Social Media. It's free and you can watch it on whichever platform you like during or after the live stream. Register below to get the reminder.
I recently explored some options on how to wean yourself off using tacky, unrealistic and soulless stock photos on your website, social media and articles. You'll be surprised what's out there now.
Having a defined voice is part of the process of building a strong personal brand - especially if you are a solopreneur or owner of a small business. My free mini-course on Building a Personal Brand is a great way to do it in five small steps over five weeks.
Great article Dante, thank you