As you build on your current marketing content, one aspect you should always review and refine is your brand voice. Your brand voice is the tone you emulate on any type of content you share. This voice should be consistent across the board and highlight the uniqueness of your organization. Establishing a consistent brand voice helps prospects and members connect with you and understand your purpose. Any group can build a website and share content – but the ones that truly reach their consumers are ones with bold, strong brand voice.
So how do we achieve this? Chloe, one of our digital strategist at ArcStone, wrote a helpful article on 7 steps to achieving a consistent, strong brand voice. Let’s hash out the main takeaways below.
Review All Content
Before you dive into rebranding or strategizing a new voice, review your current material. Does it have a consistent tone? Is there a certain persona that sticks out to you or seemed to resonate with your audience? Try to repurpose content to better capture your voice rather than coming with all new material. This will save you time and help you see the gaps in your work.
Define Your Audience
“…[Your] audience is your greatest priority. It’s not about what you think your brand voice is, but rather, it’s seeking what voice will resonate with your target audience,” (Mark). You may think you know what your audience wants or the type of tone they seek, but it’s not enough to “know”. Do your research, conduct interviews and connect with individuals who are interested in your work. From that research, you can create and develop audience personas. Audience personas help you write for a specific group of people. They define your tone even further and target messaging towards your audiences’ specific problems.
Pick 3 Words to Sum Up Your Voice
Now that you’ve revised your current work, established your audience and their needs, it’s time to hone in on your brand voice. Mark suggests thinking about your brand like a person. What words would you use to describe that “person”? Let’s take AMO for example. If I had to choose three words that we try to emulate as a brand, I think they’d be…
- Friendly – nice, welcoming, attentive
- Helpful – accessible, useful, supportive
- Transparent – open, honest, real
Create a Guide
After assessing your characteristics and audience, create a guide that can give you direction. Use this guide to establish do’s and don’ts. For example, if AMO’s brand voice is supposed to be transparent, it doesn’t make much sense to be mysterious or have hidden fees. It does make sense to be open and vocal with your members and be straightforward with your offerings.
One Member At a TIme
Instead of stressing about writing for all your personas, just focus on one at a time. Write your content as if that was persona was your only reader. “This will help your content feel authentic….[also] if you picture the actual people you’re helping with your content, it’s more likely you’ll feel motivated to write,” (Mark).
Write First, Edit Later
Some writers like to edit as they go but ProBlogger suggests separating the two. Start by writing your post with a clear objective in mind – like who the persona is and how your message can help them. After drafting up a post, leave it alone for a bit. Come back to it later to work out the kinks. You’ll find your ability to edit a lot easier.
Bring Your Team Up to Speed
“In order to make this brand voice loud and clear, it needs to be applied across your entire site, your blog and your promotional materials,” (Mark). To be successful, your whole team needs to be on board. Create a guide that documents what we laid out above so they’re on the same page.
Creating a consistent brand voice takes work but is essential to connecting with your readers and members. Need help? Shoot me a message at aketcham@arcstone.com and I’ll put you in contact with one of our digital strategists.