4 Steps to Finding Your Brand’s Voice
(and Why Personality Matters)

Check Check, One Two…

So how is your brand voice? Is it where you’d like it to be? 

“Hold up!” we hear some of you say. “I came here to find my brand voice. I don’t have one yet!’ 

Well, the funny thing about “finding” something is that it’s frequently right in front of you from the start. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you already have a voice (or voices) your customers can hear loud and clear. 

Every message presented to the public—from website content to flyers hanging behind your window—is part of your current “voice.” And when people hear that voice, it shapes how they view and perceive your business as a whole. 

There are two big questions when it comes to your brand voice: 

Does it show the type of personality you most want attributed to your business?

Is it being presented consistently?

If you have a consistent and clear brand voice, people can recognize it even if they don’t see your name or logo anywhere on your content. They might even think of you when they see similar content that’s not from you.

That’s a strong benefit, and it’s all in the power of personality! 

Here are some essential tips to keep in mind when searching for and building up your brand voice: 

Set What Defines Your Voice 

First thing’s first: you need a core foundation to build upon.

These will be the elements you should always keep in mind when creating messages and content. 

 A good exercise for this is also a fun one: choose three words that you want to define your voice.

Let’s take a brand as an example:

Take a few moments to review their feed, and think of what three words may come to mind.  

 Here’s our three: 

  • Confident 
  • Snarky 
  • Direct 

When we look at this account (and in many of their commercials as well), we see a brand that’s proud of their product and not afraid to razz their competition about it. If Wendy’s red-haired, pig-tailed mascot was a real person, you could imagine what she might be like at a party. 

Once you have some definitions down, you can expand upon them to pinpoint that voice even further: 

  • Confident, but self-aware of being a fast food restaurant 
  • Snarky, but only to their competition 
  • Direct, but not demanding 

You, naturally, may not want to be cheeky (we’re fans of it from time to time, to be honest). You may want to come off as professional, or jovial, or compassionate, or inspired. Whatever you choose, it should be something that resonates well with you and that you can expand upon. 

Determine What Will Set You Apart

A brand voice may feel satisfying to you, but you must consider how it relates to your competition, too. Is your personality different enough from similar businesses to let you stand out? 

Imagine you and your rival are introducing yourselves to your dream date.

Your rival says, “Hello. I am a fiery soul who enjoys having fun but also has a sensitive side.” 

You say, “Hello. I am also a fiery soul who enjoys having fun but also has a sensitive side.”  

Not great, right? You’re not going to come off as very memorable or interesting that way. Maybe just kind of creepy. 

Find ways for your message to be true to you and your business while standing apart from your competition. Create those touchpoints where, when people think of them, they think of you and not Those Other Guys. 

And we get it; sometimes it might be hard to provide a different message. But think of the two main home improvement stores: Home Depot and Lowe’s. They too don’t do a whole lot to separate the content of their messages—and maybe there are only so many ways you can say you have hammers.  

But words are not the only part of your voice. What are the stores’ messages written on? Blue and orange, two completely opposite, contrasting sides of the color wheel. You’re never going to confuse one store for the other—and that’s intentional. 

Listen to Your Audience (and Be Genuine) 

Your brand voice resonates with you, and it doesn’t echo the competition. Good! But does it speak to the people you want it to?   You want to identify the types of people you want to reach most? These are the people you want to draw in and eventually become your brand ambassadors.  How does your audience communicate? What technologies do they use most often to do so, and what do their messages look like?  Going back to Wendy’s: Being flippant on Twitter works for them rather well because the audience they are attempting reach there—social media-savvy people 30s and under—tend to be snarky on and respond to snarkiness on that platform.   Try taking this style to a different generation, however, and the success would be much more limited.  Listening to and engaging with the people you want to reach will not only help you craft your messages in more appealing ways, but in more genuine ones, too. Potential customers are quite good at sniffing out companies that are trying “too hard” without really knowing much about them. But if you pay attention, you will not be one of those companies. 

Keep Updating Your Voice

The One True Voice will never be found! As time goes on, your audience will change the way they communicate, rivals will come and go, and what you find important or resonant may shift as well.  Always be studying, always be listening, and always be reviewing which messages have worked best for you and which ones might not have been so easy to create. This is the key to keeping your brand voice fresh and relevant. 

Let CP Solutions Be Your Voicebox

It takes a good investment of time and energy to have a brand voice that’s… well, on brand. But that’s something we at CP Solutions work with all the time!

We take the time not only to understand the ins and outs of what our own clients find valuable, but who their audience is and how to reach them as well. We can work with you to get your memorable message out to the masses.  

Are you ready to learn more about our comprehensive digital marketing strategies? Give us a call at (833) 622-0907 to schedule an appointment with our experts. 

Contact us

Check Check, One Two…

So how is your brand voice? Is it where you’d like it to be? 

“Hold up!” we hear some of you say. “I came here to find my brand voice. I don’t have one yet!’ 

Well, the funny thing about “finding” something is that it’s frequently right in front of you from the start. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you already have a voice (or voices) your customers can hear loud and clear. 

Every message presented to the public—from website content to flyers hanging behind your window—is part of your current “voice.” And when people hear that voice, it shapes how they view and perceive your business as a whole. 

 There are two big questions when it comes to your brand voice: 

Does it show the type of personality you most want attributed to your business?

Is it being presented consistently?

If you have a consistent and clear brand voice, people can recognize it even if they don’t see your name or logo anywhere on your content. They might even think of you when they see similar content that’s not from you.

That’s a strong benefit, and it’s all in the power of personality! 

Here are some essential tips to keep in mind when searching for and building up your brand voice:

Set What Defines Your Voice 

First thing’s first: you need a core foundation to build upon.

These will be the elements you should always keep in mind when creating messages and content. 

 A good exercise for this is also a fun one: choose three words that you want to define your voice.

Let’s take a brand as an example:

Take a few moments to review their feed, and think of what three words may come to mind.  

Here’s our three: 

  • Confident 
  • Snarky 
  • Direct 

When we look at this account (and in many of their commercials as well), we see a brand that’s proud of their product and not afraid to razz their competition about it. If Wendy’s red-haired, pig-tailed mascot was a real person, you could imagine what she might be like at a party. 

Once you have some definitions down, you can expand upon them to pinpoint that voice even further: 

  • Confident, but self-aware of being a fast food restaurant 
  • Snarky, but only to their competition 
  • Direct, but not demanding 

You, naturally, may not want to be cheeky (we’re fans of it from time to time, to be honest). You may want to come off as professional, or jovial, or compassionate, or inspired. Whatever you choose, it should be something that resonates well with you and that you can expand upon. 

 

Determine What Will Set You Apart

A brand voice may feel satisfying to you, but you must consider how it relates to your competition, too. Is your personality different enough from similar businesses to let you stand out? 

Imagine you and your rival are introducing yourselves to your dream date.

Your rival says, “Hello. I am a fiery soul who enjoys having fun but also has a sensitive side.” 

You say, “Hello. I am also a fiery soul who enjoys having fun but also has a sensitive side.”  

Not great, right? You’re not going to come off as very memorable or interesting that way. Maybe just kind of creepy. 

Find ways for your message to be true to you and your business while standing apart from your competition. Create those touchpoints where, when people think of them, they think of you and not Those Other Guys. 

And we get it; sometimes it might be hard to provide a different message. But think of the two main home improvement stores: Home Depot and Lowe’s. They too don’t do a whole lot to separate the content of their messages—and maybe there are only so many ways you can say you have hammers.  

But words are not the only part of your voice. What are the stores’ messages written on? Blue and orange, two completely opposite, contrasting sides of the color wheel. You’re never going to confuse one store for the other—and that’s intentional. 

Listen to Your Audience (and Be Genuine)

Your brand voice resonates with you, and it doesn’t echo the competition. Good! But does it speak to the people you want it to?   You want to identify the types of people you want to reach most? These are the people you want to draw in and eventually become your brand ambassadors.  How does your audience communicate? What technologies do they use most often to do so, and what do their messages look like?  Going back to Wendy’s: Being flippant on Twitter works for them rather well because the audience they are attempting reach there—social media-savvy people 30s and under—tend to be snarky on and respond to snarkiness on that platform.   Try taking this style to a different generation, however, and the success would be much more limited.  Listening to and engaging with the people you want to reach will not only help you craft your messages in more appealing ways, but in more genuine ones, too. Potential customers are quite good at sniffing out companies that are trying “too hard” without really knowing much about them. But if you pay attention, you will not be one of those companies. 

Keep Updating Your Voice

The One True Voice will never be found! As time goes on, your audience will change the way they communicate, rivals will come and go, and what you find important or resonant may shift as well.  Always be studying, always be listening, and always be reviewing which messages have worked best for you and which ones might not have been so easy to create. This is the key to keeping your brand voice fresh and relevant. 

Let CP Solutions Be Your Voicebox

It takes a good investment of time and energy to have a brand voice that’s… well, on brand. But that’s something we at CP Solutions work with all the time! 

We take the time not only to understand the ins and outs of what our own clients find valuable, but who their audience is and how to reach them as well. We can work with you to get your memorable message out to the masses.  

Are you ready to learn more about our comprehensive digital marketing strategies? Give us a call at (833) 622-0907 to schedule an appointment with our experts. 

 

Contact us

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