When people engage with your brand, what do you want them to experience? Confidence, friendliness, expertise, dependability? That emotional experience stems from your brand voice.
Your brand voice encompasses the distinctive tone, style, and personality you convey through all content interactions. It’s expressed through word choice, perspective, storytelling, visuals, and more.
A consistent, unified voice is crucial for making meaningful connections with your audiences. When done right, your distinctive brand voice elicits feelings of trust and affinity.
Tips for Developing a Cohesive Brand Voice
Maintaining brand voice consistency takes focus and intent. Here are some best practices:
- Create brand voice guidelines all content creators can reference that define your core attributes, tone, formatting, and more.
- Appoint a lead content strategist responsible for overseeing voice across all content output.
- Provide templates, editorial calendars, and examples to reference.
- Conduct brand voice training for anyone creating content.
- Regularly monitor content across channels and give feedback on voice consistency.
Traits that Comprise Brand Voice
What are the key components that make up your brand voice? Consider:
- Tone – Casual? Authoritative? Humorous? Academic? Choose clear tone guidelines.
- Point of view – First person? Third person? Inclusive? Knowledgeable?
- Imagery – Color palette, photo style, icons, illustrations. Visuals set tone.
- Messaging – Keyword use, cultural references, metaphors, idioms.
- Personality – Quirky? Emotional? Witty? Passionate? What unique traits describe your brand?
The Risks of an Inconsistent Brand Voice
Without voice consistency, you miss opportunities to connect with people. Sketchy brand identity causes audiences to disengage. Risks include:
- Weak brand recognition and recall
- Lack of emotional connection with audiences
- Confusing messaging
- Reduced credibility and trust
- Poor performance across channels
Strengthen Your Content with a Unified Voice
Take the time to thoughtfully craft your brand voice, and then ensure it’s reflected across every piece of content – from blogs to ads to emails. That cohesion and consistency helps content perform.
Most importantly, a distinctive and consistent brand voice makes your audiences feel known. It fosters deeper relationships, improves recall, and demonstrates your commitment to them. Put in the work upfront and let your brand personality shine.