By Jen McKinnon

Many small to medium business owners have seemingly bigger fish to fry when it comes to marketing than developing a brand voice for their business. However, something as simple as what you say and how you say it could be the difference between many and few conversions.

What is Brand Voice?

Brand voice is an ostensibly grandiose concept but it can actually be make or break for your marketing campaign. Simply, your brand voice is what tells your brand’s story – the personality of your brand. It’s what keeps your brand consistent and plausible through style and tone but, most importantly, it’s what differentiates you from your competitors. Your brand voice is applicable across all content streams, including (but not limited to) blogs, email marketing, social media, website content and digital advertising.

How will a clear Brand Voice help my business?

There are a number of ways your brand voice can benefit your marketing and your business as a whole by inspiring interaction, engagement and customer relationships. Let’s take a look at the top reasons to establish and employ a brand voice:

Establish Brand Identity

With a solidly established brand voice you can give readers an instant understanding of what your brand is all about, purely through the way you communicate. By personifying your brand (thinking of your brand as a person), you can find a way to encapsulate the values of your business in the style and tone of your content. Are you passionate but relaxed? Lovable but cheeky? Firm but approachable? Try to choose contrasting traits to give your brand voice more depth.

It’s important not to pick too many adjectives when describing your voice. If you do, you dilute the strength of the words that encompass your brand’s values most effectively. Aim to only use three or four adjectives when describing your tone and style of communication. This not only preserves the power of your voice but makes it clear to those using it.

Reach the Right Consumers

Your brand voice gives you a rich understanding of how to address your consumers. Knowing how to speak to your target audience will help attract more qualified consumers and, as a result, maximise your conversions.

For example, if your business is selling bicycles for children, the audience will be vastly different to a business that sells health insurance to under 25s. The bicycle store will be targeting parents, so their voice may be playful yet authoritative to demonstrate that the brand knows how to have fun but pays close attention to safety. On the other hand, the health insurance broker speaking to young adults may take a more comedic approach to be relatable to a youthful audience. There is no use in the bicycle store or the insurance broker employing a rigid tone of voice as it doesn’t appeal to either target market.

Gain Trust

Just as sending mixed or scattered messages can be detrimental to a romantic relationship, the same can be said about the marketing messages sent by your brand. You can avoid inconsistency in your communication by setting out clear brand voice guidelines. This not only improves the interaction your potential clients have with your brand but it also stimulates trust. Consistency implies stability and dependability, which are traits that all consumers look for in a brand.

Brands who know who they are and the value they provide to their market are the most successful because they appear trustworthy. Think Nike, Apple, Coca Cola – these brands all have a strong and identifiable brand voice. Just because your business isn’t a multi-million-dollar company, doesn’t mean the same tactics won’t benefit your marketing strategy.

Establish Connections

You want your brand to be relatable to your target audience and speak to them in terms they understand. Business is built on relationships, which is why it’s so important to ensure your customers can and want to connect with your brand. Establish a brand voice that inspires audiences to want to interact with your brand.

Many purchases are made for aspirational reasons. Consumers aspire to look cooler, be slimmer, get a better job and, by ‘talking the talk’ you further tug on the consumer’s aspirational strings. This can drive consumers to develop a relationship with your brand. Satisfying your customer’s expectations in terms of style and tone, not only adds coal to that aspirational fire for purchase but deepens the consumer’s yearn to forge a relationship with your brand.

Recognition

A good brand voice will be instantly recognisable. This doesn’t just improve brand recall, it also helps you stand out amongst a crowded market. If you communicate with your consumers in a memorable way, you have a higher chance that potential customers will remember and recognise your brand just from your tone of voice. Being recognisable and familiar to audiences is a high priority in marketing and can be the molecular difference that makes you a sale.

Once you have something to say and a way to say it, the marketing world is your oyster!