3 Key Elements to a Consistent Brand Voice

As an advertising agency, one of the many jobs we are tasked with is content development—i.e., social media posts, email creation, and blog posts. We do it all, and we do it for multiple clients, multiple times a day. So how do we, as content creators for brands we work with—not for—make sure the content sounds like it’s written as though the company wrote it? It’s simple. A clearly defined brand voice.

Brand voice is your company’s personality. It is how consumers perceive you and relate to you. A brand is made up of many elements, including logos, colors, fonts, and, equally important, voice. Brand voice helps your company/product/service/etc. stand out from others. Like your personal voice, it is how you are heard and seen by others. And, just like when they interact with people, consumers will ask themselves, “Do I like this person/brand? Do I want to keep engaging with them? Do we vibe?”

If you do indeed vibe and customer loyalty is established, consumers will have expectations of you. If customers feel like they know you as a brand, they will begin to engage with you more. And, after all, #engagement is all the rage, right?

The first step is to develop a brand voice. Every step after that is making sure you use it each and every time you create content. And when you do so, here is what you should keep in mind.

Tone  

Think of tone as your attitude. It is not what you say, it’s how you say it. How do you approach topics that are important to your customers? Are you formal and serious when talking about banking? Or are you casual and relatable? When you are preparing for the end of the school year and the start of summer, are you excited about outdoor BBQs with friends or are you cautious of fireworks at July Fourth festivities?

Example: Chinet® Products 

Example: AdventHealth Shawnee Mission

Values 

What’s important to you? More importantly, what’s important to your customers? Are they relying on you to discover new family-friendly recipes, or do they want you to take a stand on social issues? Do your customers value innovation and knowledge? Or are they simply looking to get outdoors and find new adventures? Don’t be afraid to talk about what’s important to you. It helps differentiate you from competitors and will create a more loyal following.

Example: Linda Hall Library 

Example: Rossville Union 

Language 

How you speak and what you speak about is important but so is the jargon you use. Make sure to use vocabulary that resonates with your consumers but also aligns with who you are. A hospital, for example, is proficient in healthcare, but if you begin talking about etiology versus epidemiology, your consumers will be lost. On the contrary, a collector of rare books may have an audience who has read Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius and requires advanced terminology to prove you know it’s one of the most important scientific texts ever written. It’s not just which words you use but can come down to details as small as the length of words and sentences. Is your voice simple and to the point? Or is it knowledgeable and does it require more depth?

Example 1: Linda Hall Library  

Example 2: Rossville Union 

Creating content using a consistent brand voice can be a challenge. It is easy to slip into your personal voice or simply go in and out of using it. Having an established document and easily accessible brand voice is a great start. Keeping tone, values, and language top of mind when you’re writing will help keep it consistent. If you need help creating your brand voice or brand content, we’re here to help.