Elevator 
Brands are humans – or animals too. They make noise and they can be disruptive.Brands communicate with the world and they do it with their voice – and it doesn’t sound like Amazon’s Alexa. Brand voices are difficult to establish and harder to perfect. Here’s what I’ve learned in the five years I’ve been perfecting the art of switching from brands like Burger King toButterball Turkey, and why it’s important.
Everyone knows the sound of an Apple iPhone ringer – but that’s not Apple’s brand voice. A brands voice is anything that is communicated through a brand to a consumer, which includes(but certainly is not limited to):
- Phone Calls
- Social Media
- Newsletters
- E-Blasts
- Carrier Pigeons
- Can on a String
Perfecting a brand voice is simple and difficult at the same time. Before you start, keep these in mind:
- The voice represents the brand’s personality
- Personality includes a defined set of values, vocabulary and style
- A brand’s voice can make or break a consumer’s decision or opinion on the brand
It used to be that a brand’s ability to communicate with its audience was limited and almost exclusively at point-of-sale opportunities. With the introduction of digital marketing and social media, companies have the chance to strut their stuff and connect in more meaningful ways, which result in more conversions, recognition, longevity and for some brands, really funny content. A brand’s voice is a hybrid (or mixed breed) of personality, position and image. These things create a larger picture – the direct communication of a meaningful and impacting message – to their targeted audience.
Here’s the hard part. How do you create your brand’s bark? Here are the three B’s to building a bark worthy brand voice.
- Be the target
Know more about the target than the target does. If your brand sells dog bowls, there is no sense talking to cat owners. The brand should have something to offer the consumer and be able to talk (or bark) the talk. Using verbiage like “Buy our dog bowls” isn’t going to cut it; get creative and draw from your own experiences. Clever copy and a good piece of creative can go a long way. Try something like:
Look good. Eat good. Feel good. Keep your furry friend eating off the ground in style. Find out more about our dog bowls and where to purchase them here: www.buyourdogbowls.com #woof #frenchie - Be “yourself”
Don’t recreate another brand by stealing their voice. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but pretending to be something you’re not isn’t cool. For example, McDonald’s is synonymous with family. Their image is based on happiness, so it wouldn’t be “cool” if they tried to roast people on social media a la Wendy’s social media manager’s approach. Maybe your brand’s voice is from a dog’s POV and your communications on social media consist of woofs and/or ruffs. - Be an Adjective
Brands like CocaCola, Nike and Disney all are synonymous with an adjective. For example, Nike’s adjective would be Inspirational.Nike manages to stay in the limelight by being an authentic brand and never steers away from its message that anyone can be an athlete if they ‘Just Do It.’ If your brand has something to offer – capitalize on it and repeat it till the consumer believes it. Maybe, your dog bowl company’s slogan is “just chomp it” and the ethos is that every dog deserves their own bowl.
Now get out there and start communicating!