No matter the size of your business, brand voice is key. This is what sets you apart from competitors and lets your audience know who you are. Understanding your brand voice is going to make or break your brand impact!

To put it simply, brand voice is your business’ personality. It determines the tone and style with which you communicate to your audience. Each brand voice is unique, like a fingerprint, and when done right, it will make you stand out in the sea of competitors.

Because brand voice is so crucial, you must understand your voice inside and out. Understanding your brand voice may sound easy, but many are careless with their branding or don’t know “who” their brand is. If you as a business owner don’t know you’re own brand (inside and out) then how can customers easily recognize or connect with you? By understanding your own brand voice, you remain consistent across all communication channels and create content that aligns with your values.

Throughout this post, we discuss five examples of brand categories and four steps for understanding your brand voice and how you can develop it.

Determine your brand voice among these categories.

Many brands can be defined by a couple key words. To effectively communicate your brand with your audience, you need to intentionally decide the tone and style of your brand voice before creating content. Consider the following categories to see what personality appeals to you.

1. Authenticity: sincere, genuine, and transparent

2. Playfulness: humorous, witty, and light-hearted

3. Professionalism: formal, authoritative, and knowledgeable

4. Empowerment: inspirational, motivating, and uplifting

5. Innovation: forward-thinking, creative, and visionary

Did you see your brand among any of these? Maybe you have a clothing line focused on the empowerment of women, young and old. Or maybe you are a real estate agent trying to showcase your professionalism and expertise. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, make sure the style of your brand voice aligns with the needs of your audience. Continue reading for deeper insight on the brand voice process.

How do you develop your brand voice?

1. Understand your audience

This step is all about RESEARCH!! You must know your audience if you want to communicate with them effectively, which again, is what brand voice is all about. This means diving into who your audience is, how they speak, how they respond to your content, and what impacts them to act, buy, or engage.

Discover their preferences, values, and communication style to provide optimal content and communication. With this research, you can align your style to meet their expectations on a higher level. Informed audience engagement is the ultimate key to brand growth.

2. Define your brand personality

Like a human, a brand has its own personality that is easily identified (easy-going, witty, fun, dramatic, elegant, etc.). Think about the key traits and characteristics of your brand, both present and future. What defines your brand now? And are these traits what you want for the future of your brand? Is your brand more professional or playful? Inspiring or educational? Maybe it is somewhere in between.

Write down the traits that come to mind and evaluate where you’re at. Once you have defined your brand’s personality traits, you will have the direction for the tone and style of your brand voice.

3. Consistency is key

After creating a brand persona, stick to it until it provides results and you are connecting with the people you want. Work to stay consistent across all channels. Consistency will build brand recognition and trust with your audience while drawing in the desired customers.

4. Test and iterate

Having said all that, do not be afraid to refine your brand voice over time. It doesn’t have to be – and simply won’t be – perfect right away. Give your brand time to develop, and use feedback and engagement metrics to make informed decisions.

Always analyze your brand voice, personality, and impact. If it doesn’t resonate with your clients then you need to do more research and adjust. A good brand will change with time to suit the trends and growing needs of your audience. Test out what works for you and don’t be afraid to make changes, even if you’re farther into your journey. As you make changes, inform your audience of your new brand direction.

We hope this post equipped you with some practical tools and gave you fresh inspiration for your brand. Still, need some help? Contact the Freebird team today to get professional help with your brand identity, establishing, and understanding your brand voice.