Why Your Year Needs to Start with Your Voice

Date Posted:Tue, 10th Jan 2023

Why Your Year Needs to Start with Your Voice

Last month we talked about how just putting out content doesn’t always guarantee leads will turn into sales. Even if you’re consistently posting Instagram reels, uploading blogs, and writing articles for LinkedIn, your connection to your audience may be lacking. Often, it’s linked to a lack of consistency in brand voice.

 

Communication is 🗝!

That may seem obvious, but it’s worth saying it out loud - the right kind of communication helps consumers connect with your brand.

As you develop a dialogue with your audience, they will grow to know, understand and connect with who you are - and for brands, that comes down to your unique voice. By using a consistent brand voice and tone, your audience will not only “hear” you but also begin to trust and relate to you.

People react to personalities that resonate with them - so you need to use your tone of voice to get noticed by the customers you want to attract. When you hit the right note, your tone of voice will increase engagement, brand trust, and loyalty.

The real question is – how can you ensure your voice is heard in 2023?

  1. Pick your brand’s personality!

Think of your brand as a person - How do they sound? Are they formal? Casual? Do they use slang?

Is your brand laid-back and chill? Or completely corporate? Maybe your business is a bit eccentric and quirky! What’s important is that you figure out how your brand should ‘sound’ and keep that consistent across all of your content. 

Need some help? You can check out this handy brand archetype wheel for more ideas.

  1. How do your existing consumers see your brand? 🤔🥸🧐

Your brand voice is a part of your branding. Your customer’s experience should be seamless, consistent, and efficient, but it also needs to “look” and “sound” like your brand!

You may have sorted out how you want your brand to sound, but what do your current customers think?

If you need to figure out how you should sound to leads, ask your current customers for their feedback! A few easy feedback activities will help you understand what they like to hear.

Do they prefer your casual tone, or does the familiarity sound forced? Do they like your formality, or do you sound too stuffy?

Listen - you’re almost certainly not going to get your speaking style perfect initially. So, don’t be scared to try new things with the content you create until you find your niche and what works for you. This is one time when experimenting is your friend.

Eventually, you’ll hit the right note. 

  1. Do you sound consistent to your customers?

And when you do, if you have different people contributing to your blogs and socials, creating a tone of voice document will ensure your ‘sound’ remains consistent no matter what.

To do that, create a chart and implement guidelines to communicate effectively with your target market, including using social media comments to encourage engagement. Or maybe a chatbot on your homepage would help incorporate your brand’s tone of voice throughout the customer journey.

Need an example? Check out this analysis of how e-commerce footwear retailer Zappos made their customer journey part of their brand identity. 

  1. Plan your material ahead of time! 📋📝

Some innovative services, like SocialBee, help businesses manage their blog material and social media posts. Simply connect your equipment and hit the ‘go’ button.

‘Ugh, another system I have to learn?’

We hear you! Trust us; we get it.

But there are compelling reasons to take the plunge and embrace scheduling software like SocialBee. Using platforms like this will save you time (and doesn’t everyone need a little more time?). ⌚

When you plan your social media and blog articles, you spend less time signing in and uploading posts and more time focused on other tasks you need to do to boost your business.

Remember that scheduling allows you to reach your target audience at the right moment (yes, there is a proper time to post) and keep your brand consistent across all platforms.

So, is your brand voice working out?

A great brand tone will make potential consumers feel like you are speaking directly to them, motivating them to return for more.

Is your brand’s voice being heard? 👂

Or should you reconsider your strategy?

Check your data frequently to evaluate what’s doing well, and be confident enough to experiment!

Now, the only thing you have to do is get started!

 

To learn more about how SOCIATE Communications can help with your brand voice, key messaging and more, visit our website.