In your high school years, you must have heard the phrase “Define your voice if you want to be heard”. Though some of us were forced to do this, we didn’t clearly define it. All we did was feel it. But, a voice in the business world is the element that makes up the personality of a brand. It is what makes it distinctly itself. As an advertising agency in Abuja, we understand the value of this and seek to constantly improve on this for ourselves and our clients.
As a CEO, CMO, defining your voice, tone, and style will have a huge impact on how customers interact with your brand. Also, trust, care and want to grow with your brand. This matters because customers will effortlessly spend their money on a reliable brand. If you are just starting out in the business world or you are yet to know what the personality of your brand should be, start with these tips to define and plant your flag for your brand voice in the ground.
Put Pen to Paper
For this, you need to dedicate ample time. It might seem an easy task, but a lot of companies still overlook this. A brand voice that is sustainable starts with clear documentation. The write-up you end up with should spark up statements with your customers that say you are the best choice for them, and no other brand is. If you need help crafting the most suitable statement(s), you can consult with an Advertising Agency with experience working with businesses.
Try to answer
- “Why will my brand exist?”
- “What will my brand sell”
- “Which main values or interests do I need my messages to drive home consistently?
- “How will I and stakeholders respond during a given situation to the brand?”
- “As I launch new products, what would my brand message contain?”
Putting your responses down will help you come up with statements that highlight what your brand is and isn’t. Be sure to watch carefully the changes associated with your statements. The essence of defining and documenting your company’s voice is for future reference in branding or marketing communications.
Think of Brand Behaviours
You and your employees are customers of other brands. Think of the behavior that makes you remain with a brand and the ones that have caused you to leave. To define your brand’s voice, you can list out what you want your audience to get from all your communications. According to a report from Sprout in 2017, honesty is the most sought-after behavior consumers want from brands on Social Media.
In an era where brand interaction and engagement are mostly dominated by millennials, it is important to know the reasons why your audience might abandon your brand. Sprout Social’s report in 2017 discovered what drives millennials to unfollow brands on social media is a bad experience and annoying behaviors.
Be Consistent
Consistency can increase the revenue of a brand by 23%. When carrying out marketing communications using messages, your voice for impact needs to be consistent, always! Your messages should not stray from all you have written down as the definition of your brand personality. You don’t want customers second-guessing who you are with every message. It is a mistake you cannot afford to make.
Tesco Mobile is known to be a sassy brand, especially on Twitter. Every piece of writing has subtle sarcasm in it. Such a company will take out time to ensure its staff meets customers’ needs without losing its sassy element which is now known to define its brand’s voice.
What is being said in essence? As a brand, you should take out time to get everyone on board with what voice represents your brand. Let them know what is acceptable and what isn’t. Different tones might be made to suit different situations, but the voice must be constant in all communications. If you want to learn how to create a planner for your social media to ensure consistency, click here.
If you are not having it easy doing this yourself, then it’s best to outsource this to an Advertising agency that would do the work well on your behalf.
Develop your Brand’s Voice with the Right Channels
You probably have a relative that publishes weird content on Twitter. This is who you do not want to be. No one knows your brand more than you and your employees, so, you would know the right channel to send messages to our target audiences. Your messages are as important as what you share. If you know this, working with an advertising agency when you no longer want to handle the branding for your company becomes easy.
This can improve the return on investments (ROI), which is the time and resources involved for maximum impact. Also, the platforms used to communicate your message can influence how your brand’s voice is perceived by your audience. As an advertising agency in Abuja, we understand that the social media space changes continuously and it may be hard to adapt. But,
This also applies to the influencers that will help you with your marketing. If you are paying them, it will be worth it to study their patterns on how and where they share messages. Because they will not change their personality to simply advertise for your brand. Carry out research to find the right influencers that match your brand’s voice and then partner with them.
Watch your Audience
Yeah, I know! It sounds as though I am saying stalk them. I really mean lookout for the comments, personal messages, and other forms of communication your audiences send. When they come with questions and concerns and you respond, this is automatically pushing your brand’s voice.
We live in a world where people demand to be prioritized over waiting in long lines to be attended to. So, you want to be that brand that interacts with customers and is always on time. Using social monitoring tools, helps you address, divide and distribute social messages to the right person. This helps you make a real impression on a customer, cause them to take action, and make them give your brand more attention.
Live the Life
We have discussed consistency and what it has to do with the content put out there. These are tips coming from experience as an advertising agency in Abuja. These tips are not the ultimate when building and maintaining your brand’s voice. However, if you want your voice to sound like you are totally killing it, be genuine with it. Your product and visuals used need to reinforce your voice.
You must know brands with promises to deliver the kind of words you like to hear. This is important especially if you intend to hire an advertising agency to help you out. You do not want to be a company that its customers regret dealing with. Those that do not succeed in doing what they said they would. Especially in terms of product offerings and visual advertising.
To sell your brand voice and get reactions, you need to back it up all the way. Failure to do this will be your brand tooting its horn in the wrong places.
Be Open to Grow and Adapt
You started from a point with your brand, do not be afraid to intentionally adapt to changes as your brand grows. This is simple and free advice we can give as an advertising agency in Abuja that has reaped the benefits of being open-minded.
A great example is Nokia. This brand has lost the strong voice it once had because of mistakes made to not acclimatize to the happenings and demands of audiences in an evolving world. The CEO, Stephen Elop said in a press conference in 2013 “we didn’t do anything wrong, but we lost”. You do not want to be a brand that constantly refuses to shift purposefully to respond to a growing and ever-changing market. This can be very detrimental to business.
Sometimes, it is possible to regain a brand’s voice when it is lost. This is where reinforcing your voice using marketing communications that remind your audience of the relationship they once shared with you. If you have a hard time picking up again, you can contact an advertising agency to help out. Releasing a new product or service either at a cheaper rate or with benefits can be a good start. Your market could expand if executed properly. You must bring reassurance to the table. Ensure your messages are relatable, reliable, and easy to digest.
There are a lot of brands to learn from. As an advertising agency in Abuja, we cannot deny the power of being present in the minds of your audiences today. There is no denying that it can be tough to define and establish a brand voice, especially in our noisy world. If you understand that it’s about both quality and quantity, not one or the other, finding a way will not be so difficult. Using the tips discussed will help you build and maintain a voice, tone, and style that resonates with your audience. This will ensure you are recognized, remain relevant, and stay above the bottom line.
