Money Makers - Finding Your Brand's Tone of Voice

By Amanda Reseburg - Otter PR 

Brands are a part of our world. Everywhere we look, we see the hallmarks of branding and brand voice. People not enveloped in the world of marketing may not even notice brand voices when they run across them, but they certainly know the way certain brands make them feel —- or how they feel toward certain brands — based on that brand’s tone of voice.

A brand’s tone of voice is what draws an audience in and makes them stick around. The voice illustrates the company’s values, mission, and personality. There are many popular brands with a strong tone of voice that has resonated with consumers throughout the years, including brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, and Apple. 

Finding a brand’s tone of voice can seem challenging, especially for startups, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some ways businesses can find their brand’s voice and use it to speak to the world at large. 

Evaluate your target audience
 

Analyzing a brand’s target audience is probably the best way to discover a brand’s true tone of voice. If you know your customers, you can tap into their lifestyle choices, their behaviors, their personalities, even the way they talk and dress, to get a good idea of what your voice should be to resonate with those people.

A great example of excellent brand voice resonating with a target audience is Harley-Davidson. It is not hard to pinpoint a Harley enthusiast — you’re probably picturing one right now, and your vision is probably not far off. Harley encapsulates the idea of rebellion, freedom, and a bit of a hard edge. This is in most of their messaging, and their name has become synonymous with “biker” or “motorcycle” in some circles. Harley-Davidson knows who the people are that love their product and everything they put out into the world speaks that target audience’s language.

Understand your identity

Piggybacking off the idea of knowing your audience, a brand should also know their identity. Who are you as a business? What are your core values and your mission with your brand? What problems are you trying to solve? These are all questions one should ask themselves to get to an answer for “what is our brand identity?”

Brand identity should be pinpointed before a brand voice can be developed. There’s a world of difference between a cool, Gen-Z centered startup with a punk rock ethos and a buttoned-up, prim and proper company that caters to the upper crust. One must be honest with themselves about who they are as a business and what that means for their voice to ultimately have a brand voice that works.

Know your employees

Employees are some of the biggest harbingers of an overall brand voice. They are the people that your target audience most often deals with, and they are messengers for your mission. With companies with a strong brand voice, their employees are often very similar, no matter where you go. Think about Starbucks baristas or Apple Store Geniuses as an example. 

When hiring for your time, take the time necessary to get to know people on a deeper level than just reading their resume. Think about how each individual fits in with your company culture and your goals for your brand voice. By being thoughtful about choices for your team, your brand voice can better resonate in the long run. 

Analyze past content

Sometimes, businesses can form a brand tone of voice without even realizing it. When you set out to clearly define your brand voice, analyze past content to see if anything is consistent —- and well received. Leaders will want to look at past blog posts, social media content, or website design to see what sticks out and what sparked heavy engagement with the target audience. The consistencies are the natural brand voice that has come from organic behavior — which is probably the best brand voice to stick with as it is authentic. 

Brand voices are important to establish connection with target audiences and get the story of your business and your brand out into the world. When you define your brand tone of voice well, you can expect positive engagement and better success, as you have tapped into exactly the audience that wants your product or service. With so much competition in the business world, a well-defined brand tone of voice can help your business be noticed above the competition.