One brand: one voice
Not that I want to lose your attention, but if you head over to one of your favourite brands online, you’ll notice something about them. As you read the words, there’s a character to them – a personality. That’s no accident.
Every brand has a unique voice (or at least, it should) and that voice is vital because it creates a familiar tone for return visitors and sets the tone for all those new arrivals. That voice is the words, style and sound of the brand and reflects the things that brand would say and would not say. Is it serious? Or is it playful and fun?
Does your brand voice speak to your target audience? And crucially, does it achieve that without alienating people?
Your writer or writers will have a good understanding of your brand voice. As soon as they sit down and start typing for you, they’re in the zone and talking the language of your clients – and that’s great.
But what if you take on a new writer? What if one of your writers moves on and takes that wealth of experience and that grasp of your brand’s tone with them?
That’s why you need a style guide. It’s a written document that guides copywriters and content writers in the ways of your brand voice. It tells them your brand’s personality and the typical words or phrases your brand would use – and the ones it wouldn’t.
A great example is the Virgin brand. There are countless elements under the Virgin umbrella, but the voice is the same for all of them. It’s modelled very closely on the Richard Branson brand, so it focuses on inciting action and making big statements but is never overbearing and never boring or matter-of-fact:
Enjoy a mahoosive 100GB for just 16 a month. Now that’s what you call a deal.
And all their call-to action buttons are the same: Check it out
Virgin would never say: Currently available: 100GB package for £16 per month. Enquire now.
Like Virgin, and like every online presence, you need a brand voice. I can help you write a style guide for your brand so that:
- Your team can work from it and maintain a consistent voice
- As a solo-preneur you’re able to use the same tone throughout your messages
- Your clients feel reassured when they read your emails, adverts, online content etc. and trust you as a brand