Question: If your logo didn’t appear alongside it, would the audience know content was from your brand?
They would if your brand had a strong, identifiable voice that helps your organization stand out from the crowd.
Take Dollar Shave Club, for example, which has a consistently playful and witting voice. From the brand’s first video, “Our Blades Are F**king Great,” to their most recent blogs, Dollar Shave Club maintains the same voice throughout. Their target audience knows a Dollar Shave Club ad, social media post and blog the moment they see it.
A well-developed voice helps your brand develop a style of its own, and makes your brand recognizable and identifiable. It allows your target audience to relate more easily to your brand, in that your brand should speak like your target audience talks. A consistent voice builds trust and loyalty. A strong voice can also allow your organization to streamline responses and reactions.
But how do you come up with a voice that projects your brand in an appealing and accurate way?
A freelancer can help! Writers have a unique ability to listen to the way people (or brands, in this case) speak. This ability allows them to create characters that are markedly different from one another, and to provide rich, accurate descriptions. Freelance content writers are highly skilled at creating content that sounds like it was written by the CEO or spokesperson.
Developing Your Brand’s Voice in 6 Easy Steps
1. Describe your voice in three words
If your brand were a person, how would you describe its personality in three words? The core characteristics of your brand shape its voice; all communications from your brand should reflect these core characteristics. Is your company passionate, quirky and authentic, for example? Or is it professional, dignified and respectful?
As a wordsmith, your freelancer can help you describe your voice in the simplest of terms, and create content that uses that voice to reach your target audience.
2. Create a brand voice chart
Using the three words that describe your voice, your freelancer can develop a brand voice chart that helps guide content. The chart will include three rows containing your three words, along with three columns that detail the description of the word, what you should do with the words and what you should not do with the words. In other words, there will be a “description,” a “do,” and a “don’t” column.
Let’s say one of your three words is “passionate,” for example. The first column that describes the word might say, “Our brand is passionate about providing widgets in a sustainable way.” The ‘do’ column might say “do use strong verbs” and “do be champions for environmentally friendly widgets.” The ‘don’t’ column might include directions, such as “don’t use wimpy words” and “don’t use a passive voice.”
3. Create word and phrase lists
Your freelance writer can come up with word lists that always sound like something your brand’s voice would say. For example, your restaurant might use the words “mouth-watering,” “tender” and “incredible juiciness that will make your tongue dance with joy.”
4. Review previous content
A good freelancer can review your organization’s previous posts to identify content that does not fit the brand’s voice.
5. Put your voice into action
Your freelance writer can create content in your brand’s voice. This content includes blogs, web pages, social media posts, video scripts, e-books and even advertisements.
6. Amend the brand voice chart, word lists and content as needed
A brand voice is not a “set it and forget it” venture – it needs constant updating and fine-tuning to keep it appealing and relevant. Your freelancer can help you update your brand voice and content as needed to optimize sales.
Your freelancer can help you develop a brand voice that your audience can recognize, even when the content does not contain your logo. For more information about how a freelancer can help you develop your brand’s voice, contact WriterAccess.
Lynn H has been a professional writer, providing exceptional content online and offline, for nearly 20 years. In that time, she has penned thousands of articles for doctors, universities, researchers, small businesses, nursing organizations, sole proprietors and more. She writes everything from blogs to white papers; her specialty is putting complex scientific concepts in simple terms. She specializes in medical writing, creating informative and engaging content for professionals in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, medical manufacturing, chiropractics, optometry, emergency care, plastic surgery and others.
