Brand Voice: What It Is and Why It Matters
Not sure what a brand voice is or how to create one for your brand? We’ve got you. Learn everything you need to know about brand voice, how to create it, and more!
Posted 2 years ago
Written by
Mackenzie TaylorPosted 2 years ago
When it comes to creating a brand, one of the biggest things you need to think of that a lot of people just … don’t think of? Brand voice. Who is your brand? What do they sound like? Why should people care? And all of that can be established when you create a brand voice! But how do you do that? And how do you make sure that your voice is actually good?
Take a deep breath because that’s exactly what we’re going to help you with today. Learn everything you need to know about what a brand voice is, who needs one, how to create a great brand voice, and some of our favorite brand voices online today.
Flick Top Tip: Want 30-days of pre-written caption templates for your Instagram posts? Download 30-days of free caption templates.
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What is a brand voice?
Brand voice is the personality a brand (or person or social media manager or content creator, etc etc) uses online to chat to their audience. I’m sure you follow a certain brand or content creator who has a very unique style on how they speak online. Some of them are super funny. Some of them are super informative. Some are inspirational. Whatever their personality is, you can get a distinct impression of who they are, and when you read their caption, you know what you’re getting.
So before you even get started with your Instagram account, make sure you know what you want to sound like. It’ll make writing captions that much easier.
Who needs a brand voice?
If you take away only one thing from this, make it this: BRAND VOICE. You need it.
Yes, you.
If you’re a content creator, brand, small business, or just playing around on Instagram for fun, you need a brand voice. Why? Well, if you don’t have a proper brand voice, how do people know who you or your brand is? What is your personality? Who are you? Brand voice helps let people know immediately your tone of voice and what they will get when they follow you. Are you funny? Are you somber? Are you being educational? All of these pieces help establish a brand voice and people follow others online because of their shining personalities and voice!
I mean, why do you think Wendys has so many followers on Twitter or Duolingo on TikTok? It’s because their brand voice and personality are so effective and on-brand that no one can miss out on who they are and what they’re trying to market.
When it comes to Instagram captions, having a more informal tone is the best approach. It makes you more personable and approachable—which will be what gets you the engagement you’re going after.
Look at your caption and read it to yourself. Does it sound like you? Is it approachable? Would you engage with it if it were someone else? If not, tweak it a bit. The best way to write a caption is to write how you would speak naturally. No one wants to read a caption by a robot (well… maybe we do) so make sure your followers are actually getting YOU.
How to develop your brand voice
So now that you know how important brand voice is, it’s time to establish your own.
Questions to ask yourself to develop your brand voice
When creating a brand voice for your company or business, ask yourself these questions. Really think about each one and write down the answers. It can take a while to figure out the answers to these questions but it’s very important that you do to make sure your voice is correct for your brand.
- When people interact with you, how do you want them to feel?
- What adjectives would you use to describe your brand?
- How do you want to talk about yourself?
- What is a brand voice you love? Why? What can you learn from them and take away from their voice?
- What does your competition sound like and how can you stand out amongst them?
- What do you NOT want to sound like?
If you’re stuck, we love Portent’s Tone of Voice Generator to help you get started and hone more into your voice!
Figure out who your audience is
Knowing exactly who you’re talking to is going to help establish your brand voice. If most of your audience is older women, you’re not going to write as if you’re talking to Gen Z, or you’ll majorly deter them from your content. Nothing is worse than making your target audience feel old…
Look through your demographics and get a baseline on who your overall audience is. How do they identify? How old are they? Where do they live? All of these will be huge factors in how you create your brand voice.
Look through your demographics and get a baseline on who your overall audience is. How do they identify? How old are they? Where do they live? All of these will be huge factors in how you create your brand voice.
Establish your tone
Your brand tone is how you say something when you’re speaking to your audience. Are you more upbeat? Mellow? Sarcastic? Figuring out the tone for your brand voice will help you create captions that are always on point and on-brand. Once you completely nail down the tone and voice, your captions will come to you quicker and quicker and you won’t spend half your morning, tearing your hair out, wondering: “Why can’t you come up with something clever, brain?!”
Review your current voice
If you’re looking for guidance and help on what your brand voice should be, take a peek at your past posts. Does the voice sound the same across all posts? Or is there inconsistency that can lead to confusion for your audience? Is there a particular post that had a lot of engagement and a really great tone of voice in the caption?
Taking a moment to review your past posts to figure out what’s working vs. what needs to be trashed will help you identify your brand’s personality and voice.
Taking a moment to review your past posts to figure out what’s working vs. what needs to be trashed will help you identify your brand’s personality and voice.
Figure out what your adjectives for your brand are
If you were describing your brand to someone, how would you describe them? Are you cute? Funny? Flirty? Formal? Powerful? Write a list of 5-7 adjectives that describe your brand and focus on them.
Take it a step further and write the adjectives on a piece of paper and hang it somewhere that you can see every single day that reminds you of your brand’s attitude. This will help you get into the mindset of your brand’s voice.
Skip the jargon
Read what you’re writing out loud. Does it sound like you? When people write in jargon, it feels a little cold and disconnected. I mean, who wants to read a tweet from their doctor in doctor-speak? Not a lot of people because it wouldn’t make sense and can be majorly confusing if you aren’t a doctor!
So instead, focus on being real and being yourself! People follow brands that have personality and feel like a real human is on the other end, over brands that feel very stiff and formal.
Be consistent
When it comes to brand voice, you HAVE to be consistent across all social media channels. If you’re speaking in one way on Twitter, another way on Instagram, and another on your blogs … people are going to get confused and unfollow QUICKLY.
Once you figure out what your brand voice is, create a document so everyone on your team is consistent when writing for your brand.
Examples of great brand voice
If you’re looking for some examples and inspiration when it comes to brand voice for yourself, here are some of our favorite brands with distinct brand voices:
Frank Body
Frank Body is a skincare company that establishes its brand voice as a man that makes dirty puns, calls you “babe,” and wants you to embrace every inch of your body like stretch marks and cellulite, all those things we’re taught to hate.
The brand voice is sassy and a bit sexy, but we love the inclusiveness of the brand and how they embrace everybody with their voice.
Minor Figures
One of our favorite brand voices on the internet. They are sassy, have a “don’t give a shit” attitude, and their humor is *chefs kiss.*
Innocent
If you’re on social media and don’t know of Innocent’s excellent brand voice, you’re missing out. While they sell smoothie drinks, a variety of delicious juices, and more, they’re marketing team is on point. They make funny jokes, poke fun at their boss with desperate pleas to “not get fired,” showing behind-the-scenes of the Innocent office, and so much more. Their branding makes you feel connected to the brand and make you want to buy a juice … or three.
Now that you have your brand voice down, it will help you write captions a lot quicker knowing exactly what and how you want to sound. If you’re looking for more help on writing captions, we’ve got a Caption Course that will help you with writing your own captions, plus a FREE 30-day caption template that will help you write better captions fast.
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