The strategy behind brand voice
Photo: Patty Carroll, Phoney, 2017.
During new client conversations, we’re often surprised to see that while brand voice has been considered and loosely defined, most brands have no real strategy for executing their voice.
Why? The strategy tends to wrap up at the highest level. Often because writers aren’t crafting the strategy, and because senior leadership doesn’t understand what it actually takes to execute brand voice. So those in charge of bringing the voice to life? They’re left with a dead strategy and no tools for implementation.
What does it look like to craft a tone of voice strategy that’s actually usable and executable?
Voice and Tone Audit: This fundamental first step identifies areas of inconsistency and opportunity and lays out the path for strategic work.
Voice Traits: 3 to 5 words that express the style and persona of your brand’s voice, defined with supporting statements outlining the tonal nuances of each trait. There are a million ways to be casual, conversational, and clever—you’ve got to establish nuance within each trait for your voice to sound ownable and unique.
Voice Position: Like a brand positioning statement, but for your brand voice. A succinct paragraph defining the qualities of your brand’s voice, how it sounds, how it seeks to connect to your audience, and how your audience feels after interacting with your voice.
SEO Guidelines: SEO is the death knell of writerly craft and tonality. Smart SEO guidelines show how to elegantly weave keywords into your copywriting so you don’t deaden your tone of voice.
By-Channel Guidelines: Every channel is different! A good voice strategy is grounded in guidelines for understanding the unique culture of each channel, listening, and adapting copy within. This should include best practices for messaging across all brand channels and touchpoints—including the consumer mindset and intent for each asset, how to flex tonality, integrating SEO, and functional information like character counts—with examples.
Is your tone of voice strategy missing the elements that make it executable? Let’s talk about it.