How to find an awesomely unique brand voice represents something of an oxymoron; the harder you try to find it, the farther away it gets. The more you look inside for it, the easier it is to find. If we’ve forced you to frown, let’s explain::
Because the brand voice is so oftenly presented to an audience with great vigor, like when Tony the Tiger says “They’re grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!!!”, it’s easy to get distracted and focus on appearance.
But developing a unique brand voice is so much more than appearance isn’t it? It can take deep introspection and considerable thought when finding your brand voice. And if you’re doing it right, the search for it usually leads to questioning of your business’ entire identity.
That’s the only way you’re going to develop a unique brand voice — by doing the work, and finding out who your business is on the inside. Let’s dive into the pool of wisdom and reflection, and see what comes out as your brand voice.
What’s a unique brand voice ?
The easiest way to think about a brand voice is by imagining a person. Who is your brand? How old is it, does it have a gender, what does it sound like, what’s its personality like, and what are its goals?
It can be weird to think about a brand in this way, but we encourage you to let your imagination run wild. We can take a look at Kool-Aid Man for some help. He’s a personified giant jug of juice that walks, talks, and famously bursts through walls with the catchphrase “OH YEAH!” You can’t get much wilder than that.
What’s interesting is that Kool-Aid Man, while light-hearted, wacky and fun, is the perfect example for imagining a brand as a person. He’s an adult male, he’s got this gravely, cool sounding voice, he’s totally rad, and he’s here to save the day. Yes, the Kool-Aid Man song has him singing he’s here to save the day.
Does it make sense? Not really. Is it unique and memorable? OH YEAH it is. The idea was to make him an ally of the target audience, often answering their summons for him by busting down walls, and delivering sugary drinks.
So to start developing a unique brand voice, ask yourself, just who is your brand?
Talk like your target audience
Having a unique brand voice comes down to presenting a believable person. And there’s no better place to start than with your target audience.
Consider this — your target audience consists of real, genuine people. People with struggles, pain points, goals and backstories. One of the best ways to create a unique brand voice while still being relatable is to use the same language as your target audience, and to speak like they do. You may want to consider using localization while you’re at it.
We can take a look at Starbucks as an example. If you look at its posters and copy, you’ll notice that the messages are short, sweet, and to-the-point. It’s almost like they’re catering towards busy customers who don’t have time to sift through dense text. Instead Starbucks has a brand voice that easily connects with people on-the-go.
When speaking like your target audience, just be careful not to commit so much that you lose the essence of your own brand.
Audit your unique brand voice and stay consistent
If you feel like you’ve just been just posting, posting and posting content, and you feel you’ve lost sight of the big picture, it’s probably a good time for an audit.
It helps every once in a while to look back on the content your brand has been producing, and ask yourself, is this aligned with the brand voice? You may be surprised to find that your brand voice has deviated slightly from its original personality.
If that’s the case, think about whether this shift is benefitting and accurately representing your business. But be wary of changing personality abruptly, people grow attached to brands because they’re consistent and predictably satisfying.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t change your brand tone. The tone of the message adjusts to subject matter at hand, but the personality should remain consistent.
Use a professional voice over
Bringing it back to Tony the Tiger here — consider using a professional voice over for your unique brand voice. Just think about the impact the 1959 voice over for “They’re grrrrrreat!” has had for the brand.
A professional voice over creates the perfect balance between being relatable, and being unique. Aside from the fact that every human voice is different, a pro voice over can add so much depth, character, and humanity to a brand.
Until there’s an audible human voice behind the words, your audience is left to imagine what your brand voice actually sounds like. Why not take the initiative? Use a tangible voice and leave a distinct impression. The professional voice actors on Voice123 are some of the best you’ll ever hear, be sure to consider them for your next project!
Finally, we hope this introspective, retrospective tour has helped you create or reconnect with your unique brand voice, and we’re wishing you the very best!
