- Marquette Marketing
How To Create A Brand Voice
Updated: Apr 30, 2021
"Can you hear me now??" Why it's important to develop a brand voice
Let's start with a definition. What exactly is a brand voice? Here's the first definition that comes up on Google: "A brand voice is the personality and emotion infused into a company's communications. It encompasses everything from the words and language you use, to the personality and image your marketing assets aim to invoke."
As you can see from that definition, a brand voice is pretty important. In my Content Workshops, the first thing I talk about is brand voice. It can often be the difference between really resonating with your target audience and sounding a bit out-of-step.
For example, let's take the following sentence: "Our product is highly regarded as the most advanced and has a multitude of recommendations". This is pretty formal and would probably fit best for a serious product. A financial advisor or drug company may use it. Let's say the same thing that may fit a more casual style: "Not to blow our own horn, but our product is awesome – see what people are saying on Instagram!" See the difference? That's the power of having the right brand voice.

Steps to develop your own brand voice
How do you develop a brand voice that really resonates? Here's a few questions you can ask to find what your brand voice should be:
Take a look at your customer set. What are their demographics? Are they young or a bit older? Do they live in an area that speaks a certain way or uses certain terms?
What is the product or service you are selling? This may seem obvious, but if you're selling a wellness solution, you need to use a different voice than if you're selling a financial product.
Is your product selling a certain emotion? For instance, is it meant to soothe and provide peace of mind... or is it more active?
Do you want to inspire people to feel adventurous or calm?
Some tips to create a brand voice that resonates:
For Business to Business companies, brand voice tends to be a bit more formal
For Direct to Consumer, it tends to be more casual. Just how casual depends on the product you're selling.
Never use fear as a consistent part of your brand voice. Tapping into pain points is effective, but fear tends to turn people off if it's used too often.
Be consistent in your brand voice. Don't use one voice for social media and another one for your newsletters. For instance, the brand voice I use for Marquette is more conversational than business-like. I want my personality to come through in my communications. But, when I was with GE Capital, it was a great deal more formal.
Reach out with any other tips or examples of the brand voice you use. Or let me know if you need help with developing a consistent brand voice for your business!