7 Reasons Why Your Brand Voice is Everything
By: Samantha Wong
Whether you’re a small business owner or a top executive, you know very well that branding is non-negotiable. If you want your brand to succeed, it has to stand out.
Branding today is more than just a look or a logo, it’s the marketing practice of actively shaping your brand. It signifies the emotional “gut feeling” reaction a company can elicit from its customers. It dictates whether or not first-time buyers can be transformed into brand evangelists.
What is a brand voice?
Have you ever experienced meeting a person, and immediately making an assumption about their personality based on how they speak and what they say? That’s kind of what a brand voice is for businesses.
Brand voice refers to the personality of your brand, and how it communicates it to all audiences. Finding the most fitting brand voice can make or break your business.
1. A unique brand voice helps you stand out from the competition.
In 2021 alone, 5.4 million applications for new businesses were filed. Competition is inevitable wherever you go.
Within the landscape of oversaturated media where all businesses are pining for your attention, you need to solidify what makes your brand special.
According to a 2020 report on branding, consumers gravitated toward brands with strong, unique personalities–wherein 33% of consumers noted distinct personality as a factor that helps brands stand out, while 32% voted for compelling storytelling.
2. Brand voice builds brand recognition.
A successful brand is recognizable. In an ideal setting, a brand’s mere logo, slogan, or even color palette can clue in your average consumer as to what that brand is.
Just think about the “swoosh” company, the “golden arches” company, and the “tech fruit” company. You instinctively know what these brands are.
But this isn’t achieved purely with aesthetics.
3. It ensures you release relevant content.
40% of consumers listed memorable content as a key factor in brand credibility, which may explain many companies’ hyper-focus on content marketing.
82% of today’s marketers actively use content marketing, with a number of them simultaneously creating content across multiple platforms for various audience segments.
Without branding, it can be hard to keep track of how your business communicates to audiences and how to do so effectively across various channels.
But once you’ve developed a solid brand voice, releasing relevant content becomes second nature.
4. Your brand voice influences people’s perception of your brand.
Brand voice can dictate how consumers view your brand.
Whether your brand is knowns for its safety practices, cruelty-free ingredients, or catchy slogan, these positioning strategies can characterize your business.
5. It allows you to speak the language of your audience.
A marketing manager once said, “The brands that speak to everyone speak to no one.”
Brands that try to appeal to everyone will appeal to no one. Even in the real world, there is no one universal language that every single person in the world understands.
Target markets exist because consumers trust brands that speak their language, hence the importance of a good brand voice.
6. Effective brand voice turns your audience into loyal customers.
Studies have shown that people tend to connect with brands on an emotional level, with 59% of consumers buying from brands they trust. It’s this emotional connection that can convert a prospective customer into a brand enthusiast.
By creating an effective and consistent brand voice, your customers will develop an emotional attachment and sense of loyalty to your brand.
7. It creates a consistent brand experience for your customers.
People usually don’t take kindly to double backs and instability. Consistency provides this sense of security that people don’t often get. In a similar vein, consumers prefer consistent brands.
Brands that know who they are–by a commutative property–also know their customers well.
When your brand can provide a consistent brand experience, your business can funnel the cycle by which you create content, attract customers, and convert them into loyal customers.
With a solid brand voice and a whole lot of imagination, your business can pretty much run on autopilot.