How to Build a Killer Brand Voice for Small Businesses: The Ultimate Guide to Standing Out

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The Ultimate Guide to Building a Killer Brand Voice for Small Businesses

Having a clear and consistent brand voice is essential for any business looking to connect with customers and stand out from competitors. But for small businesses and startups, defining that voice can feel overwhelming amidst limited resources. Where do you even start crafting compelling messaging that truly captures your brand?

In this comprehensive guide, we'll break down the key elements every small business needs to develop an authentic brand voice that attracts the right audience.

What is Brand Voice and Why Does it Matter?

Your brand voice encompasses the personality and messaging you use across platforms when communicating with customers. It goes beyond your logo and visual identity to include the words you say and how you say them.

A killer brand voice humanizes your business and forges emotional connections with your audience. It allows you to share your origin story and core values in a relatable way. Your voice shapes how people perceive and engage with your brand across every touchpoint.

How to Build a Unique and Memorable Brand Voice

Crafting your brand voice takes introspection and strategic thinking. Follow these steps to define messaging that truly resonates:

1. Identify your target audience and their pain points. Research demographics, behaviors, motivations and objections. Empathize with their experiences to craft messaging that solves their problems.
2. Clarify your brand identity and origin story. Reflect on what makes your business special. Why does it exist and what core values define it? Know your roots.
3. Determine the emotions you want to evoke. Do you aim to inspire, comfort, empower or entertain? Identify feelings to help shape your tone and personality.
4. Highlight your differentiators. Why do customers choose you over competitors? Lean into your unique strengths and selling points through your voice.
5. Analyze competitors' messaging. Find gaps where their brand voices fall flat or sound generic to stand out.
6. Establish guidelines for voice, tone and personality. Define the attitude, level of formality and distinctive quirks that express your brand identity.
7. Align your visual identity. Images, logo, color scheme and other visuals should reinforce your verbal identity. Make sure visual and verbal align.

Keep these elements in mind as you craft every piece of messaging across platforms. Consistency is key.

Elements of an Impactful Brand Voice

Once you've completed initial planning, here are specific elements to weave together for powerful messaging:

Tone

Your tone encompasses the attitude and emotional vibe you convey: friendly, casual, humorous, warm, etc. Is your brand silly or serious? Professional or conversational? Your tone aligns with your brand identity and audience. Some examples:

• Outdoorsy brand: Casual, welcoming tone reflecting connection to nature.
• Luxury fashion brand: Elegant and refined tone aligning with high-end style.
• Accounting firm: Professional, trustworthy tone fitting financial services.

Personality

Your brand's personality shines through in word choice and style. Is your brand: Down-to-earth? Clever? Inspiring? Supportive? Choose descriptors purposefully. Some examples:

• Playful ice cream shop: Quirky, fun personality.
• Nonprofit organization: Compassionate, hopeful personality.
• Boutique PR agency: Nimble, creative personality.

Voice

Your actual writing style, word choice and phrasing define your voice: concise, elaborate, formal, conversational, etc. Consider:

• Active or passive voice
• Contractions vs proper English
• Short, punchy phrases or elegant sentences
• Use of slang, idioms or cultural references

Choose strategically for your brand identity and audience. Then maintain consistency.

Point of View

Will you speak directly to customers ("You deserve...")? Or as the faceless brand ("We at [Company] believe...")? First person? Third person? Choose your point of view Purposefully. Some examples:

• Outdoors brand using inclusive "we" language.
• Luxury brand speaking directly to customers.
• Startup founder sharing origin story from the "I" perspective.

Word Choice

Specific language and vocabulary reinforce your brand voice. Consider:

• Descriptive, evocative adjectives
• Power words: revolutionize, transform, illuminate
• Industry-specific jargon or mainstream language
• Regional dialect

Choose words that resonate with your audience.

Then ensure consistency in messaging across platforms like your website, ads, emails, social media and more.

Examples of Strong Brand Voices

Let's look at some stellar examples of unique brand voices:

Mailchimp

The popular email marketing platform has a quirky, friendly voice that connects with small businesses. Their tone is conversational and fun, with puns, cultural references and witty copy.

Dollar Shave Club

With a bold, funny voice, Dollar Shave Club reshaped a stodgy industry. Their edgy, straightforward tone helped drive growth. They speak directly to customers in a memorable way.

Lyft

Lyft's brand messaging conveys the feeling of community and connection. Their voice matches their mission. Warm, inclusive language reinforces their values.

Tender Greens

This farm-to-table restaurant evokes their focus on locally-sourced ingredients through an earthy, passionate voice. Their messaging feels authentic to the brand.

Discovering these successful examples can fuel your own brand voice creation and inspire possibilities.

Tips for Crafting Killer Brand Messaging

Keep these tips in mind as you develop your verbal identity:

• Know your "why." Connect messaging to your core mission and values.
• Obsess over your audience. Craft content to resonate specifically with their needs.
• Tell compelling stories. Share your origin, customer journeys, and more.
• Hire thoughtfully. Ensure your team aligns with and enhances your voice.
• Establish processes. Create messaging guidelines and platforms for cohesive messaging.
• Analyze competitors. Determine where their voices fall flat compared to yours.
• Customize touchpoints. Adapt voice appropriately for different contexts while maintaining consistency.
• Relax into authentcity. Don't force messaging that feels inauthentic to your brand.
• Iterate and optimize. Regularly refine your voice as your business evolves.

Align Messaging Across Platforms

Consistency across every customer touchpoint is vital for effective branding. Ensure your verbal identity shines through across:

• Website copy
• Blog content
• Social media
• Ads and campaigns
• Product packaging
• Email marketing
• Presentations and webinars
• Customer service interactions
• Video marketing

Review all platforms regularly to ensure optimal alignment. Consistency maximizes impact.

Tracks Results and Optimize

Treat your brand voice like any other business asset - track performance and refine regularly. Look at metrics like:

• Website traffic and engagement
• Social media reach and engagement
• Sales and conversions
• Email open and clickthrough rates
• Ad recall and engagement

Run A/B tests with slight voice variations to see what resonates most. Be willing to make subtle shifts in tone, vocabulary and style while retaining brand essence. Your voice is a living, breathing asset.

Bring Your Brand Voice to Life

An authentic brand voice is vital for crafting human connections and winning loyal fans. Take time to truly define your verbal identity aligned with your business mission and audience needs. Then weave that voice consistently across every platform and interaction to build trust and resonance. With a thoughtful approach and some creativity, you can develop brand messaging that truly soars.

Need help crafting your brand voice or optimizing messaging? Our team of branding experts is here to help take your business messaging to the next level. Contact us today to get started.