The im

portance of developing and using a cohesive brand voice

PU

TTING

A STEA

DY H

AN

D

BEH

IND

YOU

R B

RA

ND

Un

til rece

ntly it

wa

s mu

ch e

asie

r to

pre

sen

t a

con

sisten

t bra

nd

exp

erie

nce

to

custo

me

rs an

d

pro

spe

cts simp

ly b

eca

use

the

re

we

re few

er

cha

nn

els. O

ur

prim

ary fo

rms o

f co

mm

un

icatin

g w

ere

prin

t, rad

io

an

d T

V.

One com

pany, three channels. Piece of cake!

THEN

CA

ME TH

E WEB

Today there are a staggering (and still growing) num

ber of ways to connect

with custom

ers.

@

With

so m

an

y ch

an

ne

ls h

un

gry fo

r co

nte

nt a

nd

so

ma

ny p

eo

ple

re

spo

nsib

le fo

r ke

ep

ing

you

r m

essa

ge

s in

fron

t of yo

ur

custo

me

rs, m

an

ag

ing yo

ur

bra

nd

exp

erie

nce

cre

ate

s a

da

un

ting

cha

llen

ge.

@

HO

W M

AN

Y CO

OK

S

AR

E IN YO

UR

KITC

HEN

?

In any given month, the follow

ing people may

generate or influence your business’s content:

· Sales/business developm

ent managers and/or staff

· Vendors

· M

erchants·

Senior managem

ent·

Front line staff·

Web developers

· SEO

specialists·

Social media w

riters·

Consultants·

Interns

HO

W M

AN

Y CO

OK

S

AR

E IN YO

UR

KITC

HEN

?

That is a lot of different people playing a role in content creation. And if your organization doesn’t have a form

al brand voice that gives direction on w

hat to say, how to

say it, in what tone, w

hen, where, and how

often, your w

riters will inevitably proceed to w

rite it in the only voice they have…

…their ow

n.

DO

ES IT R

EALLY M

AK

E A D

IFFEREN

CE IF

EVERYO

NE JU

ST D

OES

THEIR

OW

N TH

ING

?

Yes. A costly and potentially devastating difference.

HER

E AR

E JUS

T A FEW

CO

NS

EQU

ENC

ES O

F N

OT A

LIGN

ING

YOU

R C

ON

TENT C

REATO

RS

• Inconsistent brand experience

• Corporate em

barrassment

• Inefficient inform

ation flow

• D

ecreased revenue •

Poor customer experiences

• Custom

er defection•

Increased production costs •

Confusion among your staff and

associated lost productivity •

Confusion of customers, prospects

and referral sources•

Coming across as disingenuous

Just like other areas of your business that need to be in sync, your content developers need to:

• H

ave a clear strategic vision

• H

ave a clear understanding of w

hat your company’s

brand voice is (and isn’t)

• Com

municate am

ong each other as a m

atter of course

HO

W D

O YO

U M

AN

AG

E YOU

R C

ON

TENT A

ND

A

VOID

MU

DD

LED C

OM

MU

NIC

ATION

S?

Step one

Develop and articulate a clear understanding of your brand,

your brand voice, and a strategy of comm

unicating to your custom

ers.

Step two

Implem

ent a process to ensure that all who influence or

create your content are effectively executing your strategy.

ESTA

BLIS

HIN

G YO

UR

BR

AN

D VO

ICE

The Litmus test

Do your em

ail campaigns sound like they

are coming from

the same com

pany as the one that w

rites your blogs (or print ads or social m

edia posts?

Or, w

hen viewed as a w

hole, do your com

munications seem

disjointed?

ESTA

BLIS

HIN

G YO

UR

BR

AN

D VO

ICE

The Goal

Your company needs to use a singular,

recognizable brand voice in every aspect of content w

riting wherever it appears.

@

CR

EATING

A S

TYLE GU

IDE

Develop a style guide covering:

• Voice and tone

• G

ramm

ar and style•

Key vocabulary and other keywords

• Stylistic preferences

• Your com

pany’s key services* Exam

ples of product descriptions•

Legal disclaimers

LAU

NC

HIN

G A

STYLE G

UID

E

Hold a kick-off

meeting w

ith those responsible for creating allaspects of com

munications

for your company

(not just the writers,

but the designers and others that affect your brand voice and look and feel).

A TA

LL OR

DER

Email

Sales CollateralSocial M

ediaW

ebsite ContentCustom

er Service ScriptsR

adio SpotsPrint Ads

PodcastsPublic Relations

Video ContentBlogs

Retail D

isplaysW

hite PapersInternal Com

munications

Marketing Collateral

Trade Show D

isplays

The importance of getting everyone com

municating in a consistent voice is

often driven home by the num

ber of people in your company responsible for

producing the following:

THE G

ATEKEEP

ER

The Style Guide is

your team’s m

ap and com

pass.

Now

you need to assign a “keeper of the brand” to coordinate and review

all your com

munications to

ensure everyone stays the course.

THE G

ATEKEEP

ERYour gatekeeper advocates for telling the story of your com

pany in w

ays that ensure all of your content is:

• Relevant

•Adds value

• Upholds your brand philosophy

before it goes public.

THE IM

PO

RTA

NC

E OF A

UTO

NO

MY

To be most effective, the

keeper of your brand voice m

ust have the autonom

y to make the

best decisions in the nam

e of your brand even w

hen they may be

unpopular in the short term

.

THE IM

PO

RTA

NC

E OF A

UTO

NO

MY

Time and tim

e again, we

have seen that the strongest com

panies over the long haul are those that are true to their brand principles and brand voice.

DO

N’T P

UT IT O

FF Creating a content m

anagement strategy is

hard work, but the

payoff of gaining control, cohesiveness, consistency and clarity is vital to the survival of your com

pany.

REA

DY TO

GET S

TAR

TED?

Call us to today and we

can help you create a content m

anagement

strategy of your own!

19 Oaks

Shay Bellasshay@

19oaks.com(207) 619-7155, 18