finding your brand voice
DESCRIPTION
What is your organization's voice, how do you find it, and where should that voice be heard? This presentation will review what a real brand voice is and why it's critically important in all communications, show strong voice examples from the for-profit and non-profit worlds, and walk through a voice exercise that organizations can do to help find or hone their voice. Presenter: Lisa Kaneff, The Next Chapter RELATED LINKS: http://thenextchapter.me/ https://www.salsalabs.com/support-community/blogTRANSCRIPT
Find Your Voice:
An Exercise in Finding your Organiza4on’s Brand Voice
Your Org Here
#FUSEvoice
Lisa Kaneff Copywriter, Marke4ng Consultant
The Next Chapter
#FUSEvoice
Our Agenda!
• Intro to “Voice” • Finding Your Voice • Using Your Voice • Raise Your Voice (Q&A)
Quick Check:
What would you like to focus on today?
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LET’S TALK ABOUT VOICE
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Name That Voice
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Name That Brand
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“The Voice”
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What is Brand Voice?
Brand voice is the purposeful, consistent expression of a brand through words and prose styles that engage and moQvate.
-‐ Larsen (Agency)
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What is Brand Voice?
It’s not what you say, but how you say it. This encompasses not only the words you choose, but their order, rhythm and pace.
-‐ Harriet Cummings (Dis4lled)
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People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you made them feel.
-‐ Maya Angelou
What is Brand Voice?
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Why is it Important?
Your Org
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Why is it Important?
User
Org
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One Message, Two Voices
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One Message, Two Voices
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Value Prop: “Give Hope…” “Get Serious…”
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Donate CTA: “Help Now” “Donate”
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FINDING YOUR VOICE (USING A COMPLETELY FAKE CLIENT)
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• Investment Literacy Non-‐profit • Goal is to encourage Gen Y/Millennials to learn about inves4ng early to avoid debt
• Project: Revamping Website, Re-‐launching web presence & marke4ng ini4a4ves
• CTA: Learn, Share, Visit
My InvesQng Strategies Suck (MISS)
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Step 0: Understand Your Audience
• Get In Their Hearts & Minds
• Know Other Brands They Love
• Think About How They Talk to Each Other & How People Talk to Them
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Millennials: Who Are They?
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Millennials: Brands They Love
What connects them? Fun, irreverent, social, useful #FUSEvoice
Therefore… How We Want to Talk to Them
• Inspira4onal vs. Direc4ve • Never condescending • Understanding • Fun/Funny, Irreverent • Casual in Tone
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Step 1: Gather Examples
• Don’t have to be peer organizaQons
• Don’t have to have the same goals
• Don’t even have to be non-‐profits
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Voice Summary: Formal. Straighaorward. Strong. “You can trust us because we take an academic approach to helping you.”
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Voice Summary: Cool and authorita4ve. The professor you loved in college who explained things without being condescending. Uses references that the student would get. “Here to help.”
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Voice Summary: Very conversa4onal, wriben the way a person would speak, casual, cheeky.
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Feedback
• Progressive had *too* much voice • Opera4on Hope was too wordy. Dense. • Closest was CFPB – Approachable – Accessible – Relatable – Understandable
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Step 2: Personifica4on
• Can be anyone, dead or alive
• Musician, comedian, actor
• Needs to be known by stakeholders…
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Voice CharacterisQcs The MISS voice is:
– Familiar – Conversa4onal – Spunky, sassy – Ac4on-‐oriented – Humorous – Suppor4ve – Encouraging – Upbeat – Confident
The MISS voice is not: – Cheeky, cheesy or irreverent – Too flowery – Long-‐winded – Hard-‐edged, sales-‐y, preachy – Mean spirited – Condescending – Know-‐it-‐all – Nega4ve
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George Clooney
• Trustworthy • Humorous • Beloved • Respected • Straighaorward • Dark Humor
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Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Irreverent • Professorial • Dark Humor • Excitable • Counter Culture • Cool… kind of.
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Jimmy Fallon
• Funny • Friendly • Never mean spirited • Not condescending • Approachable • Relevant
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Step 3: Create Voice Guide
• Keep in mind who will be using it
• How would the celebrity read your site?
• Remember it’s a living document
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Step 3: Create Voice Guide
1. Target Audience(s) 2. Desired Voice & User Experience 3. Content Types, Copy Features and
Guidelines
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Target Audience
Young people, aged 25 to 34 who are hesitant to trust the markets and are looking for tools to help them beber plan for their financial future.
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Desired Voice & User Experience
• The voice is friendly, familiar, encouraging and at 4mes humorous.
• The voice is of a trusted peer who’s been there and gets it.
• “Learning the stock market & inves4ng is tough, but it’s worth it and anyone can do it with the right informa4on, guidance and tools.”
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Desired Voice & User Experience
– Why is the user on that page?
– What will they be feeling when they get there. • Anxious, confused, excited, determined, or embarrassed?
– What can you say to inspire the the next step?
– What would they want to hear? • Kick in the pants to get their financial house in order?
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Content Types, Copy Features & Guidelines
• Punchy, upbeat, conversa4onal, concise/short • Bullets and check lists when possible • Connect content in-‐line w/ hyperlinks • Use benefits, not scare tac4cs
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In 3 Words, MISS is… APPROACHABLE – fresh & smart The site should be an authorita4ve resource. It should feel both youthful and established with a smart and funny tone that you would find on TV shows like “30 Rock” or “How I Met Your Mother”.
SHAREABLE – creaQng viral content Informa4on should be good and unique enough that they feel others will find it useful, and that they enjoyed it enough to share.
ENGAGING – draw users in The site should make the subject fun and en4cing through the content tone, design and general personality.
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Verboten!
– Financial literacy (instead use financial understanding, money smart, etc.)
– All content should be wriben from a posiQve point of view; avoid any negaQve spins
– No guarantees, e.g. if you do this you can achieve…, as opposed to you will.
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Step 4: Bring the Voice to Life
• Get everyone on the same page
• PracQce the voice
• Give specific, direcQve feedback
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Examples of Feedback Unhelpful Feedback: • I don’t like it • It’s not quite right • It needs a lible something • Can you punch it up a lible bit?
Helpful Feedback: • It’s a lible too flowery • Can you make it more
conversa4onal? • It seems a bit too serious • This needs to be more urgent
USING YOUR VOICE: ONE VOICE, MANY EXPRESSIONS
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On Your Site
• Naviga4on/Menus • Headlines • General Content – Ar4cles – Blog Posts
• Bubons • Promos • Overlays
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In MarkeQng Materials
• Ads (Print & Digital) • Emails – Senders Voices – Subject Lines – Calls to Ac4on
• Direct Mail • Invita4ons
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On Social Media • Casual Voice • Inquisi4ve & Engaging • Add nuances to your guide
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For Emergencies/ Announcements
• More urgent • More formal • More demanding/direc4ve
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Sharing Your Voice
• Provide voice guide & walk through it • Give as many sample assets as possible • Make sure the writer has ques/ons! • Be specific & consistent in your feedback • Test a few copywriters
If you have quesQons or need
help finding your voice, let me know!
Your Org Here
Lisa Kaneff www.thenextchapter.me [email protected]
