“Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they are crazy enough."
This is the idea that stuck with me after spending the last 5 minutes watching 4 commercials.
In the end, I felt like I could take on whatever the world threw my way.
Can you guess what commercials I watched? Why did they make me feel so inspired? Can you guess what keyword I put into the youtube search bar?
I'll tell you at the end so read on.
What I will tell you now is they were 4 commercials from 1 company.
See, the reason for this post is not to sell you that brand, or the products from that company.
The reason for this post is to help you to understand how that company was able to identify with my emotions. It's to help you understand how they connected with me.
Why did I want to go shopping, when I don't have an immediate need for the product they sell?
The purpose of this post is to tell you about Brand Voice.
So if you are a business owner or thinking about starting a business, stick around.
What is Brand Voice?
Your brand voice dictates how you communicate and connect with your customers. It gets your customers excited about your products or services. Your brand voice keeps them coming back over and over again.
Your brand voice helps you to develop strong relationships with your customers. It helps them to feel like they are a part of something bigger.
It develops irrational loyalty to your brand. So, whenever they buy from someone else, it almost feels like they are cheating on you.
This is why you want to get it right.
Consider the 5 key elements below when developing your brand voice.
Being clear on these 5 things will keep communication with your customers consistent.
1. Identify your customers
To create your voice, you need to know who your customers are.
Do this by spending some time deciding who the people that would buy from you are.
Try to tap into their emotions, and figure out what it is that they want.
Do they want to feel free? Do they want to feel empowered? Do they want to have peace of mind? Do they want to feel hip and be a part of the in-crowd?
2. Develop your Unique Selling Proposition
This differentiates your brand. It helps you to stand out among your competitors.
Use the wants of your target customers you came up with to guide you when you are doing this.
Your statement must cover 3 things.
1. State what you offer
2. State who you serve
3. State how you do it
For example, My USP for Giggedbz goes something like this...
Helping busy business owners with zero tolerance for bullshit find, connect and hire service providers easier than ever before
Do you already see that you can get a gist of what we do in one statement?
3. Brand Story
People connect with brands through emotions first. This is followed by the quality and experiences of their products and services.
But the emotions you evoke will drive people to try your product.
This is why knowing and sharing your story is very important.
So think back. What motivated you to start your business? What challenges did you have to overcome? Looking back, what are the key moments that made a difference?
How do these still drive you today?
These are all things that your audience can connect with. So do not be afraid.
Share them.
When you share these moments, it gives your audience something to humanize. It gives them a feeling of being more than a customer.
4. Your Brand Personality
Don't confuse personality with voice. Your personality includes the images, videos, colors, and logos you associate with it.
But your voice is the way you speak, the words you use again and again. Your voice is the emotions people feel when they listen to what you share.
Your brand personality is an extension of you. So make sure you take some time and reflect. Are you loud and boisterous, or are you calm and serene?
Define the personality, and build your voice to reflect this.
5. Your Values
What are the things you value as a brand? What about your customers? What do they value?
Connect the two. These are the things that will make you more authentic with your customers. These are the points that will make you stand out to them.
Are you still wondering what brand that video was from? If you thought it was ..... Nike!
You were right.
I know what you are thinking, but Karina, Nike is a huge company. It's a massive brand. Nike can afford to pay marketers to create a voice like that. I'm just a small business.
But can you take a step back and realize that you are a small business?
You don't need to communicate this with thousands of people to ensure you get it right. You just need to set some time to align your brand with the voice you want it to have.
Then make sure that every time you share a post on social media, create an ad or talk to a customer, you use your brand voice.
The Challenge
This week I challenge you to take some time, sit down in a quiet place and go through these 5 elements.
When you get up from there, have a clear idea of what your brand voice is. Know how you will go about communicating it.
Remember, irrational loyalty is what a Brand Voice creates.
About GiggedBz
Being an entrepreneur or managing a household can be very stressful. Somedays you really just need some help. And I'm sure we can agree that good help is hard to find. This is why we made, Gigged.bz.
