If you want to know why brand voice matters to your company’s success, just remember the chicken sandwich wars.
Back in the distant social media past of 2019, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen launched a chicken sandwich. Chick-fil-A apparently took exception to this, tweeting what the New York Times called “a thinly veiled critique” of the new offering.
Thus, the first salvo of the chicken sandwich wars was fired. Within 15 minutes, Popeyes’ Twitter account returned fire with the now-immortal words “…y’all good?”
The tweet went viral, leading to such massive demand for the new Popeyes sandwich that lines formed around the block at local Popeyes restaurants and the company eventually had to concede it had simply run out of the popular offering.
While creating this kind of lightning in a bottle on social media is tricky, especially if your brand isn’t already a major presence in the public eye, having a fun brand voice is key for enhancing your visibility online.
Who Is Your Audience?
Of course, as with anything in business, your approach to brand voice also comes down to audience.
If the audience for your product or service tends to skew younger, consider using a more informal voice on social media. A great example of this is the language app Duolingo, which channels the irreverent tone of its mascot to encourage younger users to “parent trap your divorced parents on [a] family plan.”
But on the other hand, even if your audience skews older, you don’t have to forgo a fun persona! Take, for example, Coca-Cola, whose brand voice is friendly but not nearly as irreverent as the Duolingo example. Coca-Cola focuses on customer engagement by encouraging users to, for instance, share their summer grilling plans in the form of emojis.
If you operate in the business-to-business realm, you can still embrace a unique brand voice too. Take for example the workplace communication platform Slack, which describes its voice as “clear, concise and human, like a friendly, intelligent coworker.”
Here are a few other important things to consider in building your brand voice:
- Your vocabulary. You may want to put together a list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to the words and phrases being used on your social media accounts. But don’t forget to allow for fun. For instance, is your brand closely tied to a regional area? Then a great way to bond with your local audiences is by using words, phrases and references that local audiences get (and appreciate).
- Your attributes. Think of your brand voice as a person, then brainstorm qualities you want (or don’t want) that person to have. Examples might include “Our brand voice is lighthearted.” Or “Our brand voice is not pretentious.”
- Your messenger. Who on your staff is in the best position to embody the qualities you want from your brand voice? If nobody comes to mind, consider hiring outside help to ensure your social media projects a voice you can be proud of.
- Your emojis. Yes, you should include emojis in your brand voice guidelines! Emojis have become an expected component of online communication, but some emojis may have connotations you’d rather not put on your social media accounts. Again, a list of do’s and don’ts based on advance research is key.
Need help with your brand voice or other aspects of your online content? The content experts at Today Media Custom Communications are happy to help. Get in touch at newbusiness@todaymediacustom.com.
