Your brand message is what you say to customers. Your tone of voice is how you say it. With both a tailored brand message and tone of voice, you form your overall brand voice (read more about brand language terms: explained).
But why does your brand voice matter, I hear you ask? Here’s a hard truth – unclear, disengaging messaging can cost you clients.
Without a strong, consistent, and clearly defined brand message, you’re taking a shot in the dark. To get the right clients, you need a powerful voice that tells a story and persuades.
What if you could finally get that all-important connection with your audience? Well, the good news is – you can! Let’s look at what makes a good brand voice and how you can achieve this for your business…
Signs of a failing brand voice
Before you can create the right message, it’s important to understand the warning signs to avoid falling into the trap again.
To grow your business and reach those creative dreams, you need sales. But you’re finding that part hard — you feel like you’ve tried everything, and your marketing isn’t sticking.
- Are you struggling to convert new leads?
- Do you sound the same as everyone else in your industry?
- Do ideal clients keep ignoring you and you’re missing out on opportunities?
- Does your current messaging feel ‘meh’ and doesn’t sound like you?
- Do you find potential customers are confused by what your business does?
These are all signs of a failing message and a lack-lustre brand voice.
Benefits of a solid brand message and unique tone of voice
When you have a clearly identifiable tone of voice and a relatable brand message, your audience will connect with you much easier.
A clear brand message —
- Builds trust and credibility with your audience
- Engages the reader and appeals to their emotions
- Creates a consistent customer experience
- Showcases your brand values and personality
- Makes choosing you a no-brainer (for the right people!)
- Deters the wrong-fit audience (which is a good thing!)
Now you know the benefits, let’s break some of those points down further…
Attracting the right audience with your brand voice
You know your business does great things. You have happy customers who love what you do.
But selling your service is like an uphill battle. You’re constantly having to re-explain the value of what you do and convince people of your abilities.
Even worse, your message doesn’t sound like you. There’s a disconnect between your writing and you in real life…
Your copy needs to reflect not only what you do, but also what makes you different. Reflecting your personality in your brand messaging is vital to building trust and connection with your ideal customers.
As a result, you’ll also deter any wrong-fit people with a clear brand message. This avoids time wasting for both you and them.
Customer research for effective messaging
Although you should be reflecting who you are as a company, your messaging also needs to take into account how your customers see you. By conducting voice of customer research, you can create a more compelling message.
Think about evaluating your customer reviews, looking at online forums, and actually *gasp* picking up the phone to call your current customers. All these methods will give you an insight into how they speak about you, describe your industry, and it will also highlight any common themes.
Differentiating your brand from the competition
Your brand messaging is a key factor to help stand out from the crowd, as is your tone of voice.
When you’re seen as just another option in the industry, it can be a race to the bottom. But when your brand message differentiates you from others and highlights what makes you different, customers will see you for the real value you bring.
Even if you offer the same thing as another company, there will be something about your story or approach that makes you unique. Playing on that will help you to find more of the right people and build customer loyalty.
Looking for inspiration to write better copy?
Download the FREE guide here – 5 easy ways to add personality to your website.
Don’t forget about your visual branding
Your ‘brand’ is the overall impression people get when they interact with you — your reputation.
Even though I’m a copywriter and focus on the message your brand puts out there and the voice you use to portray yourself, I’ll always advise looking at the full picture.
That means your visual identity is important, too. Your brand’s visual identity includes your logo, colour scheme, typography, and any other graphic elements you use to represent your business.
Without consistency in your brand message and your visual identity, you won’t be easily recognisable. And we want to stand out (for the right reasons), don’t we?
Get out of muddy waters with a clear brand voice
Imagine if showing your awesomeness to people became effortless and selling turns into a breeze… Easier sales = easier life. And that’s what every business owner wants, right?
Hopefully, you now understand that yes, of course your brand voice matters!
If you’ve been suffering from poor messaging and a sub-standard tone of voice, giving it attention will help to grow your business by attracting more of the right people.
Get in touch if you’d like my help defining your brand voice and turning it into effective messaging through done-for-you website copywriting. Start sharing words you can be proud of.
Learn effective brand storytelling and copywriting techniques with the ‘craft your message’ newsletter
Helping misunderstood creative business owners to capture their personality, connect with ideal clients, and sell themselves better.