From SMS and WhatsApp, to email and social media, there is no shortage of communication channels. But without a consistent brand voice across all and every channel, your messages might not land, and you could even damage your reputation.
Your voice and language matters just as much as brand colours and logos. In fact, creating a distinct voice can help you to stand out and engage your customers. Language can drive sales as ads that generate an emotional response see a 23% increase in sales. However, maintaining a unified brand voice across multiple challenges is tricky in a fast-paced environment when different people are responsible for creating content.
In this article, we’ll look at why brand consistency is important and the different types of brand voice you can adopt.
What is a brand voice?
A brand voice is how you represent your personality and values through your language. Creating a compelling and consistent voice will help you to stay front-of-mind and connected to your customers.
Maintaining a consistent brand voice is key but you do need to adapt what you say to suit different channels. For example, a WhatsApp message can be conversational and lighthearted, while an SMS is usually more direct. You can also use emojis, grammar and stylistic tweaks to adjust your personality and tone, based on your audience.
A fitness brand’s voice may be inspiring or motivational, whereas a supermarket may be more down to earth and friendly, or quirky and humorous (think of Lidl’s social media). You can sometimes check out a brand’s tone of voice guidelines online – for example, Monzo’s self-declared tone of voice is ‘clear, inclusive and focused on the reader,’ as well as having a ‘warm wit.’ The fintech brand prefers to use simple language over technical jargon to create an inclusive community.
You’ve been a customer since [YEAR]. As a big thank you for sticking with us, take 30% off your next purchase ❤️
The SMS above is warm and friendly, and can help customers establish an emotional connection with your brand, especially with its use of emojis. By its nature, a text message is short but you can still inject personality into it.
Your brand voice should ultimately be tailored to your audience to maximise engagement and create impact. Remember to factor in demographics too when you’re settling on your conversational style. If your audience is Gen Z for example, speaking in a formal and professional tone may not land with them at all.
Why is consistency important?
Brands typically work to achieve visual consistency (think logos and pantone colours) across channels – and the same should apply to your brand voice.
For instance, if you use different logos for social media and WhatsApp, how do customers recognise that you’re the same business?
The same applies to brand voice across channels, although the impact is more subtle. If you are upbeat on WhatsApp using GIFs, images or videos, but then more serious using SMS, customers could get easily confused and be put off.
Customers connect with a brand through language, whether that’s by reading your blog, a text or speaking to a customer service agent. Your voice should line up, so they know you’re authentic.
Here are some reasons why a consistent brand voice is important:
- Builds trust and loyalty
- Connect with your audience
- Stand out from competitors
- Demonstrate your values
- Memorability
- Brand awareness
Hello [NAME], your test results are now ready. Please book a slot with us to discuss the results.
The above WhatsApp message sent by a GP surgery is formal and direct to prevent miscommunication and drive action.
Brands leading the way
Some brands such as Ryanair, Lidl and Duolingo immediately spring to mind when thinking of a brand voice. These brands are known for their playful and provoking tone of voice that’s helped them to stay marketable – and memorable.
But no matter what the size of your company is, establishing a clear set of brand guidelines, which include your tone of voice, and mapping out how this could sound and look on different channels, can help you to stay front and centre in your market.
Types of brand voice
While every organisation has its own brand voice, there has been a move towards establishing a clear and friendly tone of voice – including among B2B businesses. Social media, particularly TikTok and Instagram Reels, has prompted brands to push the boundaries to create fun and engaging content, rather than focusing on product features and sales messaging. Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, allow marketers to create content quickly but can dilute brand voice and result in robotic and cliched language that jars with consumers.
Conversational: This should be friendly and natural – like you’re having a conversation with a friend. Use straightforward, informal and inclusive language, addressing the recipient directly.
Don’t forget about your basket, [NAME]. It’s safe for now but head to checkout ASAP before somebody else nabs it! 🏃
With SMS, personalise messages with names to grab attention. The text above uses conversational words like ‘nabs’, and helpful and urgent language like ‘safe’ and ‘ASAP.’
Motivational: Use positive language that’s encouraging and inspirational like ‘conquer’ or ‘achieve.’
Formal: Copy should be direct and to the point, and can use technical jargon related to your industry. For example:
[SCHOOL] will be closed today due to [INCIDENT]. Regular school hours will resume from [DATE].
Edgy: An edgy brand voice can push boundaries and be bold. It can include humour and sarcasm where appropriate, but it should also be to the point.
Educational: The language is typically informative to help readers understand a topic or subject and should read as if it was written by an expert.
Humorous: This is more lighthearted and playful to make your audience laugh or smile. You can use puns, slang or social media phrases like ‘slay’ and ‘very mindful, very demure.’ For example:
We’re rolling out the red carpet for you, [NAME]! VIPs get early access to our Black Friday sales 😍 Enjoy [%] off sitewide, starting [DATE]. Browse now: [LINK]
Honest: Being transparent – perhaps acknowledging that a product isn’t currently available in store – can help to build trust and credibility.
Expert guide to creating a brand voice
Whether you’re starting from scratch or fine-tuning your brand voice, consider the steps below.
Who are you and what do you stand for?
Get to know your business first.
What are your values? Trust, compassion, quality, inclusivity and community are some examples.
Create a mission statement that aligns with your values and goals and base your brand voice around it. This can then be used internally and externally, so that your audience knows exactly who you are.
Get to know your customers
Understanding who your audience is, is key. Demographics like age, gender or income will be helpful, but understanding pain points and needs will help you to tailor your language for maximum impact.
| Generation | Birth year |
|---|---|
| Gen Z | 1997-2012 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 |
| Gen X | 1965-1980 |
| Boomers | 1946-1964 |
| Silent | 1928-45 |
Set it in writing
Create brand voice guidelines that your marketing, communications, sales and customer service teams can refer back to.
How to measure brand consistency
Conduct regular audits of your content and channels to check for inconsistencies. Even a small mismatch in tone can be confusing for your audience. Remember to tweak any templates or your chatbot too.
Make sure your brand guidelines are easily accessible to your team and offer training to help them to adopt them.
Consistency pays off
Staying true to your brand voice across channels is important for many reasons.
Customers will know that you’re credible and trustworthy, which can lead to greater sales and loyalty. It will also help you to stay memorable and improve awareness, especially if your voice is distinct.
While creating a brand voice takes time and planning, it will pay off in the long run.
At Esendex, we have 20 years’ experience in customer communications. We help brands send over 5b messages a year, so find out how we can support your multichannel brand strategy with SMS, WhatsApp, rich communication services and email.
Mary Henry
Mary has extensive experience in communication, PR and journalism - most recently across SaaS businesses. A keen researcher and storyteller, Mary is highly skilled in making complex concepts accessible, and in putting customers at the heart of her communication. She has supported all kinds of businesses to tell their brand, product and people stories - from global multinationals to start-ups across retail, travel/leisure, banking/finance, government and educational institutions.
