In our last instalment of this social media series, we talked about how important it is to create a social media plan for your business. In this final instalment, we will focus on why it is critical to understand and establish your brand voice, in order to launch and maintain a successful social media experience for customers.
What does “brand voice” mean?
Ask yourself this: Would someone viewing your content across multiple channels recognise your brand instinctively? In other words, is your brand voice consistent in how you are communicating your offering? Your brand voice showcases your business’s personality and should be utilized whenever your business shares a post, writes, comments or generally interacts with the public. This should always be cohesive in tone and consistent in messaging.
How do you establish a strong brand voice on social media?
1. Establish your brand’s core values?
Your brand’s core values are a vital part of how you present your business. While customer trends evolve over time, values stay pretty consistent and this provides an opportunity for brands to create something that customers can hold onto. Further to this, customers are much keener on buying from brands which align with their values rather than simply one that meets a fleeting need. So brands should use social media to let consumers know about their values and harness it as a tool for insight into what your brand stands for. This doesn’t have to be overly specific but should embody a flavour and consistency relevant to your brand’s values.
2. Review content and be relevant
It is important to conduct audits on your previous posts to understand what is resonating with your customers and followers. Here you should evaluate your current content and see how different posts have performed. This will give incredibly useful insight into what your audience is interested in and what they find valuable. This in turn will help you build a relationship with your customer base as you are responding to their needs.
3. Understand your target audience
Understanding and defining your target audience will help you establish a brand voice that will resonate with social media users. Remember that it is really useful to get to know your customer and understand what motivates their decisions. These questions will help you form the idea of an ‘ideal customer’ who you can then hold in mind when creating content. There are lots of ways to get to know your customer and form this picture. For example, you can post surveys, ask customers to leave feedback or post polls. Also, click through to the customers who are engaging with your posts, follow them and look at what they are interested in.
4. Create a brand voice style guide
This is a strategic instruction manual that influences how your brand is marketed and it explains the voice and tone of your communications. This document will also include your brand’s backstory, keywords and phrases that you should always use to promote your brand. It will also include instructions related to grammar and language. This document will formalise your brand’s voice and ensure that your entire team is in the loop with regard to the communication direction.
The bottom line
Having a strong, cohesive and consistent brand voice is essential to growing your business on social media. Customers really want to interact with you and learn about how your brand can help them thrive. Effective social media marketing can really empower your brand to connect with your customer, build trust and ultimately be the answer to their needs. So to invest in your social media marketing strategy, contact Merchant Capital today.