Why You Need a Recognizable Brand Voice for your Small Business (and Tips to Create Your Own)
As a copywriter, I think most business owners don’t necessarily understand what brand voice is. And let me be clear: I don't think this is your fault.
Here’s the thing: the examples of brand voice that we've been given time and time again only show off brands with HUGE personalities. You know the kind I'm talking about: the outspoken, trendy brands who constantly using emojis, throwing in bold or italics to highlight words, and pop culture references.
A few weeks ago, I gave a guest lecture about brand voice to the Social Media Management program students at a college. And as I was putting together my slide deck, I had a major realization.
The reason people use big, bold, brash brands to explain brand voice…
is because their brand voice is more obvious.
You don’t need to use emojis, slang, or italicizing every other word to have a clear, recognizable brand voice.
Since I’m always up for a challenge, I came prepared to my guest lecture with two wildly different brand voice examples: fun, Gen-Z oriented brand Olipop … and LinkedIn.
In this blog, I’m going to use Olipop and LinkedIn to show you how brand voice looks different for every brand. Scroll to the end for my tips to create a strong brand voice for your own business!
Why is brand voice important for my business?
As a quick refresher, your brand voice is like your brand’s personality. And just like people, the best brands have the same personality no matter where you’re meeting them. Your brand voice should sound the same if someone is discovering you on Instagram, IRL, or on your website.
Here are three reasons why brand voice is important for your business (especially in 2024!):
Marketing is everywhere you turn online (and IRL):
Seriously, you can’t escape marketing. When you’re scrolling TikTok, you're seeing influencers doing PR hauls. When you’re checking your Gmail, you’re getting ads in your promotions folder. We’re exposed to so many promotional materials every day, and it makes us EXHAUSTED. We start to scroll by sponsored content, tune out ads, and click “mute” on posts that feel too salesy. Listen: having an authentic brand voice helps you stand out from the rest of the marketing happening online. It helps your audience feel connected to you instead of sold to alllll the freaking time.
Separate yourself from AI tech (hey ChatGPT!):
Okay, before I elaborate, I want to clarify I don't believe AI or automation are bad. What I am saying is that it has become increasingly common for brands of all sizes to rely on AI for writing their social media captions or even automating their own comments back to their audience on Instagram posts. I don’t know why, but AI has a very distinct way of writing for business. ChatGPT is always using tech terms like “supercharge” and “uplevel”, which is not my business’ vibe at all (I’d probably lose my entire audience if I started talking like that). Having a recognizable brand voice means you can stand out from the brands using generic AI automated content!
Our brain remembers things more easily when we feel connected
There’s a reason every marketing pro hypes up brand storytelling: it makes it really easy for people to remember your brand. Quick psychology lesson: our brains don't typically retain numbers and statistics in the long run. Instead, we store stories and emotions. How does something make us feel? When you have a brand voice that makes your audience feel seen, you’re more likely to stick around in their brains for way longer.
Now that we’ve looked at why you need a brand voice for your business, let’s dive into our two brand voice examples:
Brand Voice Example 1: Olipop
Caption examples from Olipop’s Instagram
If you haven’t seen them on TikTok, Olipop is a prebiotic soda company. They're serving playful fun and bubbly drinks to Gen-Z (and late millennials) on and offline.
Olipop's brand voice makes it obvious they know their target audience really well. They know that right now, Gen Zs and millennials are more likely to jump on wellness trends like “healthy” soda.
Here's how Olipops’ brand voice comes through:
They use emojis: as a millennial, I love seeing brands use emojis in their marketing. It just makes it feel more relatable! In Olipop’s case, it feels like you’re reading a post your bestie made, which makes it feel way easier to like, comment, and engage.
They mimic the language of their target audience: Olipop always taps into trends seen in pop culture, Tik Tok, and elsewhere online (helllllo, girl dinner and Love is Blind references). They know what their audience is into!
They use short, concise, casual captions: We all have short attention spans these days, especially Gen Zs and millennials. Seriously, short form video has maybe ruined us. But, Olipop uses this to their advantage. They know their audience isn’t going to read a looooong, drawn out, wordy caption. They keep it simple and get to the point.
BRAND VOICE Example two: linkedin
Caption examples from LinkedIn’s Instagram
Be honest: after reviewing Olipop's brand voice, you're probably thinking, “wow, LinkedIn literally has no brand voice. Who writes like this?"
Let’s look at the bigger picture: LinkedIn knows their target audience really well. Obviously, their platform is for professionals, typically anywhere between millennials to Gen Xers. As such, their brand voice has to be aligned. Could you imagine if LinkedIn started posting captions that said “Yesssss get that job! Slay queen!”?
Here's how LinkedIn’s brand voice comes through:
They use emojis sparingly: professionals can use emojis too, but LinkedIn reserves their emojis for specific occasions only (like using the “link” emoji when their call-to-action is to check out their link in bio).
Helpful yet professional tone: LinkedIn clearly positions themselves as a guide for your career, so why not extend that to their brand voice? In every piece of content they create, it’s clear they want to be help you get to the next level in your career.
Always using full sentence structure and proper punctuation: Because again, #professionalism and that's how their target audience writes on their platform.
They use short, concise, casual captions: Similarly to Olipop, LinkedIn uses short captions- but for different reasons. Their target audience is busy professionals who probably don’t have time to read an essay on Instagram. They’re probably too busy crushing it in their career.
How can I use brand voice for my business?
TAKEAWAY: YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE EMOJIS, SWEAR WORDS, OR TRENDY LANGUAGE TO HAVE A STAND OUT BRAND VOICE.
Here’s are my copywriter approved tips to develop and use brand voice for your own business:
1. Know your target audience inside and out
Your audience really wants like your brand just "gets them". Just like LinkedIn and Olipop, think about your target audience first. How do they speak, and what would help them resonate with you and your brand?
2. Keep the details in mind: Emojis, language, and punctuation may seem small to you, but they can have a big impact. Think about what language is your target audience using, and how you can reflect that language back to them. For example, Olipop uses pop culture references or trends, and LinkedIn uses the same professional language people are using on their platform. Don’t forget to keep it consistent! Think about would be weird if all of a sudden LinkedIn switched up and started sounding way younger.
3. Show you understand
Your audience wants to know that you get them. They want to resonate with you. How can you show you understand your audience? Is that through the language you use? Is it through the emojis you use? Is it through the stories you're telling?
You’re ready to create your brand voice! Need a little extra help?Download my free guide to discover your brand voice, tone, and personality!
BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY…
I’m Maddy, website copywriter, brand messaging strategist, and owner of By Maddy Aucoin.
Subscribe to my email list: join the Make your (Mark)eting list for weekly emails about copywriting, marketing, and relatable business owner sh*t.
Peek at my services: need brand voice help? My brand messaging services are for you!
Learn more about marketing on the blog: ready to write your own email welcome sequence? Read more here!
