How to Find Your Brand Voice with 4 Simple Questions

A brand's voice is maybe one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated brand assets. Often brands seem overly professional, stuffy, and faceless when breaking into a new medium. Why is that?

Many brands have completely neglected their own voice and personality in favor of the hard sell. You've seen it on Instagram, a beautiful graphic with the caption "TRY US TODAY!" Or even more blatant, a graphic that says "TRY US TODAY!" With a caption that says "TRY US TODAY!" We get it. You want us to try out your product, but to be totally honest, I don't want to.

What if instead of making the hard sell in all of your content, you focused on developing a brand voice that conveyed captivating messaging and attracted leads to the top of your marketing funnel?

Here are some of the questions I ask when working with a brand to find their voice.

1. How do you want people to feel when they interact with your brand?

This is one of the first questions I ask an entrepreneur when doing brand work with them. The answer to this question tells you more about your audience and their problem and how your product or service can be a solution for them.

2. If your brand were a famous person, who would it be? What characteristics of that person would your brand encompass?

This question is just plain fun. To be totally transparent, I'll have to Google almost any celebrity you tell me, but it's fun to think of your brand as a celebrity and how they'd communicate with others and be perceived by new audiences. Use some of the adjectives you use to describe this person on your shortlist of adjectives to describe your voice.

3. What are the common adjectives you would use to describe your brand's personality?

What are some adjectives you use (or would like to use) when you're introducing your product or service to someone new? To answer this question, it might be helpful to look at a brand you like and practice describing their personality.

During this exercise, focus on how your brand communicates with your audience, not what you communicate.

4. What about slang and internet lingo?

What about it? Well, is your brand going to use it? Whether you're creating memes or writing content, keep in mind if you decide to follow internet trends, your content might not make much sense in a few months (or weeks). A word of caution: Don't jump on a trend bandwagon and become a trend ender.

If you really want to nail your voice, make sure to complete these pre-requisites!

Pre-requisite: Review Your Mission Statement

Before you begin to determine your brand's voice and tone, take a step back and look at your brand's mission, vision, and values. (Don't have them? Let's talk!) By examining these assets, you'll be able to use your voice as a lens when envisioning your end goal.

When answering the previously mentioned questions, always keep your brand's missions, vision, and values in focus to make sure they all align. For example, if you're brand values straight-forward communication, your voice isn't going to include lots of technical jargon.

Pre-Requisite: Find Your Brand's Purpose

Finding your purpose is easier said than done! The good news is, you can easily identify the purpose of your content. Take a look at your upcoming content and ask yourself, "what is the purpose of my message?" Is it to educate, engage, or motivate? These are just a few purposes your content could have.

By focusing on the purpose, you can make sure your voice allows you to achieve that purpose. If your purpose is to educate your audience, your voice should have an aura of confidence and authority. If your purpose is to motivate, your voice should feel powerful and encouraging.

Go Forth and Find Your Voice!

Building your brand is hard work and finding your voice can be uncomfortable. Your voice might be far from what you'd think your individual voice would be (this is especially true if you have someone else managing your marketing).

Take time to sit with your voice—I recommend writing and rewriting content to refine and perfect your message, so your voice feels authentic and natural. After lots of practice, you'll be on your way to attracting new audiences, rather than sharing the same sell, sell, sell message you're so used to seeing.