We’ve all seen “The Little Mermaid,” the classic Disney flick about a mermaid princess who longs to experience life as a human and falls in love with a prince while she’s at it. A creepy octopus helps her out, deviously stealing her voice in the process. Throughout the rest of the movie, we watch Ariel struggle to communicate, realizing—maybe for the first time—how valuable an asset her voice really is. Like the princess, it’s all too easy for even the best marketers to forget how important it is to maintain a strong and consistent brand voice.
Your brand voice is the most powerful component of your marketing arsenal, especially when it comes to digital platforms and social media. Affecting every aspect of your social presence, a robust digital voice helps brands to advertise products and services, expand their consumer base, connect with followers, improve customer service, and more. In order to make the most of this potential, it’s crucial to hone in on your brand voice and develop your digital identity to its fullest potential.
Identifying and Developing Your Digital Voice
Before you can work on further developing your digital voice, it’s important to take a step back and examine your brand as it currently stands. A digital or brand voice is the lens and tone utilized when introducing new products, composing website or blog content, interacting with customers, and more.
Are you still figuring out what you want your brand to be? This is a great place to start! As you consider what kind of voice would best represent your brand, think through the following questions:
- Which aspects of your business set your brand apart from your competition?
- Who is your primary customer base, and what type of communications reach those customers best?
- What do your customers appreciate most about your offer, product, or service?
- How do you best connect with your customers?
- Which medium or social platform will be your primary mode of communication and engagement with consumers?
These types of questions help determine the most authentic spirit of your brand and ensure that your digital voice provides the kind of support to your brand that is in line with your tone, offerings, and attitudes as you grow. Here at Snap, for example, we strive to be helpful and informative, yet casual—since this style of communication speaks directly to our audience! Once you’ve brainstormed a unique, authentic brand voice, it becomes simple to further develop it for various mediums, tailoring your content and media to be the most ideal fit for the message you want to convey.
Optimizing Your Brand Voice for Social Media
Of all digital mediums, social platforms have seen the most significant rise in both popularity and effectiveness in recent years. With over 80 percent of Americans currently owning a smartphone, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are accessible with the mere touch of a finger. This significant percentage represents potential ROI your brand can’t afford to miss out on. If you’re not already optimizing your brand voice for social media, the time to start is now.
Since most social platforms were created with the intention of connecting people, businesses must walk a fine line between connecting with users and making them feel marketed to—an instant turnoff. The key to finding your voice for social media content is combining an intimate knowledge of your brand and customers with the concise, attention-grabbing content that tracks well with constantly evolving social algorithms.
Practical Applications
Take advantage of these helpful tips as you work on optimizing your brand voice for social media.
Maintain Consistent Voice Across Channels
Call your customers “fans,” “friends,” or “family” on Twitter? Maintain that language on all other social channels. That means that every piece of communication across all social sites, from Facebook and your own company blog to the more informal Twitter or even Reddit, needs to be consistent with your set tone and voice.
Post Where and When It Counts
Does a majority of your consumer base primarily utilize the same social platform? Do you know what times of day your followers check their social media? You could post life-changing content with that knowledge. But, if it’s not posted on the optimal platform, at the best time, it won’t make a splash. Consider adding these helpful details to your content calendar to make sure your content has maximum power.
Be Engaging
The key to every great piece of content is that it inspires readers to act. Whether this means completing a survey, leaving a thought-provoking comment, sharing the post, or something else, audience engagement is proof that your social media voice is being heard. Do you work to present a CTA in every piece of content posted? If not, consider giving your consumers a chance to interact with your brand, building your credibility and increasing your reach—for free!
Strengthen Your Social Media Voice with Snap
Still working on developing your strongest social media voice? Let Snap help! Our brand strategists and social media marketing experts are eager to connect with you and help your brand find its voice. Whether you’re looking to gain more followers, engage with your audience on a deeper level, or just increase your overall social ROI, we’ve got you covered.