Brand voice is one of the most powerful tools a business can use to connect with ideal clients. From the words on a website to social media captions, the way you communicate shapes how clients perceive your business and whether they’ll resonate with your brand.
But what exactly is brand voice, and how can you develop one that attracts your dream clients? This guide will explore the essentials of brand voice, including defining your unique style, tools to help refine it, and ways to keep it consistent as your business grows.
Understanding Brand Voice
Brand voice isn’t just about what you say but how you say it across every platform—your website, emails, captions, and more. It’s the personality, style, and vibe of your communication, blending your authentic self with what your clients need from you. Effective brand voice brings together three key aspects:
- Messaging – What you want to convey to your audience
- Positioning – How you distinguish yourself and show who you’re for
- Sales Psychology – The techniques that excite and delight potential clients
All of these are brought to life through brand voice. When messaging, positioning, and psychology are integrated into a memorable, consistent voice, your brand becomes more than just words; it becomes the reason clients remember and choose you.
Why Brand Voice Matters
For photographers and other creative entrepreneurs, brand voice helps set client expectations. Imagine a wedding photographer with a relaxed, playful brand voice online, who then shows up with a reserved or formal demeanor in person. This inconsistency can be jarring.
An effective brand voice ensures that clients know what to expect, creating trust from the first point of contact. In a saturated market, where talented professionals are everywhere, a well-defined brand voice is what helps you stand out to the clients who are genuinely aligned with your style.
The First Steps to Discovering Your Brand Voice
Creating a compelling brand voice begins with understanding both your own personality and your clients’ needs. Start with these foundational questions:
- Who are you? – Think about how you naturally communicate. What words do friends use to describe you? How do you express yourself in conversation?
- Who are your dream clients? – Consider what your clients are seeking. Do they want someone bold and energizing or a calming, supportive presence?
By exploring the overlap between your personality and your clients’ expectations, you can begin to outline the core characteristics that make your brand voice unique. This intersection is where a strong brand voice is born.
Building and Defining Your Brand Voice: Tools and Tips
Creating a brand voice that is both clear and memorable requires a mix of discovery and consistency. Tools such as a Brand Voice Guide and a Brand Voice Dictionary are invaluable resources:
- Brand Voice Guide – This document is a comprehensive reference for your tone, style, and phrases that represent your business. It’s especially helpful as you expand your team, ensuring everyone communicates consistently.
- Brand Voice Dictionary – Start a running list of phrases, words, and expressions that feel natural to you and embody your brand. Regularly note things you say in everyday conversations, client calls, or emails, then refine them to create a go-to resource for your unique way of communicating.
Why Consistency and “Stickiness” are Key
In today’s busy online environment, brand voice needs to stand out and “stick” with clients. Think of the online space as a crowded highway. Amidst the noise, a consistent, bold brand voice acts like a neon sign, signaling to your ideal clients, “Here I am.”
When people consistently hear the same tone and phrases, your brand voice becomes memorable, breaking through the distractions of the digital world.
Consistency also helps build trust, especially in industries like wedding photography, where clients want a photographer who makes them feel comfortable. A sticky voice—bold, memorable, and true to you—makes your business a standout choice that clients can rely on.
Allowing Your Brand Voice to Evolve
Brand voice should be clear and consistent, but it can also evolve over time. Businesses, clients, and personal goals change, and your brand voice can adapt alongside these shifts. While the core of your voice should remain recognizable, allowing it to grow will keep it aligned with your vision and continue attracting the clients who resonate most with you.
Using Brand Voice to Connect and Convert
Beyond standing out, brand voice also plays a major role in conversion. A beautifully designed website and captivating photos can attract people, but it’s the words that convert them into clients. Your voice—when clear, sticky, and uniquely yours—becomes a “welcome sign” that signals to clients they’re in the right place.
Without a distinct voice, even the best website or portfolio might struggle to build the emotional connection that drives client decisions.
Applying Your Brand Voice Across Platforms
To make brand voice a part of every aspect of your business, use it consistently in:
- Copy: Whether writing for a website, social media, or emails, refer back to your Brand Voice Guide and Dictionary to keep the tone unified.
- Social Media: As you post, aim to engage clients in a way that is uniquely yours. Think about your Brand Voice Dictionary and incorporate words and phrases that make your personality shine.
- Emails and Client Communication: Use the tone and phrases that you want associated with your business. This ensures clients are consistently interacting with your authentic self from their first inquiry to the last step of working with you.
Starting Your Brand Voice Journey
Developing brand voice is valuable at any stage, whether you’re just starting out or already established. If you know who your clients are and what you want to offer, you’re ready to start defining your voice. You don’t need to be in business for years to invest in brand voice; even simple tools like a Brand Voice Dictionary can help you gain clarity on how you want to sound to clients.
Final Thoughts on Brand Voice
A well-defined brand voice is essential to building a memorable, authentic brand that attracts dream clients. As you continue growing, let your brand voice evolve while maintaining consistency to ensure clients recognize and trust your business.
By combining clarity, stickiness, and authenticity, you’ll create a brand voice that connects, converts, and helps your ideal clients find their way to you. Starting with a simple Brand Voice Dictionary and Guide, you can begin the journey of building a brand voice that feels like you and calls to your dream clients.
About Hanna:
Hanna Marcus is the Founder & Head Copy Gal behind Boundless Copy–a copywriting agency that specializes in helping biz owners use their clear, sticky brand voice to flip on the neon welcome sign for their dream people. In the last 8 years, Boundless has helped 400+ creatives, service pros, & more write web copy, sales pages, blogs, and more, all with the mission of inspiring their dream people to take action!
Hanna’s Links:
- Stop Playing It Safe: Why Having an Authentic Brand Matters
- How to Stand Out as a Photographer: Tips for Building a Unique Visual Identity
KP’s design journey began in book publishing, but she fell in love with the truly limitless possibilities that web design presents. Since then, she’s been helping photographers and creatives become the no-brainer option for their dream clients before they even get on a call.
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11/04/24
Published On:
Krystianna Pietrzak
