Quality content online can provide your brand with a voice and a personality – brand voice personality

Google Panda

In Feb 2011 Google introduced the Panda update to their search engine algorithm  in an effort to lower the rank of “thin” sites and return higher quality sites nearer to the top of the search results. This was a continuation of Google’s tireless efforts to crawl and index the 60 trillion individual pages out there on the web and return those worthy of your attention to you. The algorithms are really just super computer programs that look for signs and clues to answer your query with precision.

Larry Page Co-founder & CEO said upfront that “The perfect search engine would understand exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want”.

Unique Content

Here is where the need to produce unique, innovative content comes in. You see, your content needs to be compiled with the purpose of answering the human questions that are being asked out there. What better way to give your brand an authoritative voice than to create quality content that answers questions and is share worthy?

Gain Trust and Engage

Nothing is as important – yet as intangible –  as a brands  personality. So get your voice out there and make sure you are creating content that mirrors the personality of your brand and engages your audience. Be credible, reliable, consistent and influential with what you show and tell and you will gain your audience’s trust. Be distinctive and original and your personality and voice will prevail. Personality + Brand Voice = Brand Success

I read this quote somewhere: “Good content gets you visitors; great content gets you customers.”

brand_voice_brand_personality_creative_imagineeringHow to find your brand personality

Due to the human perceptions of your brand they will relate to the set of emotional and associative characteristics connected to your company or brand name. It is best to define this personality as this is what shapes how people feel about and interact with your company. Clue: A brand’s personality often matches that of the target customer base. Refining and tying together that personality can be the key to your success.

You will need to do some research. Ask yourself questions to develop

Moyo modern sophisticated African - brand personality

Moyo: Modern-Sophisticated-African

your brand’s personality.

*Who is my brand’s core audience?
*What am I selling and who are my customers?
*What kind of voice would relate to this core base?
*What does the brand promise customers?
*What are my brand’s character traits and which should I emphasize?
*Where should I share my brand’s personality?
*What will I gain from a clearly defined brand personality?

Exercise 1

In 30 seconds or less, state why someone would invest in or purchase from your company. This will force you to identify your unique selling point, but may also help you pin down an important company value.

Exercise 2 

Boil down the values of your business into a few key words. These can be

Moyo modern sophisticated African - brand personality

Moyo:
Modern-Sophisticated-African

adjectives such as intelligent, professional, frank or witty.

Equally, they can be phrases or non-descriptive words such as love, think, best friend, push yourself.

Look for these around your office – in the emails you send, the posters on walls, notes on the fridge, etc. Asking colleagues for ideas is also likely to turn up an assortment of different types of results, from which you can identify recurring themes.

e.g.

*Apple: innovate, inspire, dream.
*Innocent: cheeky, fun, everyday.
*Red Bull: adventure, try, adrenaline.

If you successfully establish the guidelines of what your “voice” will be, this will help keep everyone on the same page and be the foundation of a unique and consistent brand personality.

Often to find the right fit – it will help to think about your brand’s story. How would you best describe your business to someone new? Would you be informative, interesting, compelling, funny, scientific, stiff upper-lipped , fun loving, sincere or excitable? What will it be?

Brand personality takes a standard five character  traits into perspective: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. The brand counterparts are: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness.

“A tone of voice is an expression of a company’s values and way of thinking. It cannot be plucked from thin air, created on a whim or entirely based on a trend you think is cool. Rather, it must grow out of who you already are as a company. Not who you might be tomorrow, but what you look and sound like today.” – Harriet Cummings

Social media the brand activist

It is imperative to find the best tone to represent your brand across all the marketing channels especially social media. Brand-building takes time, but one way to quickly start a brand building campaign is to utilise your social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ to engage, interact and build a devoted following around your brand and its mission. You know you have had a breakthrough when you clients can’t stop talking about you.

So start telling your story now.

email:lisa@creativeimagineering.co.za

Lisa Leathes

leathes.lisa@gmail.com

lisa@creativeimagineering.com