How To Create & Develop Your Brand's Personality And Voice

Unsure what your social media persona should be?

Haven’t the foggiest about your brand’s tone? Puzzled about how to develop your brand’s personality? Let us assist in helping you to clear your throat chakra and find your brand voice to boost your business.

Authenticity became a buzzword in 2020, and the more your brand voice reflects your business ethos and values, the more authentic you’re going to be, and authenticity helps you build more customer relationships and generate customer retention – meaning you’re going to make more sales.

We are going to help you establish your brand tone, brand voice, and brand personality/persona. It is as hard to explain as it is to define, but we have broken it down simply to help you and your business on social media.

What is a brand personality?

According to Investopedia, your brand personality is a ‘set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name.’ Your brand’s personality is defined with adjectives that express what your brand is like.

So for example, if Nike were a person, they would be motivational, encouraging, and driven. Innocent Drinks would be fun, humorous, happy, and light-hearted. Their personalities are demonstrated and echoed in their voice and tone.

Brand personality can also refer to gendered characteristics or demographics such as location (e.g. through the use of local dialect).

Do I need a brand personality?

You should have a defined and recognisable brand personality because people buy from people. Authenticity in marketing has never been more important in driving sales after the pandemic. A brand personality humanises your business, makes it relatable, makes an audience feel something and boosts your brand awareness and recognisability, and ultimately generates more leads.

When you hear the phrase ‘just do it!’ on television, you know exactly which brand is advertising at that moment without looking. When you see a certain font on a supermarket shelf, you know by it’s friendly, child-like roundedness and appearance that it’s an Innocent Drinks products.

A brand personality is how you win clients over the competition.

What is my brand personality?

• If your brand was a person, what would be its personality? Jot down some adjectives which do and do not define your business persona. Ours would be someone professional and helpful, yet also fun, dynamic and diverse.

• Furthermore, what is your brand’s aim? Is it to inform, educate, advise, convince, inspire, entertain, motivate? Ours is to help businesses grow with simple localised marketing – so that definitely involves educating, informing and inspiring local businesses.

You could call the adjectives you have chosen to define your brand’s personality as brand pillars, brand anchors, brand traits – whichever helps you understand it most.

What is a brand voice?

Once you have established your brand persona, everything you do should be anchored by and associated with the adjectives which describe your brand personality.

Having a consistent and obvious, clear-cut brand voice and brand tone starts with defining your brand’s personality. Now that you’ve done this, you can begin to think how your brand’s personality comes across in your voice and tone.

A brand’s voice refers to the personality and emotions within a company’s communications and messaging. Simply put, it’s how you talk to people, and the way you talk to them. It should come through in your branded content and business story-telling. Your personality should be obvious in the way you speak and communicate, in-person, on and offline. Your brand’s voice and personality is defined by both what it is and what it isn’t, e.g. professional but not formal, playful but not immature.

Your voice is consistent, your tone is interchangeable depending on the context.

What is a brand tone?

If voice is your personality expressed, then tone should be how you express that personality! Whilst your voice stays consistent, tone changes depending on the circumstance and context.

You should use different tones to convey certain attitudes. For example, Nike’s voice and personality remains motivational and encouraging, yet if they are to discuss more serious issues – such as social issues, perhaps – their tone is more serious and subdued, whilst remaining motivational and encouraging. If they are talking about a brand-new product launch, their tone will be lighter and happier, whilst again keeping their motivational and encouraging voice.

Take another example – Cath Kidston’s tone shifts from informative to inspiring, yet the brand has established their consistent voice as whimsical – but not vague, sophisticated – but not elite, and positive – but not excitable. Observe how their tone shifts within their content.

To summarise

A brand personality is who you are and are not. A brand voice is what you say and do not say. A brand tone is how you say it and how you don’t say it!

So for example, LOCALiQ‘s personality is professional, helpful, diverse and dynamic. Our brand voice is therefore smart, informative, effective, and distinct. Our brand tone differs from educational and informative, to inspiring and motivational, to sympathetic and understanding – but whilst our tone fluctuates, as brand tones do, it always conveys our personality and our voice.

We really hope this cleared things up for you – go and grab yourself a cup of tea, and think about creating a content plan that conveys your brand’s personality, voice and tone to your audiences. If you need any help establishing your brand personality, voice or tone, please get in touch today and chat to one of our branding and marketing experts.