A brand’s voice demonstrates the personality it is cultivating through words. When a new company first launches, its leaders must be clear on its mission, vision, purpose, values and target audience to understand what kind of tone and language their marketing materials should use to most effectively capture the notice of their ideal customers. Depending on which channels a brand is using to connect with their customers, the tone of its voice may be friendly and conversational or more formal and professional.
Whether a new business is a startup that hopes to relay a sense of fun, youthful momentum or a more traditional type of company that relies on conventional communication methods and language to reach consumers, establishing a strong brand voice is a major piece of any successful branding strategy. Here, members of Forbes Agency Council explore what leaders of newly launched companies can do to ensure they create and cultivate a strong brand voice right from the start.
Forbes Agency Council members share tips to help new companies cultivate a strong brand voice from the start.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Differentiate Through Powerful Storytelling
We take our clients through a very strategic discovery process to build key messaging that becomes the backbone of all we do. We audit the competition and the PR landscape in their industry and truly work to differentiate them through powerful storytelling. Without this ramp-up period, no campaign will be successful. We educate our clients on the importance of dedicating time and budget to this. - Michelle Mekky, Mekky Media Relations, Inc.
2. Tweak Details To Sound Bigger And More Established
When I founded my agency (in my basement), we had to sound and seem bigger to be immediately viewed as an established brand. It began with conveying our story through the lens of our total experience. It also entailed adding freelancers to our voicemail system and letterhead (remember those!), listing our basement office as “Floor B” and adding “Associates” to our name, which at the time was my dog. - Jeff Lambert, Lambert & Co.
3. Tie Brand Voice Into The Overall Creative Direction
Tying the brand voice into the overall creative direction of the project helps the brand have more impact when pushing it out into the world for the first time. We think of copy and content as acting in concert with the overall design, so keeping that in mind while building it out is key. - Lee Salisbury, UnitOneNine
4. Clearly Share The Organization’s ‘Three Keys’
Clearly share the organization’s purpose, shared values and story. We call these your “three keys.” When your message is clear to all, you have the ability to make stronger emotional connections and build on those relationships. That will support the building of an aligned team and clients alike. - Fran Biderman-Gross, Advantages
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5. Convey The Feeling You Want Clients To Have
When we rebranded our communications agency for its 20th year, we did so in the midst of the pandemic. Because our face-to-face client interactions were minimal, we knew that our brand voice had to carry the voice of our team. We asked ourselves, “How do we want our clients to feel when they hear our voice?” Our brand voice took off from there with the feeling we wanted to convey. - Dave Oury, Medical Leverage
6. Find Ways For Leaders To Use The Brand’s Language
When a young organization is defining its brand, find ways for leaders (and not just the CEO) to use language, tone and phrases that align with the brand voice. Doing so can weave culture into customers’ experiences, resulting in a cohesive whole. It produces a roadmap for employees to follow and links brand to culture, which is a must if they are going to scale a young company and stay true to who they were initially. - Jason Cieslak, Siegel+Gale
7. Communicate The ‘Why’ Without Holding Back
You won’t have the final brand voice right from the start. It needs a launch to generate key learnings that are crucial for tweaking and adapting to then become a strong brand voice. Leaders who are looking to come in strong need to communicate the “why” without holding back. Explain in the most authentic way why this brand mission was created instead of letting a newborn brand speak for you. - Melanie Marten, The Coup
8. Share Your Story
When launching a brand, make sure you are not only educating people about the product but also about the person(s) behind the product. People want to know and feel a personal connection with companies these days. Upon launch, make sure you have your PR in gear, content ready, social platforms lined up, media buys targeted and an overall strategy ready for what’s to come. - Zack Teperman, ZTPR
9. Initiate And Leverage A Customer Advisory Board
Initiate a customer advisory board to engage members on planned company messaging, marketing campaigns, promotions and more. Furthermore, leverage your strong CAB members as advocates through case studies, videos, testimonials, quotes, press releases and so forth. After all, your CAB members are likely the biggest supporters of your company and products—use their success to support your brand. - Eyal Danon, Ignite Advisory Group
10. Ask Customers And Employees Why They Love Your Brand
To help develop an authentic brand voice, ask your customers and employees why they love your brand. Once that’s established, evangelize the heck out of it across all channels (owned, earned, paid) and ensure all departments—not just marketing—understand the brand voice and use it as a guide for decisions and outputs. After all, scaling revenue wins quarters, but a strong brand wins categories. - Lindsey Groepper, BLASTmedia
11. Create Foundational Messaging And A Brand Platform
It’s extremely important to create foundational messaging and a brand platform from the outset. That way, everyone at the company is aligned about how to represent your brand, and collateral such as the website, sell sheets and content marketing will contain consistent and impactful messaging. - Jodi Amendola, Amendola Communications
12. Have A Clear Mission, Vision, Values And Brand Story
Have a clear mission, vision, values and brand story from the start. Know your target consumer and how they’d like to be engaged and cultivate that audience from the very beginning. A strong brand voice is based on connections and knowing where your brand will be in five years. Drive your story from the start, and you’ll cultivate a strong brand voice. - Leigh-Anne Anderson, Anderson-PR
13. Be Authentic, Personal And Unique
Leaders can build a strong brand voice by being authentic. Be sure to spend time determining your company’s own unique value proposition, mission and vision, and then use those elements to build your authentic brand. Making your brand personal and unique will help you stand out from your competition, especially as you are looking to grow a new company. - Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions
14. Speak Truth To Your Brand
Be who you say you are. Establish a voice consistent with your core brand values. No brand can “fake it until you make it” for very long today. Consumers are cynical. Employees are skeptical. Both are empowered to make or break your brand. Authenticity is essential. - Stephen Rosa, (add)ventures
15. Show Customers Your Behind-The-Scenes Story
Be real, and don’t be afraid to let your customers know your story. You can create raw, behind-the-scenes videos to post on social media with your smartphone that show how dedicated and passionate you are. This will create a brand voice that is authentic, and customers won’t see you as just another faceless corporation. Authenticity is rare, and having it will set you apart. - Jason Hall, FiveChannels Marketing
16. Stay Consistent Across All Channels
Recognize that there are some situations that require a different tone, but keep the overall voice similar, whether it’s in written content on your website or in social media posts. - Hannah Trivette, NUVEW Web Solutions
