What does your brand voice say about your values? When I talk about voice, as a voice over talent, I mean the actual audible voice in your videos and radio spots. It also includes digital spots, such as when people log in to your online service or when they call your office and get an on-hold message. Every voice they hear in association with your brand should speak to your values and how you want to interact with the world. Don’t miss this important opportunity to brand your company with a voice that is totally you.
How Do You Know What Your Brand Values Are?
Okay, so if you’re now asking yourself, how do I know what my brand values even are, don’t fret. It’s probably not as out of reach as you think it is. If you’ve done the work to brand your organization already, with a logo, website or other brand assets, you’re probably already on the road to knowing your brand values, even if you haven’t sat down and spelling them out yet. Many brand designers and marketing companies will actually lay out what they sought to convey with the choices they made to create your brand. In those descriptions, you are likely to find your values. Take a moment to write those down. If you don’t have a list as such, here are a few other ways to find your brand values.
The Words You Already Use
- Do you have a slogan or tagline? Maybe a mission statement or vision statement? Even if they aren’t formally codified somewhere, there are probably words and phrases that you return to again and again, when you talk about what your organization does. Check the last few sales or connection emails you sent. What are the value words that pop out?
The Colors You Love
- If you’ve created a brand scheme already, then this part is easy. What do the colors on your website and in your logo say about your brand? What do the main colors convey about who you are? How do they come together to make a statement about how you see your work and the world around you?
The Themes You’re Drawn To
- Another way to think about what your brand values are is to consider what other brands your brand can relate to and who you want to emulate. What big names or recognizable brands are doing the kind of work you want to be doing? They may not be in the same industry, necessarily, but may have the same kind of outlook or perspective that you do. Maybe they speak the same language, serve the same people, or just position themselves the way you want to. What are their brand values? They may be yours as well.
Connecting Your Brand Values For Your Brand Voice
Once you have established a list of three to five values that really sum up your brand, you’ll need to connect those to the voice you use to convey your message in audible communications. Using a voice that speaks to those values has a few different aspects.
Target Audience
- First, the voice you employ should be one that your target audience can relate to. The voice doesn’t necessarily need to sound LIKE them, although that can often help, but it should certainly be a voice that they feel like they can trust and are familiar with. It should sound like their friend, their advocate, or their confidante.
Examples: Millennial moms are a perfect example of this. Millennial moms tend to hold the purse strings in their households, and they tend to buy based on the recommendations of their peers and friends. If that’s your target audience, try employing another millennial mom voice, who can share their values of care for the next generation.
Authority
- Second, when it comes to your brand values, your brand voice needs to sound like they have a handle on those values. They should instantly sound like they share those values and are familiar with how to live those values out in everyday life. They should sound like an authority on those values, and not like someone just trying to live them.
Examples: When it comes to authority, it’s about experience. You want your voice to sound like they know what they mean. So if your brand is all about hope, and building a positive tomorrow, the voice has to reflect a certain level of upbeatness. It doesn’t need to sound chipper, but it does need to sound like it knows, and breathes, optimism. A monotone or morose voice isn’t going to cut it.
Consistency
- When you start getting serious about your brand voice, and whether it reflects the tone you require for your brand, don’t overlook the importance of consistency. When you record a new video for your customers or launch a new ad series, you want to know that that voice is still going to convey the message, even in its tone, that you need for your brand. This can mean hiring a professional voice talent. Voice over actors can bring that level of consistency that you can rely on so that everytime you record something new, it’s spot on.
Examples: If one day your brand voice sounds smooth and strong, and the next day it sounds gruff and tired, you may not always be conveying the message you intended everytime. For voice talent professionals, this means taking care of their voice and ensuring seamless transitions from one spot to the next.
What Does Your Sonic Brand Say About You?
Beyond the voice, have you considered the overall sonic brand associated with your organization? We’ve talked about sonic branding before, but it’s good to stop here and ponder whether it is reflecting the tone and message that you want to be portraying. Now that you have your values figured out, and the kind of voice needed for those values, you can think about all the other sounds that are associated with your brand. Are they upbeat and hopeful? Are they serious and determined?
Why Values Matter
At the end of the day, why does this exercise even matter for your brand? Values matter because in many ways, they are the driving force of your brand. They keep you on track when things grow complicated or seem muddled. They help you stay at the helm of your organization and steer with confidence in the direction you are trying to go.
But they also matter to your customers or clients, the people you are trying to serve. Consumers, and especially millennials, want to know that the organizations they are working with align with their own personal values. In an age of so many choices, one of the best ways to connect with your customer base is to ensure that you share the same values. And one of the best ways to do this is to employ words and sounds that convey those values organically. So often, it’s about showing, rather than telling. Living it out, rather than just talking about it. And paying attention to the details, such as your brand voice, is another way to live out those values in everything you do.
If you’re interested in learning more about Sonic Branding, and how a brand voice can help your brand values stand out, I would recommend checking out Jodi Krangle‘s podcast, AUDIO BRANDING: The Hidden Gem of Marketing and blog. She’s a fellow voice talent who is incredible at her job, but also loves talking about this topic in particular. So feel free to take a deep dive into this easily overlooked aspect of business.
