How to master a consistent brand voice on social media

Hello, hello. Welcome to the place for offbeat health professionals who have bravely swapped their health care hats for non clinical creative caps. I'm Caitlin, a psychologist turned copywriter, and this is Healers with Hustles.

How to keep your brand voice consistent on social media? That's a question I get quite a bit. Particularly for brands who have teams working for them because if each team member writes in a different voice, well, it's, you know, it's not that great. But really there's a little bit of a misconception I would say.

So brand voice, yes, it needs to be consistent, but that doesn't mean the tone needs to be the same. So the tone can change depending on topic or channel

In different contexts or in different, different people, you might speak slightly differently and that's okay.

It's still you, it's still your brand voice But there are elements that are similar all the way through. And so when I help brands document their voice, it's really important for people to have a think about what type of words they use.

So the most important thing is for a brand to document its voice, and that's what I help people do. And so, it's important to remember that brand voice is made up of three things. So the words we use, the tone of our voice, and then the rhythm of our writing. And so tone is generally the one that changes via topic and channel.

So the words you use, it's important to think about, like, do you use really complex words? Do you use plain English? Do you use made up words? Do you have special brandisms or words that you constantly want to repeat because it's part of your messaging? And then tone, how does that change? Like how do you want your audience to feel?

What topics do you talk about and what tone or what feeling do you want to convey when you talk about those topics? And even the platform maybe on social media a bit more silly a bit more fun but on LinkedIn you you're still fun, but maybe you like wear a little blazer with some funky earrings So it's still fun, but it's a little bit more maybe dressed up And then of course the rhythm or the pacing of your writing.

Do you speak in fragmented sentences. Do you have really long, flowing, winding sentences that make the reader feel quite relaxed. Or maybe it's really complex sentences to show the audience that you know what you're talking about. So it's really important to think of those three things and document them.

Another thing you can also, if you're a confused about how tone can change. You can think a bit about brand voice and imagine that as the season. and then on the day to day is the weather. So you can also imagine brand voice a little bit like the season and the tone is like the weather on that day.

So your brand voice is the same but then on the day to day it might fluctuate a bit but it still makes sense in the context of the season you're in. Unless you're in Melbourne where there's four seasons in one day. But that's alright, we'll just forget about Melbourne. And then another thing that's important or I like to help people with is, create a persona just for the brand voice, which is separate from the personality.

But it's just for the brand voice. So for instance, my brand voice persona is like a work best friend. so someone that knows what they're talking about, but at the same time, they're really friendly and approachable and a little bit silly and they like to have fun.

Right. And so when I write my content. I think about that. I think is, is this what you would, I would say to my work best friend. And so that might change depending on the topic. So sometimes maybe I'm talking to my work best friend in a business meeting. And so I'd still be myself, but maybe I'd be a bit more dressed up and that might be like on LinkedIn.

Right. And then on Instagram, maybe that's like when we've gone to. the bar or something on a Friday afternoon. I might be a bit more silly, a bit more, let my hair down a bit, but it wouldn't be like 10 drinks in because that would, that's not my voice, but it might be like after one drink. And so it's about having that parameter and then documenting that.

And the voice persona could be anything. Like it could be a mentor, or it could be a, like, your fun uncle who likes to, Go axe throwing on the weekend or something like that. It could be anything, but it's just so your team has a visual picture of what the voice is and it just helps people get into character and be able to write from that place.

So I've given you a heap of information, but really the important thing is, yeah, tone can change depending on the topic or the context, but your brand voice really should be the one that's consistent overall. document your voice, so the words you use, the tone, how that changes, and then how you want the rhythm or the flow of your writing to feel.

Another thing is, as I said, to create a persona of your brand voice. So think of a character, like what is the character, and document that. But I hope that helps. If you have any follow up questions, please let me know.

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