Do As I Say: The Key to Unlocking Your Brand Voice

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Do as I Say
Finding Your Voice in a Crowded World
Do As I Say:
The Key to Unlocking Your Brand Voice
@nancypekala

Do As I Say nancypekala.com @nancypekala
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Choice of words and how
we use them helps to
build a consistent picture
of who we are.
The way we say things is
much more memorable
than what we say.
While a brand has only
one voice, it should alter
its tone based on the
purpose of the message.
Everyone in an
organization needs to
sound like the brand
….yet still be different
depending on the
audience and need.
©2013 Nancy Pekala Do As I Say nancypekala.com

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• Voice is your communication style. (Quirky, Corporate, Personal)
• Voice is your personality. (Smart, Whimsical, Sarcastic)
• Voice is your vibe. (Confident, Competent, Energetic)
• Voice is your brand. (Innovative, Dependable, Contemporary)

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Persona
Playful
Inspiring
Casual
Authoritative
Warm
Professional
Tone
Authentic
Honest
Humble
Personal
Direct
Academic
Witty
Language
Simple
Savvy
Jargon-filled
Fun
Serious
Whimsical
Purpose
Inform
Educate
Engage
Amuse
Motivate
Promote
Entertain
Brand
Voice

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Brand Voice
Southwest Airlines Friendly
FedEx Straighforward
Forrester Authoritative
Yahoo! Personal
Virgin Tongue-in-cheek
W Hotels Surprising, indulgent
Progressive Fun, Whimsical

» Why does your brand exist?
˃ Whom does it serve?
˃ How is it different from every other brand?
˃ What is the single thing about your brand you want every customer to
know?
˃ Why is your brand special? What is it doing differently?
˃ What do you wish would change about how business is done in your
industry?
˃ Why does the world need your industry?
˃ What does your brand stand for?
˃ What is your brand’s point of view?
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“A big part of our
corporate mission is
to encourage active,
involved citizenship.”
“Isn’t it amazing
what we can do
when we all pull
“Not only do we together?”
offer products that
protect our
policyholders and
give them peace of
mind, we also
provide incredible
opportunities to do
more than just work
here.”

» Think of your brand as a person
˃ What does it look like?
˃ What kinds of activities does it like?
˃ What are its dreams?
˃ What is it emotional about?
˃ Who is it friends with?
˃ What kind of clothes does it wear?
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“We sign our work. You may
rarely look at it. But you’ll
always feel it. This is our
signature. And it means
everything.”

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Source: Jennifer Aaker, 1997

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Warm
Your Brand
on
Your Terms
Witty
Confident
Trustworthy
Engaging
Authentic
Clear
Personal

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What PERSONAL looks like
• Treat people as individuals
• Think of communication as one-on-one
interaction
• Use personal language (“How can we
help you?” vs “How can we be of
help?”)
• Talk frequently about people, not
policyholders or products
• Paint a picture with writing by using
emotive quotes and case studies
• Use contractions. It makes writing
easier to read.
• Vary sentence lengths. It keeps
writing interesting.
• Sentences that begin with a
conjunction is conversational and can
make it stand out.
• Use descriptive language that people
can relate to.
• Use adjectives that are specific.
What ATTUNED looks like
• Use active language
• Craft sentences with active
subjects
• Writing should be positive. Copy
is more engaging if it describes
something that is happening
rather than something that isn’t.
• Incorporate expressions of
empathy and feelings

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What STRAIGHTFORWARD
looks like
• Use clear and simple language
• Opt for short words over longer
ones
• Avoid technical jargon
• Refrain from using abbreviations
or acronyms
What TRUSTED looks like
• Write in an authentic voice. Be
honest and don’t shy away from
writing about difficult subjects.
• Express empathy in writing.
Remember there’s a human
being on the other end of your
communication.
• Be consistent.

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» The right tone for the right audience
» The right tone for the right
message
» The right tone for the right
channel
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» Warm but not gushing
» Helpful but not cloying
» Straightforward but not curt
» Honest but not confessional
» Playful but not zany
» Witty but not sarcastic
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Brand Voice
Editorial Social Promotional Informational
• Blog posts
• News stories
• Feature stories
• White Papers
• Newsletter
articles
• Social media
channels
• Blog
• Videos
• Annual Report
• Infographics
• Employee
communications
• Customer service
documents
• Transactional
documents
• Business emails
• Press release
• Ads
• Direct mail
• Marketing
emails
• Videos
Journalistic Focus Conversational Focus Marketing Focus Communications Focus

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Formal Personal
• Annual Report
• Press Release
• Forms/Invoices
• Blog Posts
• Social media
• Internal
communications
• News articles
• Feature articles
• White papers
• Newsletters
• Business emails
• Infographics
• Ads
• Brochures
• Marketing emails
• Video
Straightforward
Direct
Formal
Honest
Trustworthy
Factual Personal
Conversational
Engaging
Informal
Promotional

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Thrillist unleashes its funny,
“bro” vibe on Facebook.

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“Living your dream is always in
season. “

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» Abbreviations
» Acronyms
» Addresses
» Ampersands
» Bullet points
» Capitalization
» Colons/Semicolons
» Dates
» Figures/Tables legends
» Quotation marks
» Headings and titles
» Initials
» Exclamation marks
» Italics
» Titles (of individuals)
» Hyphenation
» Numbers
» References
» Spacing
» Technical terminology
» URLs 46

» Honest
» Reliable
» Competent
» Dependable
» Customer-focused
» Helpful
» Valuable
» Positive
» Benefits
» Empathetic
» Innovative
» Creative
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What words and phrases best map to your organization’s values?
Customer-focused
» Diverse
» Warm
» Personable
» Trustworthy
» Exceptional Service
» Supportive
» Integrity
» Accountability
» Stable
» Security
» Caring
» Superior performance
» Specialized expertise
» Financial strength
» Quality
» Teamwork
» Winning spirit
» Respect
» Thought leadership
» Consistency
» Safety
» Commitment
» Empowerment

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“We’re a business school
designed to be among the
best in the world. And
determined to be the best
for the world.”

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“Timid doesn’t play well here.
We believe that business, by
embracing the bigger picture,
has the power to change the
world in a positive way.”

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Sharpie on Instagram:
Creative and Fun!

Taco Bell rules on Twitter with
its weird but witty tweets.
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1. Discover what makes people engage
a) Use listening and monitoring to cull real-time engagement insights
b) Conduct a voice audit
c) Identify and analyze engagement of key influencers and brand advocates
d) Measure engagement with real-time analytics
e) Analyze search behavior
2. Develop a roadmap for a shareable voice
a) Create workable content style guidelines
b) Conduct voice training
c) Map messaging to story pillars
3. Monitor and measure
a) Define analytics to measure voice impact
b) Define positive measureable outcomes and actions (sales, reach, market share,
perception)
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Source: Ketchum Digital

» Brand voice packs a powerful punch. The way you talk to people impacts
the bottom line.
» Voice comes from within. Everyone in the organization owns the voice.
» Voice is present in every niche of the company---from help centers to the
CEO’s personality to the corporate website.
» Brand voice is unlocked, not learned; discovered, not
concocted.
» BE the voice. Speak the way you write.
» Your brand voice should always sound like yourself.
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» Your brand voice is unique. It should be difficult to replicate.
» Your brand voice should be consistent across all channels but the
tone should match the purpose of the content and channel.
» Your brand voice should be flexible and grow as your brand
evolves.
» Content should be written with the end user in mind.
» Writing should reflect your brand’s values.
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» Brand voice is an art, not a science. Resist the
temptation to regiment a brand’s language.
» Train staff to recognize when writing is adhering
to the brand’s values.
» Encourage writers to put their own personality
into their writing. Refrain from stifling writers’
own unique voices.
» Do allow writers flexibility to express
themselves by writing in the voice of the brand.
» Don’t adopt a content-by-committee approach
to writing. Good writing will get watered down
and the writer’s original thoughts lost. The
brand voice will invariably be sunk.
» Do change your tone---but not the voice---
when speaking to different audiences.
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“If you try to
regiment a
brand’s
language
you’re
stultifying its
development.”
John Simmons, Brand Language
Evangelist and Author

Do As I Say nancypekala.com @nancypekala
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Thanks! Keep the
Conversation Going!
» Twitter:
@NancyPekala
» Website:
nancypekala.com
» Email:
nancypekala@gmail.com

Do As I Say: The Key to Unlocking Your Brand Voice

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