How to Become Your Customers’ Favorite Rock Brand
Who’s your favorite band? Right now, one of my favorites is Fitz & the Tantrums. They have a great 60s revival sound, an upbeat tone, dual vocalists, and are just different. When they release a new album I listen to it and when they come to town I’m at the show.
Bands with a unique sound and a genuine personality can really stand out. Their fans will be loyal to them and excited to see what they do next. A band like this can be sure that they’ll continue to succeed.
Content marketing is a lot like the music industry, there’s tons of noise and wannabes. But, marketers who can rise above achieve great success. How can your brand stand out and build a loyal audience? The key is having an authentic voice that engages with your audience.
Voice vs. Tone
You might say, “well, my brand has a fun, light tone. Does that cut it?” No. Having a tone isn’t the same thing as having a voice.
Think of it this way, Candle in the Wind and Crocodile Rock have different tones (sad and happy), but the voice behind each one is still Elton John. He gives the songs a flair and style that no one else could.
Similarly, your brand’s tone will change depending on the topic it’s covering. Social media may be fun and light, while customer service stays serious to show that their issues really matter. But, your voice will always stay the same.
The Human Factor of Your Brand Voice
To create a brand voice your customers will love, you need to understand two important things:
- Your ideal customers
- Your brand’s core values
Let’s take the first one, your ideal customers. For content to be engaging, it can’t be generic. It needs to be fine tuned for your intended reader. You want them to start reading and say, “a-ha! This is what I’m looking for!”
My favorite way to do this is by creating buyer personas (a semi-fictional character that represents a group of ideal customers). HubSpot provides an excellent series of questions for defining your ideal customers. Use these questions to interview past, current, and potential customers. Listen to their input and then create personas based on the trends you see. This will help you to find topics that they’re searching for on Google and provide relevant content in a way that they’ll find appealing.
Next, define your brand’s core values. Why is this so important? There’s a new concept called human-to-human marketing. The idea is that people like interacting with other humans who share similar thoughts, interests, and values. In fact, more and more customers favor brands who align with their values.
A voice that showcases your values can be a huge draw. It makes your brand seem genuine and authentic, instead of a wannabe who’s trying to imitate everyone else. To find your core values, walk yourself through Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle to figure out why you’re in business.
Discovering Your Brand Avatar
A brand avatar is similar to a buyer persona. It’s a semi-fictional representation that helps you to create better content. In this case, a brand avatar is a character who represents your brand and its personality.
Based on your research you know your audience’s likes and dislikes. You also know how your brand’s values align with your audience’s. This allows you to create a brand avatar that you know will appeal to your clients.
For example, your brand may have been born out of a desire to push the limits of technology and design. Its core values include innovation and a desire to help mankind. Your buyer personas include an early adopter and a super nerd. Based on this information, what kind of brand avatar could you create?
I think that an avatar called The Founder would work great here. Think of this brand avatar as a Steve Jobs type. Here are a few key personality traits you might define:
- The Founder is a leader in the field of technology who’s looking years into the future.
- Their ideas are imaginative and at times seem like a sci-fi novel.
- Their communication style is clear, powerful, and simple, but they’re not afraid to dive into the technical details either.
- Their products have a dual motivation of moving humanity forward and helping their customers today.
Based on these traits, you can make very specific decisions about how your brand will communicate ideas (concise, minimal, but with a dramatic flair), the specific terminology it will use (simple with a touch of technical), and the communication methods it will choose (examples, animations, videos).
Using this voice consistently will make customers feel like they’re dealing with a person, instead of a faceless corporate monster. It will help you to create content that is always in-tune with your audience’s needs. When they see that you always produce high-quality content that’s entertaining, and answers their questions, they’ll want to engage with it and share it with the world.
Having a brand voice can make you your customers’ favorite brand.
Ready to Rock?
The Rolling Stones have played over 2,000 concerts and their songs are loved by millions of fans. Their authentic sound and willingness to be true to who they are has earned them this following.
Will your brand be like the Rolling Stones? Will your voice capture your audience’s attention? Will you leave them wanting more? To make this possible, your brand must first have a voice.
About the author
Alex Hughes is a content strategist and the founder of Brand Voice Marketer. Through entertaining video lessons, exercises, and one-on-one coaching he teaches marketers to create a brand voice that resonates with their audience. He also provides a brand voice creation and consulting services to a variety of businesses.