Finding your voice

You have an impressive marketing programme which matches clear corporate objectives; you are active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; you are in regular contact with journalists; and you run numerous stakeholder events every year. But have you lost your voice?

Amidst all the distractions of managing a multi-disciplinary communications programme, it’s essential to hold on to that distinctive element that defines your business and distinguishes you from the rest. You need your audience to know that it’s you speaking and not one of your competitors.

Along with a strong visual corporate identity, every company and organisation needs a corporate voice – a consistent underlying persona that connects with your stakeholders. Mood or tone may need to change depending on the context, but the personality your organisation projects needs to be coherent, and appropriate for your brand. If you have put in the work on your corporate profile, so that you know who you are and what you are trying to achieve, don’t let the message get lost in translation.

Different channels demand different approaches and often different teams will be writing for different platforms. Some people have a natural gift for pithy, attention-grabbing posts perfect for social media. Think Donald Trump. Whatever you think of what he writes, he can certainly get his message across in 140 characters! But you wouldn’t ask someone like that to write a technical article for an engineering audience. Press releases for a consumer audience require a lighter touch than B2B, television ads have to compete for attention in a very crowded space. Whatever the medium, however, your communications need to be convincing, consistent and true to the values of your business.

Just as a corporate identity needs to be safeguarded so too does a corporate voice. The equivalent of brand guidelines in this case is to have consistency in the sign-off process for all PR and marketing communications. Every press release, article, advert, leaflet and brochure should be seen by one individual acting as the guardian of the brand’s voice. Only by seeing everything is it possible to spot minor inconsistencies or major departures. The brand guardian does not need to have the final say-so on what gets published, although often the Marketing Director or CEO will take this role, but they do need to understand the subtleties of the brand.

Policing an organisation’s voice on social media is a much harder task. Posts and responses tend to be ‘in the moment’ and are a powerful way for an organisation to use its voice. But it’s essential to have a clear policy in place as to who can represent the company and what they can talk about.  Drawing up a social media plan can avoid some of the pitfalls awaiting the over-enthusiastic tweeter. Just as you wouldn’t pick up the phone to a journalist without talking to your PR team, don’t be tempted to take a scattergun approach to social media.

Every brand has a personality and your marketing and PR activity give it a voice. Make sure yours is a true reflection of your corporate identity.

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