Creating a Brand Voice that Stands Out

By realtor.com

Having a brand that stands out and can stand the test of time is crucial. Developing a voice is one of the most important ways to establish your brand’s presence.

What is a brand voice, anyway? According to the marketing experts at Hootsuite, [blog.hootsuite.com/brandvoice/#What_is_a_brand_voice] your brand voice refers to the way your brand showcases itself through words. Your brand voice shares your brand’s perspective and allows its values to shine through, so when consumers interact with your brand, they can assess whether it resonates with their goals, motivations, and beliefs. This is where you lay the foundation for how your brand will be perceived and interacted with.

For a more concrete example, take a look at how Google advises [developers.google.com/style/tone] its developers to write their complex, technical documents using their brand voice. They emphasize things like “don’t try to be super-entertaining, but also don’t aim for super-dry” and to “aim for a conversational tone rather than a formal one.” Google emphasizes its brand voice as being accessible to the wide variety of global readers who may use this document, emphasizing its mission statement: [www.google.com/ search/howsearchworks/our-approach/] “[Our] mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

When you envision your brand voice, it’s important to picture how it can shine through in the words you use to create content representing every aspect of your brand. Your brand voice is seen in places like:

• Your tagline

• Your posts on social media

• Your marketing emails

• Your blog posts

• Your mailers

It doesn’t stop there. Basically, anywhere people can read what your brand is saying is an opportunity for them to “hear” your brand’s voice. Having a specific brand voice lets you be consistent in your messaging, no matter where it’s seen, or the format used. Anyone reading content from your brand will familiarize themselves with your consistent brand voice and grow more familiar and trusting towards your brand overall.

Having this brand recognition and trust established before you even meet potential clients is what can help catapult you to success.

How do you establish your brand voice?

Defining what a brand voice is made up of is easy, but defining your brand’s distinct voice takes a little more consideration. Start by gathering inspiration from any and all sources, doing things like:

• Reading blogs in real estate and non-real estate industries

• Listening to podcasts to get narrative inspiration

• Reading blogs about how marketing experts create a brand voice

• Scrolling through static, non-video posts on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or even Pinterest

The goal is to start getting an idea of brand voices you like and ones you absolutely loathe. Your inspiration-sourcing exercise provides this contrast and will give you a clearer starting point for the direction to take your brand’s voice in. Once you start to get a good idea of the brand voices you think you want to emulate, start noting the similarities between them.

What exactly is it that draws you to these voices? Note three key traits across each example that stand out most to you. Are they educational? Funny? Relatable? Authoritative? Serious? There are plenty of adjectives to consider, and once you jot them down on paper, you can start seeing which of these characteristics relate to the ethos and mission of your overall brand.

For example, if you’re in the luxury real estate business, maybe a humorous brand voice isn’t the right fit to draw in the right clientele. But a more authentic, slightly humorous brand voice can resonate greatly if you’re trying to tap into younger generations of homebuyers.

When in doubt, read the room.

This is the first of a two-part series on brand voice, part two will be published in the July/August 2024 issue of OC REALTOR® Magazine.