It’s said that the mind works by ear. Just as important as what you say is the way that you say it. So it rings in the ear, and sticks in the mind.
We’re talking about the power of choosing the right words. And speaking them in a relevant tone of voice for the intended audience. In an over communicated society, all of this is crucial in driving brand performance. Allow us to explain exactly what we mean.
All brands are on a constant journey of development: from strategy to positioning, and customer experience to customer action. Brand voice is key in every leg of that journey, not just at the start and not just at the point of delivery.
From day one, your brand positioning will define how your brand is remembered, while your messaging is how you’ll build on it. Positioning is the foundation that your messaging stands proudly on. They’re both as important as each other.
Successfully communicating your brand’s message relies on a few fundamentals, starting with knowing your audience: how they talk themselves, what motivates them, and how what you’re offering fits into their lives.
Only when you fully understand each of these points can you deliver your brand messages in a way that will ‘stick’.
Let’s break them down one by one.
Say you’re selling holidays to Thailand to a target audience of hardworking twenty-somethings. They’re launching into their careers but still a long way off reaching their salary earning potential or settling down to have a family. Therefore, they are time rich but financially poor (relatively speaking).
Taking all that into account, there’s no point in saying something as dry and predictable as ‘jet away to exotic Thailand’. Even placed with an image of an idyllic sun-kissed beach, it’s totally ignorable.
This audience is actually a million times more likely to respond to something fun and motivational. Something like Air Asia’s famous ‘Cheap enough to say, Phuket I’ll go’. It’s a message that understands affordability is as important as their desire to get away – while they have the chance. When this ad ran, it didn’t even need an image to support its message.
Underlining all of the above is the fundamental need for clarity. People don’t tend to go looking for marketing messages for their own entertainment. Reserving a place at their table relies absolutely on being understood – and in an instant. Otherwise they’ll just move on, leaving you to rue how you wasted the time, budget and opportunity by being ambiguous.
Another key thing to think about is where your messages will appear. Tonally, they should be consistent, but different media placements and objectives require different approaches to how they’re delivered.
A roadside billboard has a totally different purpose to a paid media story on Instagram. With that in mind, the words you choose should be tailored to each placement, if you’re going to get the response you want from either. And it’s not just about the words themselves, but also the number of them.
As a rule of thumb, messaging on a billboard should have no more than 15 words in total – with the fewer the better in terms of being read and understood. Unless your product or service is directly available in close proximity to the billboard, then this medium performs best for brand and campaign awareness.
While a story on Instagram needs to be equally economical with its wordcount, the call to action at the bottom of the screen makes it ideal for encouraging a transaction. The viewer can respond straight away and closing the sale is a matter of a few effortless clicks.
When we talk about brand performance, we’re taking about how all this fits together and works towards achieving what you want from your brand. It’s about building momentum by being in the right places, doing and saying the right things to get your audience onside and engaged in what you do. The words you choose play a huge role in fuelling that energy.
Want to talk words with us? Mastering the power of voice is just one of the ways we can help you drive brand performance.