25: Part 2: The 9 Types of Brand Voice

In the second part of this series, I am diving into teaching about the 9 types of brand voice, the characteristics and differences between them, and how they help to create a solid brand identity. We will also look at real-life examples of brands that are using these voices.

A solid brand voice and messaging strategy is one of the best gifts you could ever give your business. Not only does it make your marketing and copywriting so much easier, but it also gives you the confidence to show up and speak authentically about what makes you unique to everyone else out there (aka your secret sauce).

If you would like to book an absolutely-free-no-strings-attached chemistry call to find out what you can do to create a magnetic brand voice, please click here. I'd love to meet you: https://hello.dubsado.com/public/appointment-scheduler/62cdc47142311c7c703d5c0a/schedule

With love, 
Lira xo

Come say hi on Instagram @merakimessaging or take a peek at my website for more information on our website copywriting, sales funnels, business energetics coaching programs (and so much more): https://merakimessaging.com

Click here to book your free clarity call anytime!

Just feel like hanging out?

Come say hi to me on Instagram @merakimessaging or take a peek at my website for more information on our website copywriting, sales funnels, business energetics coaching programs (and so much more): https://merakimessaging.com/

Click here to book your free clarity call anytime!

Transcript

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The marketing space in 2024 is, well, noisy. Noisy is a word that comes to mind, but it is chaotic. It is busy. It is full of mass produced copy generated by none other than Chachibiti, sometimes even Gemini, other AI bots. It is busy to say the least, right? That your secret power and your secret weapon In this day and age is really having an authentic and a unique brand voice. And this is what we dived into last week. We dived into the three aspects or the three pillars that make up your brand voice. That's your tone, your tempo, and your terminology. And this week we are diving into the nine types of brand voice. And this is something that I get so excited about because being a book writer, it is very much about character development. Right. And it's something that you can really get into. You can start to really embody your brand when you know how your brand speaks, how your brand moves, how it shows up in the world, what makes it remarkably different. And the great thing is, is we can map it all out. So I hope that you enjoy. Oh, So to start with what is a brand voice? And it drives me insane because sometimes there's such a misconception about it in the industry. It becomes quite a, fluffy term, a creative term. It seems like something that's you pull out of thin air and it's really not your brand voice is very much your signature. It is like a thumbprint. It is unique only to you. And it's based on where you've come, come from in life, everything that you've accumulated. And the best thing about it is you can measure it, you can track it, and it is based on market research, So it's figuring out the gap in the markets, how you can bridge that gap and how you can do it in an authentic way. So your brand voice is very much about, creating this identity that is relatable, right? So when you write something, someone should be able to read and know that that is you speaking without having to see an image or see any of your branding or anything like that. They just know that this is how this person speaks. So it's about building that identity through the use of words. And when you have a magnetic brand voice that is compelling, it's captivating. That is the one thing that helps people to never forget you, right? It doesn't matter what you're selling. Ultimately, it's the feeling that you leave behind. There are nine types of brain voice, right? So when people say that, like, Oh, my voice is fun or it's playful or it's like, you know, energetic, that that's not a brand voice. That is an adjective to describe the way that you speak, right? But there are essentially nine different types of voice, and it'll help you actually measure where you need to be on the terminology and the cadence level. Okay. So we have voices of authority, we have voices of accessibility and we have voices of outlook. So voices of authority are seen as authority or experts within a particular topic. They appeal in industries that deal with complex or very overwhelming information. And these people oftentimes want the answers and these brands are there to give them answers. So this authority can manifest in many different ways. And we're going to get into that just now. Then we've got the Voices of Accessibility. These voices are very much there to instill knowledge by positioning themselves ahead of or above the reader. So Voices of Accessibility get down to the reader's level. They are effective in marketing where the audience lacks confidence and wants to have someone in their corner. So these voices are there to take what's difficult and break it down for people, right? And then you have a Voice of Outlook. So these voices I'm not identified by how the audience views them, but rather how they view the world. Okay. So we're going to get into a couple of examples now. and just to be clear, there are 3 types of each of these voices. So to start with the voices of authority, we have the interpreter. We have the mother and then we have the goddess. So the interpreter takes complex topics and breaks them down so they are simple to understand. And oftentimes the tone is empathetic. The tempo is very short and the terminology is very basic. So this writing needs to be very, very easy to understand. And you're looking at like a grade three to grade four level here. So these brands often include healthcare brands, customer service, and educational brands. So examples of this are national geographic, apple support, Amazon customer service, or clinics, so they take something that is normally quite complicated and they make it easy for us that we can buy without having to break it down for ourselves. Then we've got the mother. This voice says, I've been where you are, have made all the mistakes. I don't want you to make the same mistakes and I'm here for you. So the tone is very cautionary, yet empathetic. The tempos medium and the terminology is basic, and this is often used by bloggers and the health relationship and money making spaces, and they use their past mistakes and experiences as content to build trust. So for example, there is a. Beautiful slogan by a farmer's insurance. And it says, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. So it's that type of feeling in the voice. So examples of this would be weight watches,, nerd wallets, or Sherry or more, right? So anything that's like relationship advice. Okay. Then we've got the goddess. So the voice of the goddess is an authority who shows little vulnerability, but rather gives content in a 10 commandments kind of way. This voice is very effective as long as you have the credentials to back up your claims, right? So be like establishing yourself as an expert in your field is very, very important. Yeah. The tone is often quite serious and the tempo is longer and the vocab is more advanced. So this you can aim to go towards like a grade eight, sometimes even a grade 12 level. Um, and like the interpreter or the parent, they aren't trying to make the complex simple. In fact, what they teach remains complex on purpose. So they don't give you the translation. They simply give you the rules to follow. So brands this would be like Rolex, Chanel or the American Medical Association. Then we've got Voices of Accessibility. So we've got the friend at the bar or the friend at the juice bar as I call her, the investigator. And then we've got the whimsical mystique. So the friend at the bar, this is one of the easiest and most effective voices to use in your copy. You would basically speak as if you were talking to a friend. So it comes across as friendly, it's open, it's down to earth, and it's got that kind of feel of like, Hey. Here's a cool thing I want to share with you. I know you like these kinds of things or Hey, let me give you this type of advice because like we've been together for a really long time and I can just be open and honest with you with this voice. You don't have to work so much as your copy because it's just how you talk naturally. So the tone is very casual and the cadence is short to medium and the vocab is very basic. So examples of these brands would be Joe Rogan, M& Ms and Old Spice. Then we've got the investigator. So this is very similar to the, the mother, the parental authority voice, but instead of I've learned this lesson, this voice says I'm in the middle of learning this lesson and I want you to watch as I go, like you're experiencing this with me in real time. This voice is all about experimentation. So the tone is curious, the cadence can vary, and the vocab is very basic. It's about interviewing experts, doing research and seeing where you land. So a great brand example of this would be lays. They are always innovating. They are always trying out new flavors. they actually have 204 of them to be exact, and some are amazing. Some are a little bit crap, but they put it out there and then they ask for feedback, right? So other brands that are the investigator would be like GoPro and like, or skittles or even do a lingo. Okay, then we've got the whimsical mystique. So, this last type of voice is the most pervasive in the self help and life coaching field. So this tone is very gentle, the cadence is slow, and the vocab is unlike any other voice. It's very like, like it says, whimsical, like it's dreamy. It's soft. It's very poetic. So these can be seen as the,, find your purpose sites, which are written, beside a bubbling brook. You know, you're just sitting in nature and you're just inspiring. the voice is powerful and allowing space for self connection and deep in exploration. And this voice basically speaks from the heart and offers personal experiences and struggles, so examples of this would be calm, the meditation app, it would be Deepak Chura Center. it would be Sahara Rose's Higher Self Institute, Mindvalley, or even Oprah Winfrey. Okay, now voices of outlook. So we have the underdog, we have the optimistic dreamer, and we have the rebel. The underdog. In contrast to the authoritative voice, the underdog says, I don't know anything about anything, so let's work this out together. It's sometimes conveyed with a sense of underlying tragedy that it can sometimes be humorous to read. And this is often where those little gold nuggets of great advice lie. So these voices will highlight big mistakes that they've made in life and admit that they haven't got it figured out yet. So this would be like Oakley, the milk brand would be Donna shave club. They take themselves and they poke fun at themselves a little bit. This it's quite a fun brand to look at. Then you have the optimistic dreamer, which is the opposite to the downtrodden or the underdog. So this is someone that gives you that boost of sunshine every time you read her stuff. So Marie Folio, Jenna Kutcher, they are great examples of this. Like Marie's book, Everything is Figureoutable. She just makes you feel good, right? And it doesn't matter what she's writing. even when they talk about heavy topics like death, there's an underlying message that it's going to be okay. It's, it's, everything's going to work out. So this tone is often very happy and fun. The cadence can either be in short energetic bursts or longer. And the vocab varies, right? It can be a little bit more difficult to read, but also very simple to read. So it can be both. And the key is in the very happy and optimistic time. All right. Then we have the rebel., So this is basically just how it sounds. This is the, I don't want any more status quo. I'm moving against everything that is official. the current advice is wrong. the tone is very snarky and the cadence is very short and the vocab can once again, vary. So these blogs are often very fun to read because they speak to the collective frustrations of the masses. And they often sympathize with people who have followed their current advice and failed. So a great example of this would be Ash Ambridge is the middle finger project. And she says, because we're in the business of shunning cliche, overused language, business practices, and lifestyle choices in favor of originality, happiness, and doing what feels good for you. Also, no rules, just right. So these voices are very much like, it's, it's kind of like that slack feel, right? It's like, we're not doing what everyone else is doing. We are doing something differently and this is what it looks like. And then based on which voice you are, you can measure that. So you can see voices of authority, voices of accessibility and voices of outlook and where they fall on the scale. So you can see whether or not your cadence needs to be longer or shorter and how advanced your vocab needs to be. So once you've picked out your voice and which one aligns with you and feels more natural for you, it's very easy to see whether or not your copy is in alignment with the brand or not. So another thing that we need to look at when creating the brand voice is the customer voice,? So this is the collective voice of all your customers. So it composes of their opinions, their needs, their ones, their frustrations, and this is a type of research that you can do through review surveys. You can monitor their pages on social media. Through what's happening in your DMS, even through your market research now, so it really shows how your customer perceived your brand, your products or your service. And it's really about what they say about you at the dinner table. So your brand voice is how you as the business owner would introduce yourself and how you would speak to others. And the customer voice is what they would say about you. Both of those are very, very important drives you because your customer voice is also going to affect the way in which your brand voice is shaped, So, customer feedback helps you identify what sets you apart from your competitors and allows you to develop a unique brand voice that appeals to your target audience because remember, Just as much as when you create your branding, you are not creating it for yourself, right? You are creating it for your audience in mind. And the same is true for your voice. You might think that something is really, really great and really cool. But unless you are speaking to the person on the other side, it's not going to land. So it's really about getting inside of your customer's head and figuring out. Like how to talk to them, you know, and how to really get to know them as if they were your best friend and you just know them so intimately. So by incorporating your customer needs and frustrations into your brand voice, you can create a more authentic and relatable communication style. And also understanding your customer voice allows you to ensure that your brand voice aligns with their expectations and creates a positive brand perception. So your brand voice and your customer voice, those come together. And that is where the magic happens. Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode. If you found that it really helped to serve you and your business needs, I would love if you would rate and review this episode and please do find us on Instagram and come and hang out or drop us a mail and let us know your thoughts. We always love connecting with new people until next week. Whispers in my head What you gonna do?