Here’s a simple exercise I would like for you to try out right now…
Grab your phone, open the Instagram app, and scroll through your feed. As you scroll through your feed, read a few captions in your head.
Notice how when you go from one caption to another, the voice you use in your head is different?
It's because every brand has its voice, and you’re reading their captions with the voice they carefully crafted!
But how did they do that? How can YOU determine your voice on social media? What are the benefits of determining your personal brand’s voice?
Why do you need to establish a voice?
Other than being a factor that differentiates you from others, your unique voice is a tool for building relationships with your target audience.
As you determine your voice, your target audience will be able to relate a lot more to you. As a ripple effect, they will identify with you, engage with you, and eventually… Convert!
HOWEVER, it’s important to recognize that simply having a voice isn’t all you need to create a personal brand. You need a WHOLE strategy. You can learn more about how you can establish your personal branding strategy, here.
Now that I’ve shared with you why you need a specific voice for your personal brand, let’s dive into a step-by-step guide to determining your voice!
Step 1: Choose adjectives that correspond to your personal brand
The first step here would be to determine how you want to sound and come out as to your target audience. Are you witty? Funny? Direct? Inspiring? Serious? Inquisitive?
Ponder about that a little bit and make sure to choose the adjectives you want to be known for!
Step 2: Choose the tone you want to adopt
Your tone is how your target audience will FEEL when they read your content. That being said, your tone must be carefully chosen as it will create an emotional response in your readers.
A few examples of tones include: helpful and prescriptive, friendly and reassuring, and confident but not cocky. An important point I want to make here is to make sure you pick a tone that feels natural to you; if you decide to choose a tone that is inauthentic to you, your audience will see right through it.
Step 3: Perform a “This, Not That” exercise
At this point, create a table on a sheet of paper and choose 5 adjectives that correspond to your personal brand and how you want to sound and 5 adjectives that you DON'T want your audience to know you as. This will help draw the line between adjectives that are either very similar to what you're going for OR for which you want to stay far away from.
Step 4: Do a bit of wordsmithing
The perfect way to really set in stone what it is that you want to sound like is to do a little bit of wordsmithing. By wordsmithing, I mean to determine what words and/or expressions are part of your vocabulary and your audience will associate with you.
At the end of the day, your voice alone may seem like such a small component of your personal brand, but it is often what makes you authentic and what makes your target market consume YOUR content over someone else’s. Your voice is how you will communicate your story and your message to your target audience.
If you need help establishing your voice or determining other aspects of your personal brand, I have a few tips that can help you get started. Just send me an email at sandra@morningcoffee.biz
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