There are many ways to make your brand standout on social media including eye-catching visuals, unique formatting and strong content. However, at Trevelino/Keller we have found that one of the most overlooked ways to stand out is through social voice.
Finding a voice for your social media marketing can be difficult because it is not something you can easily track or tweak with the click of a mouse. Voice goes deeper than that. Instead of tracking and analyzing, the most successful brands on social media plan and practice. Here’s what we’ve found works best to capture our clients’ voice and how we use it to appropriately interact online:
- Culture – The heart of your brand’s voice should come from its culture. Every company has something that makes it stand out, whether it’s a retreat to Napa Valley like Trevelino/Keller or something as simple as Wednesday happy hours. Make these elements the core of your online voice.
- Informal Versus Formal Language – How formal do you want your brand’s tone to be? This will vary over different platforms and contexts so it’s good to identify when you want to dial up and down the degree of formality. We all know how to express something clearly in spoken language, but when writing social media content we need to resist the urge to complicate and dress up our language.
- Audience – Remember who you’re talking to, and create a type of persona that will appeal to them. Use it to adapt all of your future content because your tone of voice should be community-driven and change according to the interest of your fans and followers.
There’s no formula or right or wrong way to write social media content. Ultimately, the best voice is one that most effectively communicates your message. A powerful tone of voice on social media doesn’t go unnoticed, and it helps brands stay consistent in their use of language.
About Jason Gilbreth
Jason Gilbreth is an Account Executive at Trevelino/Keller. He spends his summer nights at Turner Field and his weekends at the lake.
