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Wazzup Dawg? A Reflection in Brand Voice

Hey.

Hiya.

Hello.

Greetings play a major role in how you see someone. Addressing your boss with the same verbiage of a college frat boy might not go over too well. So, what about brand voice? What kind of conversational should your brand be?

The answer lies crocheted into your brand image quilt. When contemplating voice for a brand, you need to make it clear and intentional. Above all, you must remain resolute in who you are as a brand. Before we jump into conversationality, let’s discuss brand voice.

Brands are People too

Pick 4 adjectives that correctly encompass your company/business/brand. Then build around them. Imagine your brand as a person. Is this person a hipster millennial bursting with blunt authenticity? Or is this person loving-natured with empathy bursting at their seams? Whatever you choose, own it. Your brand is one-of-a-kind, so portray it as such.

Spectrum of Conversationality

Back to the original meat of the story. In the context of this blog, conversation is based on how reserved or blunt you want to be. Conversationality is a spectrum. Some people are quiet and introverted while others are so extroverted, they are constantly talking. Brands express the same qualities people do. Below are brands that represent their brands proudly and where they place on this spectrum.

1. Flex

There is nothing modest about this feminine hygiene brand. In their “Have the most comfortable period of your life” ad, the spokesperson makes what could be an uncomfortable topic comfortable. The ad employs humorous truths while addressing what the buyer wants to hear. Nevertheless, the brand never fails to promote their relatable, blunt, and humorous voice in every piece of copy.

RANK: 9.5

PERSON: Your activist cousin who is always ready to party down

2. Mailchimp

This email marketing platform always plays on their quirkiness not only through their voice, but in their funky graphics. Mailchimp perfectly places themselves in the categories of knowledgeable and fun, giving a friendly vibe to the consumer. They showcase their true colors in their Marketing Tips Blog.

RANK: 6

PERSON: Quirky neighbor with a bunch of interesting facts

3. Dove

Dove is known for their Self-Esteem Project that helps young people reach their full potential. The company is unwavering in creating a supportive, and caring voice to ensure authenticity in their audience.

RANK: 7

PERSON: The most caring, selfless friend/family member you have

Express Your Brand

Brands are people. Personality should fly off every piece of content your brand puts into the world. Often, branding is the only way to differentiate product/service offerings from competition. Make your voice shine by surfacing the voice that encompasses your brand. That is how your brand will shine in a content-crowded world!

How Social Media Has Changed Us: COVID-19 edition

How Social Media Has Changed Us:

COVID-19 edition

What’s the first thing you grab in the morning?

A glass of water? Probably not.

Your toothbrush? Eh.

How about your phone? Think about that. The amount of people looking at their phone within the first few minutes of waking up and/or brushing their teeth is astounding. Doubt me? Google it! You will be surprised at the numbers.

Social media seems to be running our days and nights. As Newton’s Third Law states: For every opinion, there is an equal and opposite opinion. (Okay, he didn’t say that, but it fits well!) So, we will start out with the negatives and lead to the positives.

Immediate Access to Knowledge

Long gone are the spirited debates on random facts such as who played that fiery Italian mother, Sophia, on The Golden Girls. (It was Estelle Getty, by the way.) Since there is an endless amount of information at our fingertips, we never have to wonder. Everything we could ever want to know is right there. We have grown accustomed to this constant stream of new information. The “Now, Now, Now” culture has taken over us. Patience has become a rare virtue, especially when the Wi-Fi is out.

However, the immediate access of information is great in times like today. There is a special need to get constant updates. Amid stay-at-home orders, we can enjoy the many beautiful pictures and stories of people supporting each other in crisis. Elle posted a wonderful article on the unheard positive stories of COVID-19.

Great (and Terrible) for Business

Yup. You mess up and it is pasted on everyone and their grandmother’s feeds. Bad reviews spread like wildfire. Don’t get caught on the wrong side of the fight. If you want more information on this, check out our blog post on battling bad online reviews here. Nothing is private anymore, so image crafting is especially important. Businesses need to spend more time than ever concreting their social media branding. (Shameless Plug 2: this is our specialty, so reach out and ask us how we can help you!)

You get your name out there in the world. People used to spend oodles of money to advertise their business in magazines or newspapers, but you have this access for FREE. Take advantage of it. Keep reading our blog to gather an arsenal of tips and resources you can use in your marketing! (And that was Shameless Plug 3 #whoops🤷 #IPromiseImDone)

It’s Raining Politics

It feels like you know everyone’s political standings now. And if you don’t, you can probably check their latest status to get the scoop. There is a strong possibility that you have unfollowed someone because they got way too political in your feed. Twenty seven percent of Americans have blocked/unfriended someone because the person posted certain political views, according to Pew Research Center.

Political modesty works best for companies with customers in all walks of life. “Playing Switzerland” keeps your business in good light with a large array of customers. On the other hand, if something aligns with company values, carefully post it. Be respectful of opposing opinions. People are especially sensitive during this time of uneasiness. If you are running business social media now, it might be best to keep things lighthearted. One business that has been doing a great job with this is NYC rock climbing gym, The Cliffs. They are closed, but they have been keeping their members active with strengthening exercises, live yoga classes, and knot-tying tips. This keeps their members engaged and distracts them from the stressful global environment.

Time

The sheer time and effort dedicated to social media is astounding. Social Media Today posted that people spend about 2 hours and 23 minutes a day on social media. It can be predicted that average social media time has increased tremendously with the stay-at-home orders. Social media has become a way to cope with the hours of boredom cooked up at home.

This is the best time in history to get noticed in the social media realm. Now is the time to get out your best content-creating skills to blow your customers’ socks off!

The Wrap Up

There are so many other ways society has molded around social media culture. The advice suggested above may seem a bit airy, but that is the world of marketing. No one method will work for everyone. It is up to you to represent yourself in the best way possible.

Stay safe everyone!

6 Ways to Battle Bad Online Reviews

One of the hardest lessons to learn as a kid was that not everyone is going to like you. Believe me, I tried to push the boundaries with candy bribery, but it only lasted as long as the sugary goodness did. After that, the social atmosphere resumed as normal.

As you have probably figured out, this does not go away. There is always someone waiting around the corner with something negative to say. You can’t escape it, but you can handle it well, especially in a business setting. Search Engine Land stated that “72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more”. The Core put their heads together to give you the practices that have worked best in battling bad reviews.

1. Foresee Potential Issues

Your main goal is to avoid receiving bad reviews, so try to foresee what will cause dissatisfaction. Some companies implement mystery shoppers, surveys, and focus groups to test services and products from the customer perspective. This will provide an unbiased angle of your service blueprint and/or product. Utilizing these techniques will give you the opportunity to fix issues before they arise.

2. Put Together a Recovery Plan

Issues will eventually pop up here and there. The company needs to know that most often, there is fault on both sides. If your customer did not use the product/service correctly, then you did not explain it efficiently. It is your job to make sure that your customers understand your product or service.

Enforcing a recovery plan will standardize the practice amidst employees. These procedures aim to put dissatisfied customers at ease. You must answer these questions when forming your plan:

How will you train your employees?

Will you have any rewards to win the trust of your customers? If yes, will this reward keep your customer’s loyalty?

How much can you spend on a customer before you reap losses?

3. Apologize Directly and Sincerely

No person in the history of humanity has ever enjoyed a clearly insincere apology. Authenticity is one of the main traits that keep customers loyal. Social Media Today hosted a survey that stated 86% of people say “authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support”. In fact, the percentage increases significantly the younger the generation. The survey’s percentage hits a whopping 90% in the millennial population!

Key takeaway: Make sure your customer service representatives understand the importance of genuineness!

4. Provide a Supportive Defense to their Concern

Remind your customers of your mission. Whether it is to provide the fastest service or 15% or more off on car insurance, make sure that your customers are reminded. If they did not receive what you promised, they have reason to be upset. Offer them ways to voice their opinions in a safe atmosphere. Then, see what type of recovery options would be best based on your recovery plan.

5. Customers = Business

Your customers are your purpose. They fuel your funds and keep your employees in their positions. You want the best for your customers because they keep you in business. That is reason enough to offer them the best support possible!

6. Acceptance

You are not going to please everyone, but you can help the people who want to be helped. Being aware of customer concerns and issues make your business better and most importantly, sustainable!

Color your Brand: A Step-By-Step Guide to Brand Color Selection

Ever notice how the colors in a restaurant make you want to stay or leave? Your favorite date-night restaurant surrounds you with warm colors and dimmer lighting to make you feel at home. Gentle music and the smell of fresh food permeates the air to soothe you. This atmosphere was created to invite you to stay and keep ordering

On the other side of the spectrum, bright and white cafes make you move quicker while you are on the go. Chairs are a bit less comfortable, but the service is fast and convenient. These places are meant to offer the best service to those on the go. The point is not to make you stay, but to feel awake and ready for the day!

Color affects your perspective in ways you’d never imagine. Color can determine which razor you buy or what car you drive. Color of clothing can mold your opinions of a person without your realizing. Colors influence human perspectives… especially in brand-building.

The brand colors can symbolize everything from attributes to missions. We have all seen a color chart like the one below. With so many color combinations out there, narrowing colors down by meaning can make the process more palate-able (get it?).

Now, let’s hit the drawing board to contemplate a few questions:

What adjectives do your audience associate with your brand?

Contemplate what your audience wants and what adjectives embody those wants. This requires a bit of research and a lot of listening. You can go directly ask your audience, if you have the resources. Polls and surveys are a great, cheap way to gauge audience perspective. The web is also full of research studies. They may not be customized to you specifically, but they often yield helpful information. If you want more custom research, you can always go to a research firm. This option is pricier than the rest, however, these individuals are highly versed in the realm of marketing research.

Record everything (even the worst ideas). You never know what you will end up using!

Widdle the list down to 2 or 3 adjectives.

There are bound to be adjectives that keep popping up. Perhaps your audience keeps bringing up similar ideas or your team agrees on a specific word. Once you find these words, you have… drumroll please… core attributes for your brand.

It would be smart to find all the ways your brand embodies these attributes. Whether it is through customer service standards or website layout, find ways to emulate those core attributes.

Find colors associated with those adjectives.

Look up what colors match what attributes. For example, orange is associated with youthfulness. Toy brands may consider using orange to show the childlike spirit in their products. Green is associated with organic, natural products. Notice how every organic brand has green in their logo? It is no coincidence, my friends!

Stumped? A great resource for this is the 99d Logo Color Generator from 99 Designs. In all honesty, I sat playing around with the toggles, just to see what I would find. It is a very helpful resource!

Design away!

Now that you have some grounding on the color spectrum, start designing! Make sure to stick to the color palate you created to create uniformity across all platforms. This will help your audience associate specific visuals to your brand.

The most important thing here is to have fun with it. Passion can be seen with almost anything you do. Make your passion known through your designs!