A brand voice strategy is formed by the following:
- A brainstorm (idea doesn’t have to be perfect);
- Ship a strategy by planning out content for 3 months and delivering it;
- Iterate once you have seen what traffic is doing (are people engaging?)
- Ship (ship the adjustments, keep iterating)
Visualize it this way:
Every company needs a vision and a voice, but finding that vision is undeniably the hardest part. The great secret about branding, though, is that you don’t have to get it “right” from the beginning. The most important, and undeniably hardest, part is the start. You have to define it as well as you can and then go. After all, your culture, brand, and voice will probably look quite different when you are a 3 person team than when you grow to a 30 person team, but your brand voice will naturally change as culture changes anyway. A brand voice is never static, so all you need to do is start.
Developing a brand voice strategy is an exercise in wide-scale introspection and focus. The goal of the brand voice is not only to provide focus and direction for the company, but also to attract the right people to the company to help further that voice.
Plan out a schedule for producing content as early as possible. Create an editorial calendar that has you producing content regularly. Remember, your first few pieces will not usually do well, so you need to keep pushing through and establishing yourself in your space. Success is not usually a consideration of who is first to market, but rather who is able to maintain that momentum and turn it into future success as well. Ship it and keep shipping. And track it so you can adjust.
