Conversely, in an example where you felt alarmed, the person giving you the news probably left unresolved questions, used unhelpfully emotive language, or failed to engage empathetically. Style, tone and voice can entirely alter the way we react to information, news or any form of content. All of these elements are helpfully informed by a brand guide.
It’s crucial that any organisation or business knows who they are. Being able to articulate core values, specify aims, and acknowledge the specific service offering are important steps towards this. Once that groundwork has been done, and a real sense of what the company does has been determined, it’s then time to think about who the company is, or would be, as a person. This is where a brand guide comes in.
We thrive on creativity behind our yellow door, and are fulfilled by helping clients talk about (or rather as) themselves more authentically, engagingly and precisely. To do this well, we develop a style guide so that any employee or member of our team can speak as, or on behalf of, the company effectively.
We’re aiming for consistency in how people hear or see your brand, but also authenticity. Our role is to help you discover exactly how you want your audience to feel about you, and then create a brand guide which lets you do that every time you post content.
A good starting point is to think about who your brand would be, if a person. Think of audience engagement as conversations between this brand/ person and customers. How do you want the brand/ person to make those individuals feel? Is it about them feeling confident of your expertise, inspired by your message, excited by the product? Are you aiming to be closest to a friend, a teacher, a motivator, a colleague or a partner?
Thinking about your marketing efforts as starting conversations with real people, and using a style guide to focus on how you want them to feel, will give you a more active approach than perceiving it as merely producing content. We’re here to build that style guide with you, teach the best application of it, and then celebrate the consistent tone we’ll observe in your output (or conversation starters, as we think of them).
A style or brand guide is the final product of a collaboration, and it’s the how-to manual which will stay with you. Amongst other things it will help guide tone choices and style of voice for different platforms. You’ll be left firmly in the driving seat, with a clear view of the road ahead.
It’s the perfect tool for delegating content creation within a team without diluting or distorting the brand’s voice, and also a meaningful opportunity to better understand your own company.
We love working with businesses, especially when we can help facilitate ‘aha!’ moments in their understanding of how they can better articulate themselves. Contact us today to learn more about how we could team up to interrogate how your brand might speak most authentically, and what we’d do to facilitate that process and your journey continuing beyond it.