There are so many different voices fighting for consumers’ attention on a daily, hourly, even minute to minute basis. For your brand to be noticed, and for the right reasons, it is imperative that you choose the right voice to represent your brand, and ensure that it is speaking consistently from each of your platforms.

So, how do you find the “right” brand voice? Well, there are many factors to be considered. These include:

Who are you speaking to?

Are you marketing business to business, or directly to a consumer? Define your primary target demographic and determine what tone would resonate best with them. What would sound best to a millennial might not sound so appealing to a baby boomer, and vice versa.

What are you speaking about?

Are you selling a product, a service, or an idea? What you’re trying to sell to your intended consumer weighs heavily on the way in which you convey your pitch. Selling a luxury real estate brand is far different than selling a snack food. Understand your offering and match your tone to it.

How do you want your consumers to feel?

Advertising rests on provoking an emotional response from the consumer. And the tone of your words dictate these emotions. Is an advertisement funny, or serious, or somber? Each creates a different feeling in the viewer that leads to a conversion, a purchase, brand affinity or brand loyalty. Or if incorrectly matched with your audience or offering, it could create the opposite effect.

How do you want your consumers to envision you?

Pretend you’re the consumer. How would you like a brand to speak to you? What would you like that brand to represent? What do you want that brand to mean to you? These are all extremely important questions that need to be answered.

After determining the answers to these questions, you should have a fairly strong idea of your brand’s tonality and voice. Now apply it. And make sure it remains consistent throughout all of your advertisements, social media content, online campaigns, and more. If you can implement the right tone in the right places, you are well on your way to developing the brand loyalty necessary to yield long term success.