Adapting your brand voice helps you connect with new audiences, drive customer loyalty, and unlock growth opportunities. For example, brands like Old Spice revamped their messaging to capture younger consumers, leading to 107% sales growth in six months.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand Your Audience: Segment by demographics, psychographics, behavior, or location to craft tailored messages.
- Balance Consistency and Flexibility: Stay true to your brand identity while adjusting tone for different platforms and audience groups.
- Leverage Data: Use metrics like engagement, sentiment, and NPS to refine your voice and track success.
- Test and Improve: Experiment with A/B testing and social listening to fine-tune your strategy.
By following these steps, you can adjust your voice effectively while maintaining your brand’s core values.
Changing your brand voice to reflect current market conditions
Know Your Target Audience
Understanding your audience is key to shaping your brand voice. Here’s a compelling stat: 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions, and companies that do personalization well see 40% higher revenue compared to their competitors[1].
How to Group Your Audiences
To create messages that resonate, break your audience into smaller, meaningful groups. This segmentation ensures your communication feels relevant rather than generic.
| Segmentation Type | Key Factors to Consider | Example Application |
|---|---|---|
| Demographics | Age, income, education, occupation | A luxury brand might use a polished tone for high-income professionals but shift to aspirational messaging for younger audiences |
| Psychographics | Values, interests, lifestyle | An eco-friendly company tailors messages for sustainability advocates versus convenience-driven shoppers |
| Behavioral | Purchase habits, brand interactions | A tech brand varies tone for early adopters versus more cautious, traditional users |
| Geographic | Location, urban/rural setting | A retail chain adjusts its voice to suit urban sophistication or suburban family-friendly vibes |
What Each Audience Group Wants
Once you’ve segmented your audience, dig deeper to understand their motivations and preferences. This allows you to adjust your tone and messaging for each group.
For instance, ChrisRubinCreativ (CRC) found through surveys and social media analysis that technical decision-makers prefer detailed, data-focused content, while C-suite executives respond better to big-picture, strategic messaging[1][4].
Here are some ways to uncover what matters to your audience:
- Analyze social conversations: Look at how your audience discusses your industry online.
- Study engagement patterns: Identify which types of content perform best with each group.
- Conduct surveys: Directly ask about their needs, preferences, and challenges.
Regular updates are critical. One tech company stayed ahead by reassessing audience groupings every quarter.
While you adapt your tone for different segments, keep your core brand values consistent. The key is to balance flexibility with a unified brand identity.
Change Your Voice for Each Audience
Once you’ve identified your audience segments, the next step is adjusting your brand voice to connect with each group. This adjustment should always stay true to your core identity while addressing the specific needs of your audience. Studies show that 90% of customers expect a consistent brand experience across all platforms[5].
Tailoring Tone for Different Audiences
Different groups respond to different communication styles. Successful brands tweak their tone to suit each audience while staying true to their overall message. Here’s how:
| Audience Type | Voice Characteristics | Communication Focus | Example Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young Consumers | Casual, relatable | Entertainment, connection | Pop culture references, emotional language |
| B2B Clients | Professional, confident | Solutions, productivity | Industry-specific language |
Take MailChimp, for example. They maintain their playful personality but adjust their tone depending on the audience. With developers, they use technical terms, while for small businesses, their language is more approachable. Yet, their signature phrases remain consistent[4].
Adapting Voice for Each Platform
Different platforms call for different tones to boost engagement:
- LinkedIn: Use formal, technical language (e.g., National Geographic)[3][5].
- Twitter: Engage with humor and quick wit (e.g., Wendy’s)[1][4].
- Instagram: Combine simple language with striking visuals (e.g., National Geographic)[3][5].
Instead of guessing, rely on engagement metrics and A/B testing to fine-tune your voice for each platform. This data-driven strategy naturally leads to creating clear voice guidelines, which we’ll dive into next.
Build Clear Brand Voice Rules
Creating clear brand voice guidelines ensures your communication stays consistent while allowing room to adjust for different audience groups. These guidelines act as a reference point, helping your team align messaging with your brand identity while tailoring it to specific needs. Think of them as a compass for testing and refining your communication strategies.
Key Parts of Voice Guidelines
To communicate effectively across all platforms, your brand voice guidelines should include a few key elements. Here’s what many successful brands focus on:
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Personality Traits | Defines the core identity of your brand |
| Word Choice Guide | Provides audience-appropriate language |
Keep Your Message Unified
Balancing your brand identity with the expectations of different audiences takes careful planning. Here’s how to manage it:
- Voice Scales: Create a range for each personality trait. For example, "professional" could range from highly technical to more conversational. These scales should directly relate to the audience segments you’ve identified.
-
Checkpoints: Set up mandatory reviews to ensure:
- Messaging aligns with your brand’s core values.
- The tone fits the target audience.
- It follows platform-specific guidelines.
- Localization is considered where needed.
- Content resonates with the needs of segmented audiences.
- Use AI Tools: Leverage AI to maintain consistency while adapting messaging for specific audiences. Just make sure there’s human oversight to guide the process effectively.
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Check and Improve Your Brand Voice
Evaluating how well your updated brand voice works requires a mix of numbers and feedback. Combining measurable data with audience insights can help you see if your voice connects with new groups while staying true to your brand.
Track Key Metrics
Keep an eye on performance indicators that show how your brand voice is resonating. Many successful brands focus on these areas:
| Metric Type | What to Measure | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement | Social interactions, CTR | – |
| Customer Behavior | Time on site, bounce rates | – |
| Brand Loyalty | Net Promoter Score (NPS), repeat purchase rate | 5-15% profit increase [8] |
| Sentiment | Social mentions, feedback | – |
For example, TD Bank adjusted their brand voice to sound more empathetic. As a result, they boosted customer retention by 6% and improved their NPS by 12 points over two years [2].
Experiment with Different Approaches
Fine-tuning your brand voice is an ongoing process that benefits from testing and adjustment.
Set Clear Goals
- Define specific aspects of your voice to test.
- Create variations that align with your brand’s identity.
- Decide on clear metrics to evaluate success.
Use Effective Testing Methods
- Run A/B tests on digital content.
- Organize focus groups for deeper insights.
- Measure engagement across different voice styles.
Take Advantage of Technology
- Use social listening tools to gauge audience reactions.
- Apply AI sentiment analysis to process feedback.
- Utilize analytics platforms to track content performance.
Airbnb, for instance, worked with experts to refine their brand voice, resulting in a 17% increase in global bookings [1].
Consistency is key – 77% of consumers prefer brands that consistently reflect their values [6]. While testing new approaches, ensure your core identity remains intact. This balance helps you connect with new audiences while staying aligned with your brand’s essence.
Keep evaluating performance across all platforms to understand which adjustments work best. These insights will guide further refinements and help you tackle common challenges, which we’ll dive into next.
Fix Common Brand Voice Problems
Many brands struggle to adjust their voice for different audiences without losing their identity. Tackling these issues can lead to stronger communication strategies.
Stay Consistent While Being Flexible
Balancing consistency with flexibility takes careful planning. Companies that maintain consistent branding report an average revenue boost of 33% [6].
Here’s a simple way to manage this balance:
| Element | What Stays the Same | What Can Be Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Core Values | Mission and beliefs | Style of expression |
| Tone | Main personality traits | Formality level |
| Language | Key messaging pillars | Vocabulary complexity |
| Style | Brand guidelines | Formats tailored to platforms |
Avoid Splitting Audiences Too Much
Over-segmenting your audience can weaken your message and lead to confusion. Instead of creating too many categories, focus on grouping people by shared values and behaviors.
Patagonia is a great example of this. They group their audience based on environmental commitment rather than traditional demographics, which boosted engagement among eco-conscious consumers by 20% [2].
Tips to Prevent Over-Segmentation:
- Look for shared interests across groups
- Create messages that appeal to multiple groups
- Use analytics to focus on high-priority segments
- Combine similar audience segments regularly
The key is to personalize your communication while keeping your brand identity intact. Adjust your tone, but never lose sight of your core values.
Brand Voice Change Example
Here’s a great example of balancing consistency with flexibility: Old Spice’s rebrand in 2010. At the time, the company was losing market share and struggling to connect with younger buyers while still keeping its loyal customers. This is a challenge many brands face when trying to expand their audience.
What They Did and How
To tackle this, Old Spice teamed up with the Wieden+Kennedy agency and created a new voice for the brand. They made a key discovery: women were often the ones buying body wash for men. With this in mind, they crafted a strategy that blended masculinity with humor and sophistication, avoiding the trap of over-segmenting.
Here’s what they changed:
- Shifted from serious, product-focused messaging to humorous, over-the-top scenarios.
- Used a conversational tone across TV ads and social media.
The "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign became the centerpiece of this effort, seamlessly combining fresh ideas with the brand’s established identity.
What Worked and Why
Old Spice’s transformation paid off in a big way, leaving a lasting mark on the brand’s position in the market.
"The brand’s YouTube channel became the #1 most viewed sponsored channel [7][1]."
Several factors contributed to this success:
- Market Research: The team based their changes on solid data, targeting both women (the buyers) and men (the users) effectively.
- Consistency Across Platforms: Whether it was a TV ad or a social media post, the new voice stayed consistent everywhere.
- Enduring Impact: Old Spice didn’t just see a short-term boost. The rebrand helped secure its spot as the top body wash brand for men, building a strong identity that still connects with today’s consumers.
This example shows how a brand can stay true to its roots while adjusting its message to meet new challenges – a lesson worth keeping in mind as we move forward.
Steps to Change Your Brand Voice
To refine your brand voice effectively, follow these key steps:
Start with audience research. Use tools like social listening platforms and analytics to understand how your audience communicates and what resonates with them. This ensures any changes align with their preferences while staying true to your brand’s core values.
Develop clear guidelines, including:
- Platform-Specific Instructions
Define how your voice should vary across platforms. For instance, LinkedIn might call for a more professional tone, while Instagram could lean toward a relaxed and conversational style.
When rolling out changes, opt for a phased approach. Test adjustments through small-scale experiments, such as limited social media posts or email campaigns. Monitor responses to fine-tune your strategy before making larger updates.
This careful process ensures your brand voice evolves while keeping the emotional connection that fosters customer loyalty.
FAQs
How do you adjust to a new tone of voice?
Shifting your tone of voice involves thoughtful changes that stay true to your brand while connecting with a different audience. Here’s how to tackle this:
Start with Research
Look at how your audience communicates by diving into engagement data and interaction trends. This helps you understand their preferences and guide your adjustments.
Test and Refine
Experiment with A/B testing to see what works before rolling out changes across the board. This way, you can tweak your tone without losing your brand’s identity.
Keep an eye on how your audience responds and what the data says. Regularly reviewing this ensures your tone stays consistent and resonates across all platforms.