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Have you ever thought about what your social media voice should be? No? Well now’s the time to take a good long look at yourself.
Creating a strong, consistent voice is the key to building a real relationship with your audience or customer. Whether you’re a recruitment company or a food business, ultimately people buy from people. More specifically, people we LIKE and relate to.
Social media gives brands a chance to develop personality and characteristics of their own. All the lovely stuff that attracts you to certain people more than others, can also endear you to a brand or company too.
A social media voice can be playful, educational, fun, irreverent, inspirational, sophisticated or whatever you want it to be. So how do you find out what YOUR brand voice should be?
Business Core Culture
Every business has something that makes it different & unique. What does YOUR organisation stand for? What makes you different? If your brand was a person, what would they care about or do? Dress down Fridays? Service with a smile? Ethically aware?
Your Customer & Community
Who is your customer and the community you cater for? Listen to the way they voice their feelings. How do they talk to eachother? Notice the tone and language they use. Make sure you know what they want from you and try to reflect that in how YOU speak to THEM.
Start a Conversation
Ask yourself what you’re bringing to social media by putting your brand out there (your answer might be something like customer support, industry education, general fun or product promotions) and then communicate it with the personality you are and an authentic voice. No strong-arming or hard selling, just talking in a way that’s comfortable, conversational and relatable.
Be a human, not a robot
They key is that social media is meant to be SOCIAL. A party or get together that’s online 24/7. If you were to walk into a room full of strangers, how would you approach them? Who would you be?
Be Consistent
Remember who you are and try to be consistent with what you say and how you say it. This is easier if it's just you who posts all your Facebook posts, but harder if you share the workload with other colleagues. Make sure you all understand WHO you are, the sort of language you use ( and more importantly, don't) and the kind of things you're interested in. No body wants to use a business when they sound like they have multiple personalities with each post. Which one do you trust?
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Finally, a little secret. The hard sell doesn’t work. Nobody likes to chat to someone who comes across as a pushy salesman. Try to charm, engage and inform (like the perfect party guest...) and you’ll soon find people will want to be your online friend. And don't be afraid to give away information for free (although that's a whole different blog post....)
Because that’s ultimately what this social media thing is all about. Making friends, and influencing people. And maybe, just maybe, they will like you enough to become a customer.
Here are some social media brand voices that really work.
Have a look at their social media platforms and notice how the personality of the brand is clear, engaging, consistent and authentic.
Innocent Drinks
http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk
Virgin Media
http://www.virginmedia.com
Amazon UK
https://twitter.com/amazon
Because that’s ultimately what this social media thing is all about. Making friends, and influencing people. And maybe, just maybe, they will like you enough to become a customer.
Here are some social media brand voices that really work.
Have a look at their social media platforms and notice how the personality of the brand is clear, engaging, consistent and authentic.
Innocent Drinks
http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk
Virgin Media
http://www.virginmedia.com
Amazon UK
https://twitter.com/amazon
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