Having authentic, engaging content attracts the right audience for any business. Consistency builds trust between what is produced and what the reader expects. If a company becomes known for very useful content, that will be the ongoing expectation. If you read 10 pieces of content and couldn’t find a similarity between them, that’s a solid indication the brand voice is non-existent.
One of the challenges organizations face today is maintaining a unified brand voice. Even if your company doesn’t produce a ton of content—chances are they still have a content mix that includes one social platform, one website or online presence and sales and marketing materials. The goal of a good brand is to be recognizable wherever they are.
So, how does a company maintain a clear, recognizable brand when it might have multiple content creators? It’s not as challenging as it may seem!
Know Your Brand’s Purpose, Mission and Audience
First and foremost, anyone creating content for your brand should have an understanding of your brand’s purpose, the company’s mission and the audience. Let your content creators write as authentically as the company presents themselves. A law firm is likely to be formal with a display of professionalism in every piece of content. An amusement park, on the other hand, is more likely to throw out jokes and playful invitations to come visit while leaning heavily on visuals.
Examine Your Content Creator Bench
Take a look at your team of writers and creators. Is it balanced as far as talent or expertise is concerned? Do you have a pithy writer who produces great tweets and can pare down long-form content into bite-size social posts? What about a detail-oriented researcher who can write the most persuasive articles about why your company is the best option? Writers from multiple backgrounds and disciplines can strengthen your overall content.
Arm Your Creators with Background Knowledge
Do you have an onboarding process for any new content creators? Something that guides that messaging expectation, the mission, and examples of great content from the brand? Bringing a new creator on board with a clear path of where to start can smooth the learning curve that it takes for someone to be able to adopt the brand voice fully as their own. With a great onboarding tool or process, it becomes easier to solicit solid content creators throughout the company.
Ready to get started? Check out our blog post “Content Creators, Influencers & Your Brand: Three Inspiring Solutions to Feed Your Content Marketing.”
If you’re a team of one and are in need of content creators, give us a shout at hello@westcomm.com! We walk these brand-voice walks day in and day out, and are ready to jump in with you.
