What do you think about when someone says Red Bull? … Extreme? High-Energy? A crazy person jumping to earth from beyond the stratosphere! Perhaps all of those things…
So what’s really happening here? The answer: a clear brand voice, one that is well defined and easy to connect with.
Simple enough?
Think about your favorite brand or client: what’s their voice. Could you actually define it?
What hasn’t proven simple enough is knowing that everything your company says and does online – be it launching a web property, constructing a Facebook update or Tweet, writing a blog post or promoting a video – as well as everything your company doesn’t say or do, in totality comprises your online voice. And, that social/digital strategy done well and right should both emanate organically from that voice and ultimately, be used to evolve your voice in a way that makes it work to your advantage; whatever you define that advantage to be.
Think about it: how do you respond when you land on a company Twitter handle that hasn’t uttered a word in months? Or on a brand Facebook page that’s riddled with OMGs and TGIFs? Or on a web site that’s static and outdated? The reality is, your voice is out there, whether you like it or not. And no matter how you slice it or dice it, the people of the web – your consumers, employees and stakeholders – are making their first and too often, their last impressions about you when engaging with this voice.
On the flips side, consider that snappy Facebook post that not only makes you LOL at your desk, but also leaves you feeling a bit more connected; or that clear Tweet that immediately addresses a customer service complaint you had; or that video on a website that perfectly addresses that question you Googled.
Put simply, this voice is the human part of you. It is the part of you that the very human web demands you bring to life on a day-in, day-out basis.
Ketchum Digital develops and defines this voice for brands. We help brands target content to communities, affinities and cultures. And so today, Ketchum Digital is proud to announce that over the past few months we have taken significant strides to making this concept of voice central to our operating POV. We are calling it the Voice Machine; and from here on out, everything we say and do will either emanate organically from it or otherwise ladder up to it.
