Are you the only person working at your company? Even if you are, it is incredibly important that you make sure you have a cohesive voice across any channel that might come into contact with a customer. For the sake of brand unity and uniformity, there are some very key changes that need to be made.
How Many People Work for You?
Why is a cohesive voice so necessary? Well, to think about it in its simplest of terms, you have to consider everyone who works for you and the amount of content they generate. Even a small team might have three or four people potentially touching a project, all with their own writing styles.
Think this can’t be that noticeable? Hand out the same exercise to your staff. You can give them the same title and even the same sub-headings. We bet that you will always get back a different piece come everyone’s completion. There will always be slight stylistic choices that can easily be picked out. Even your own voice will change the way the piece is made massively. You could write one draft, put it to the side, and then try to rewrite it. It will come out differently, guaranteed.
This is why it is so important to try to find a cohesive voice – simply because one does not naturally exist within your company. You need to make sure that you are being as cohesive as possible, no matter what.
Try to Make It Uniform
There are some things you can do to promote a cohesive voice across your site. One of the best ways to do so is to ensure that as much of your static content as possible is written by the same person. This is the content that will make up the vast majority of your website and it is what people are likely to read first when they click a link to your site.
By making sure that one author only works on the static content, it is more likely to be uniform as the small stylistic shifts we all have are far less noticeable. When we talk here about static content, we also mean big chunks of text. Anytime you have a couple of paragraphs needed for a page, try to make sure that the person writing them also worked on the other pages.
This will help to bring a little cohesion to your business as the voice is the same across all pages of your website. For something as important as the website is, you need to make sure that the content across it is not wildly different so there is no confusion amongst your staff.
Assign Names
An easy way to allow an obvious difference between voices is to assign names to different pieces. For example, if you have a blogging section to your website, consider allowing everyone who writes for this blog to post under their own name.
Whether it is a member of your staff or a guest blogger, you can have different accounts that can upload blogs and set them live. This means that there will immediately be an indication to the reader that the voice should be different; as opposed to just letting them assume that it will take the same tone as the rest of your site.
It is why those who make a living blogging should always mark when they have a guest post. You will have undoubtedly worked on the rest of your site by yourself. Your readers are smart, and they will be able to tell when you haven’t written something yourself. Spare yourself accusations about authenticity in the comments, and just mark the post as being guest-written.
Finally, you can also use this approach on social media. Social media is crucial nowadays, but it is also true that many people may be ducking in and out of your social media as part of their working routine. If you have several social media managers but only one faceless account for them to use, ask them to attach their names to their replies. For example, a social media manager named Aaron might write, “That’s great – Aaron” as a reply to show that they are someone different. This is important as it again shows to the public that this is not one entity but several working together, and also gives your staff a little humanisation.
Set Standards
No matter what content is produced, you need to make sure it is to a certain standard that reaches your brand expectations. This is more than just making sure that grammar and proper spelling is used. From your email marketing to YouTube videos to even just simple posts on social media, you need to make sure there is a standard for the brand to follow.
One of the easiest ways to do so is to create a brand-specific language that you expect your employees to use. There may be certain key phrases that you want them to always use that are connected to your brand. By sprinkling such phrases throughout, there is less chance that there will be massive and obvious differentiation between the voices of the authors making your copy. Brainstorm with your employees to try to come up with some of these key phrases. The more people that can contribute, the easier it will be for them to start writing in a similar tone of voice, no matter the project.
Nail Your Cohesion Today
Conflicting voices only serve to confuse the customer. With no two writers alike, it is down to you as a brand owner to try to negate that confusion as much as you can. Take the time to find a voice that works for everyone, and you will have the perfect chance to optimise one cohesive voice across your various platforms and channels. Create a brand that has this unique and cohesive voice, and you can be certain that your employees will be able to respond correctly to queries and right the best content you could ever dream of.
