When I first started my business, finding my brand voice was the hardest part of branding for me. I wasn’t used to blogging and I never used social media. I was only used to writing term papers for class or emails for business, so my writing tone was formal/professional. Here are 5 ways to develop your brand voice. These tips are how I was able to develop my brand voice.

5 ways to develop your brand voice

01 Use what you have

If you don’t know how you want to sound, don’t let that hold you back from starting. The hardest part of anything in life is just getting started. I think of everything as a work in process. You can always learn on the go.

The only thing you have to do is start. My advice to anyone who’s on YouTube, podcasting, blogging, creating content for social media, or anything that requires your voice or writing, is to be yourself. What does that mean? Talk like you talk and write as you talk. It’s that easy.

Why should you be yourself? As an entrepreneur, especially if you’re a service based entrepreneur, you’re going to speak to your audience or clients on Skype, Zoom, a phone call, or whatever you use to communicate with a client,  so you want them to feel like they already know you. If you’re different in person, then people might get the wrong idea.

We’re not actors. We want to be authorities on our topic. A real, authentic person who knows about their industry. Now, there are some things you can fake and that’s confidence and a positive attitude. No one is comfortable putting themselves out there, so you have to fake it until you make it.

02 Just start

Earlier I touched on getting started and how it’s the hardest part of anything. Don’t be a wallflower. Yes, it’s fun sitting in the back and observing everything around you, BUT imagine how fun it is to be part of it.

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d have my own business, blog, newsletter, or be active on social media. I loved reading blog posts and watching YouTube videos, and now I make them. Before I started using social media, I hated it. I only liked to use it to stalk my family, friends, and my favorite celebrities. So for me to use it daily is jaw-dropping.

Do you know how afraid I was to launch my website? To post my first Instagram post? To hit publish on my blog post? Every time I had to post something, I felt like throwing up. But guess what? Now it’s nothing to me. You have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Why am I telling you about my fears? Because every time I wrote a blog, email, or social media post, I had to use my voice. As I kept going, my voice evolved and I became more confident. I’m not going to say that I’m 100% happy with my voice, but I have come a long way from my beginning.

That’s why the start is the biggest thing you will have to overcome.

PSSST,  let me tell you a secret if you’re starting from scratch, you’re not going to have a big audience. I’m not trying to be mean, but it’s true. I have more views on my posts now than I did when I first started. You might think it’s bad news, BUT the time to experiment is when you don’t have an audience.

If you’re someone who’s followed me since that first blog post, email newsletter, and/or social media posts, THANK YOU and I APOLOGIZE! I know that my beginning work was horrible, but thank you for supporting me so far on my journey. *bow of gratitude*

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If you have an Instagram account, you know how important it is to have a great feed. It’s like the homepage of your Instagram account now. For me, Instagram was the hardest part to brand for my business especially since I always wanted to try something new. If you’ve been following since the beginning, you’ll see how much my Instagram has evolved. I’m going to tell you my secret on how to brand your Instagram feed so that you can have more time to focus on other aspects of your business.

How to brand your Instagram feed

First, I’m going to tell you about my struggles with Instagram. As a graphic designer, I thought I had to showcase my skills, so it started off as an account for my business. I was using my brand colors as overlays on my images, but I wasn’t satisfied with the overall look of my feed.

Then I started using my brand colors as backgrounds and then added pictures of myself because no one wants to buy from someone they know nothing about. Also, I started showcasing my portfolio, but those portfolio pieces didn’t fit my own business brand.

In the end, I hated the way my Instagram feed looked, so I started experimenting with photo images only. I totally went rogue because I still couldn’t find what I wanted, but it helped a lot in knowing what I liked and didn’t like. Just posting on Instagram itself helped me develop my style and voice, but having less time made me really buckle down and create a theme for my feed.

You can check out my Instagram here.

Voice

Like with everything in life, it took a lot of practice for me to find my voice. Just like with my blog posts, I had to reprogram myself to write in a more casual style. Basically, I try to write the way I talk to people in real life vs how I write an essay for a school or work project.

It’s hard, but I pushed myself to create an Instagram post every day, well now every weekday. If you’re having trouble finding your brand voice, just write the way you talk. You shouldn’t try to pretend to be someone else in real life anyway.

Images

Your image style should be consistent. I never had an issue with this because I Photoshop all my images to have the same style, even the photos I take of myself. When I photoshop my images, I like to brighten up my images, add contrast, and lower the saturation a little. I also like to stick to black, white, and the teal-ish color I use for my brand.

As long as you stick to a style, your theme will look professional. For example, Boryana Kolf likes to use a color theme for her feed. I love the images she chooses for her colors. If you’re not following her on Instagram, you should because she gives great Instagram tips.

Another way to stay consistent is by content. Jackie Kossoff is based in L.A., so she likes to use photos from L.A. in her feed. The one thing that always stands out for me in her feed is her ‘Food for Thought’ posts. They are always pictures of food and include tips on upping your social media game.

Instagram templates are the easiest way to brand your feed

I had to take like 3 weeks off from Instagram because I became too busy with client projects and my own business projects. Even though I really disliked Instagram when I first started, I fell in love with interacting with people. Who knew I would have so much fun with it?

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If you’re reading this, you already have a brand or you’re ready to start thinking seriously about it. Having a brand is all about building recognition and attracting your audience. So how do you become recognizable? Simple, you just have to stay consistent. Consistency is the easiest way to get people to recognize you and keep you memorable. Here are the 5 tips to keep your brand consistent.

5 tips to keep your brand consistent

01. Writings on the wall

No matter if you’re creating YouTube videos, blogging, creating content for social media, or just a business in general, you’re going to have to use text. The first tip is to always use the same fonts. You shouldn’t have more than 3 fonts unless your business branches off and each item has its own brand.

Unless your branching out, no matter what you’re putting out into the world, use the same fonts. That means using the same fonts on your Instagram graphics, website, worksheets, workbooks, YouTube graphics, blog graphics, ads, billboards, and so on. If you keep doing this consistently, your audience should be able to recognize your business by your font.

Note: If you create content for online and print use, then you might have 4 to 6 fonts. One set for online use and another set for print. Those fonts are based on legibility.

02. Don’t be every color of the rainbow

Unless your brand colors are every color of the rainbow, use only your brand colors. Like with your fonts, use them consistently on your social media graphics, YouTube thumbnails and videos, blog graphics, website, and so on. No matter what you create, if your audience repeatedly sees your content, they should know who it is.

For example, if you create a YouTube thumbnail and you use the same colors and fonts, then your audience should automatically think, ‘Oh, so and so just released another video, I should watch it’, without even looking at the YouTube channel name.

03. Image is everything

Photo images are also a part of your brand. Make sure you create the same style of images. The best example is Instagram. You’ll notice that the best accounts create a consistent theme. Those themes can be based on mood, colors, lighting, and/or focus.

I think you can get a little more creative with Instagram, but whatever platform you’re using, if you’re using images for your brand, make sure to keep the style consistent.

Want to find out more about branding photos? Click here to read 3 types of photos you can use to brand your business. Read More “5 tips to keep your brand consistent”