This article is about building your brand. A comprehensive social media approach is required. Before it’s even time to start planning & scheduling material, a lot of effort goes on behind the scenes.
Best 6 Things To Build Your Brand Voice As Government Agency
In this article, you know about building your brand here are details given below;
Defining our brand voice and tone is one of the most difficult challenges. After all, on social media, everyone wants to be relatable and entertaining.
However, brand voice has a significant impact on the performance of our social efforts. It’s not only about seeming quirky and cool. Check out Sprout Social’s research into what makes a brand’s social accounts “best in class” to get a sense of the magnitude of this impact:
Audience engagement, memorable content, distinct personality, and compelling storytelling are all largely or completely tied to brand voice and tone.
With that in mind, we talked about how to create a conversational, engaging brand voice on a panel at the Social Media Strategies Summit for Government Agencies, moderated by Sarah McQuaide, Communications & Marketing Manager for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, and featuring insights from:
• Jennifer Davies, Digital Content Supervisor for the City of Las Vegas
• Stephanie Hill, the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program’s Social Media Lead
Here are six of the most noteworthy takeaways.
1.Brand Voice Must Evolve with Your Audience
To begin, let’s debunk any illusions that developing a brand voice is a one-time task.
Your brand’s voice evolves with time, and it must be updated to meet evolving consumer demands and brand expectations. Also check Investment Apps For Android
According to Jennifer Davies, the City of Las Vegas’ brand voice is primarily focused on building a sense of community. That has consistently been the case, and it is likely to remain so. However, the pandemic has prompted a shift in the city’s tone and social media content.
“During the epidemic, a lot of the fun and lighthearted banter that we had with our residents and with other social media accounts had to slow down because it just wasn’t proper,” she adds.
Jennifer’s focus now is on assisting followers with COVID-related concerns and providing correct information on things such as testing and vaccines, or, as she puts it, “trying to offer calm in the storm.”Jennifer, on the other hand, does not want her pandemic-influenced communication style to persist. She anticipates a return to fun, humorous content in the future for the City of Las Vegas’ social platforms, which were seeing tremendous growth prior to COVID-19.
“We’d like to return to that.” In May of 2021, she says of their social media posts, “[We’re] attempting to take modest steps and gain confidence, since we aren’t experiencing the blowback that we would have seen even just a few months ago.”
Stephanie Hill’s team has had to change its messaging as well, not just because of the pandemic, but also because some individuals don’t want to be entertained by emojis and jokes.
This is especially true for the All of Us Research Program, which works with a variety of underrepresented groups.
“If there is a strong news cycle, we may need to take a couple of days off from posting.” Stephanie adds, “We also post messages that say, ‘We hear you, we’re here for you.'”
Their team must avoid sounding tone deaf. “It’s basically [about] getting to know your audience and figuring out when you might need to change your approach a little bit chevalier.”
2. Brand Voice Gives a Personal Touch
In a world where over 9,500 tweets are sent every second, information overload is a legitimate problem. Also check voice changer while calling
Simply said, we’ve become nearly desensitised to online material, making it harder for social media managers to cut through the clutter and engage with their followers. “[As consumers], we may hear a health statistic or discuss information that is important to a specific community,” Stephanie notes, “but it still doesn’t necessarily click with us as individuals.”
That’s why the social channels of All of Us Research strive to tailor material to the communities they serve.
“We attempt to give our channels a more personal touch.” We concentrate on health observances, but with a strong desire to make that personal connection.”
Also, keep in mind that your brand voice does not exist in a vacuum; it should be intimately linked to the values that guide your company. Something has gone wrong if it doesn’t.
Stephanie demonstrates how this should be implemented. “Our programme focuses on what is known as ‘precision medicine.'” People want to be treated as individuals, and we understand that. What works for one person may not be suitable for another. So when it comes to social media, we apply the same strategy on our channels.”
3. Content and tone can (and should) differ.
This essay is about developing a single brand voice, not several separate ones; nevertheless, you should allow for some flexibility. Your voice will naturally change depending on the platform and the situation. If it doesn’t, you’re probably not getting the most out of it.
The goal of your branding effort should be to provide a unified voice and tone that can be altered and tweaked to meet the demands and preferences of various personas and platforms.
According to Stephanie, All of Us Research divides their brand voice into three distinct characteristics:
• Relatable\s
• Factual\s
• Informative
However, this can vary depending on the platform. “We discovered that the audience on Facebook and Instagram was people who were interested in health information,” she explains. “A lot of our Twitter audience were researchers and others who were interested in science.”
That meant she had to work out how to “reach to those diverse audiences with the same material while making it relevant to their needs so that they will want to keep following us.”Jennifer agrees with this statement. She built several identities to assist generate content that actually resonated with the City of Las Vegas’ viewers, which varied across media.
“They’re really interested history on Facebook.”
On Facebook, I believe we have a little more room to tell visual storytelling, which appears to resonate better with our audience. Then, on Instagram, we aim to show off the lovely side of Las Vegas, from the city to the public areas, as well as all of the incredible hiking and stunning scenery that the desert has to offer.”You may need to change things up for the various scenarios you meet on social media, just as you may change your brand voice and tone between platforms.
Sarah emphasises how, over time, this level of adaptability has become increasingly vital. “In the earlier days, it was one-way communication, where we would throw material out there and not be concerned if someone would remark or like it. Now is the time to establish two-way communication. You want to talk to someone.”
But how can you know what tone and voice to employ in different situations and interactions?
Experimentation is important. If we wanted to keep sharing the same stuff every day, we probably wouldn’t work in social media. Stephanie, on the other hand, suggests that you learn from your competitors. Also check best scheduling app
“Just call them up, contact them, and talk it out,” she advises. “When we were thinking about how to handle replies at HHS, we talked to people at the CDC and the NIH to see how they handled it.” We also met with other federal agencies to gain a better understanding. At the end of the day, we’re all involved in some form of social battle.”
4.Use Data to Inform Your Brand Voice
It should never be a guessing game when it comes to defining your brand voice. Sure, you’ll probably have a feeling or two about what your audience wants to hear, but you should always base your decisions on evidence.
Stephanie noticed, for example, that more than half of All of Us Research’s Facebook readership is over 65. “It’s a little older than we expected,” she acknowledges.
As a result, she’s changed the type of Facebook content they share. “We share a lot of successful blog pieces and longer-form articles. They’re still founded on science, but they’re presented in a new way.”
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the organization’s Instagram followers are between the ages of 25 and 30. Stephanie explains that while they are still interested in science, they aren’t “very into the weeds” when it comes to genetics or genomics.
“We can better communicate with the population on that channel by leveraging storytelling and some of the other channel elements.”
5. Remember, you don’t have to be Wendy’s to be successful!
Wendy’s (and Arby’s, and a slew of other corporations) have been killing it on social media by tweeting like your smart, witty college roommate.
However, you don’t have to be that person to develop a conversational, engaging brand voice.
That could not possibly be you. Inauthenticity is something that people despise on social media.
Jennifer admits that accepting this point can be difficult since she feels pressured to figure out how to be this amazing, snarky, witty person on social media.
“I simply want to reassure everyone that that might not be the best fit for your brand.” And some regimes have that personality, which is fantastic for them. However, I believe that building your brand voice does not imply that you must do so in order to be successful.”
Stephanie cites the well-known image of Bernie Sanders wearing mittens and looking gloomy that swept our social media feeds at the start of the year (you know the one). Many people wanted to participate, and she had internal debates over whether All of Us Research should participate.
“In the end, we determined that, while it was trending on Instagram and everywhere else, it wasn’t the perfect fit for us,” she adds.
“When it’s appropriate, you may be whimsical and enjoyable in other ways.” “Does this necessarily make sense for me?” Stephanie and her team ask themselves. Would it cause any problems if that individual saw this? Is there any way to amplify this in terms of finance or anything else?”
The same discussions were taking on at the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, according to panel host Sarah McQuaide.
“We joked, ‘How funny would it be if Bernie was sitting in the airport wearing his mittens?’ We also have to consider each of our audience’s varied personas. “Would they think it’s amusing?”
To put it another way, building a conversational, engaging brand voice does not always imply following the latest trend. There are numerous options, some of which may be more relevant to your brand and target demographic.
6. Metrics can help you figure out what works (and what doesn’t).
The value of data was a frequent topic throughout the panel, and rightly so. We have access to large amounts of data as social media professionals, so there’s no reason to base our strategy on gut instinct.
“When it comes to trial and error, a lot of people ask me, ‘How do you know when you’re on the right track?'” Jennifer asks. “And it’s like, if your accounts are growing and you’re getting likes and retweets without a lot of snark, you’re doing something right.” Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“I usually like to look at the analytics and then try something new, review it, and see how it performed,” she says.
But don’t let the figures fool you. To draw relevant, practical insights, Sarah insists on delving into the meaning behind the data. That involves getting beyond top-level vanity metrics that tell you nothing about actual performance.
Sarah also points out that data may not always tell the complete story. “A single meaningful interaction with one person can sometimes mean so much. It has the potential to elevate your brand and build trust, which is critical for government agencies like ours.”
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