What is one way you can make sure your brand voice is consistent across all departments?
1. Create Consistency
I love the TV show “Project Runway,” and one thing they always do is try to create a “collection” that feels cohesive across several outfits. I think about applying that kind of consistency to my own company, and how if a customer saw one product from us — would they know the next product was also us? I try to detach my perspective and test our cohesiveness from there. – Rob Fulton, Exponential Black
2. Make and Stay True to Guidelines
The “owner” of your brand voice should produce detailed guidance for the rest of the team. While the marketing team should write content whenever possible, other departments will pick up the slack occasionally. When they do, they should have a handy guide available that includes examples and clear rules to follow. – Bhavin Shah, Refresh
3. Brainstorm Your Brand
We make a point of sitting down and brainstorming our brand — how we perceive us, how we think others see us and where we can take our ideas in the future. An open forum for discussion results in a clearer, more consistent voice with nuances that everyone understands. – Marvin Amberg,Caseable
4. Facilitate Crosstalk
Having a house style guide is important, but less so than having a house that communicates. Always task department heads with keeping each other informed and on brand. – Sam Saxton, Salter Spiral Stair and Mylen Stairs
5. Include Visual Elements
Images are such an important aspect of any brand, whether you are the brand or the brand is a product or collection of services. Images carry the voice that translates across many media channels so should always be consistent. – Parker Powers, Big Brand Media
6. Invest in Your Culture
When you invest in your culture, your team aligns values. When they align values, they align language. Aligned language creates a unified voice. It all starts with culture. – Corey Blake, Round Table Companies
7. Make it Part of Your Culture
The voice of your brand shouldn’t be hard to pin down, because it should be a baked-in part of your company culture. This voice can also be reinforced through onboarding, training and codification. – John Tabis, The Bouqs Company
8. Create a Playbook
Work as a team to put together a brand playbook that outlines how all of the brand players will represent the brand voice. Give examples, list brands with similar voices and create a flowchart to help the team determine how best to respond to different scenarios. – Allie Siarto, Fare Oak
9. Hire an Editorial Director
If a consistent brand voice is important to your company, invest in an editorial director who can work full time or on contract, depending on the amount of material there is to review. An editorial director can be a tremendous value-add for consistency and quality of content across your company. – Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.
10. Create Internal Employee Advocacy Programs
Depending on the size of your company, you can create an employee advocacy program where your different departments have a representative who is connected to any changes in your brand voice and brings that back to their department meetings. I’ve seen it work well for larger companies, and there is definitely a big push in that direction. – Mike Ambassador Bruny, Ambassador Bruny Dot Com