As a person who manages a brand, you need to understand the character of your brand. The way to do this is by looking for the brand persona. It could be said that you have to look for the personality, values, and characteristics of the brand that you manage. It is even important to characterize the color or visual appearance. Let’s discuss the steps!
1. Clearly define brand values and personality
Before starting, make sure you know exactly the core values and personality of your brand. Questions like these can be a guide:
• What does your brand stand for?
• What values do you want to communicate to your audience?
• How do you want your audience to see your brand (for example: friendly, professional, or innovative)?
With clear values, you can establish a consistent brand tone and way of communicating, regardless of platform. For example, a brand that is friendly and inclusive will use warmer and more open language than a brand that focuses on professionalism.
2. Choose the Right Tone of Voice
After determining values and personality, the next step is to choose the tone of voice or language style. This tone will be a distinctive “voice” that the audience will remember from your brand. For example:
• Friendly brands can use casual language and greet their audience informally.
• Professional brands may prefer formal and structured language.
Use the same tone on all platforms. If your brand chooses a relaxed tone on Instagram, make sure that tone is still present on LinkedIn, although perhaps adapted slightly to suit LinkedIn’s more professional audience.
3. Maintain Visual Consistency
A brand persona is not just about words. Visuals are also very important. Make sure all your visual elements—colors, logos, typography, even photo or video style—are always consistent across each platform. For example:
• Use the same colors on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or website.
• Choose a uniform photo style (for example: bright and fresh photos for brands that want to appear dynamic).
• Typography or fonts should also be uniform so that your brand is easily recognized.
Use visual guidelines (or brand guidelines) that contain guidelines on colors, fonts, logos, and other visual elements to help teams maintain consistency.
4. Customize Content Without Sacrificing Personality
Each platform has different characteristics and audiences, so it’s important to adapt content without changing your brand persona. For example:
• On Instagram, you can focus on visual content such as photos or short videos that show the casual side of the brand.
• On LinkedIn, you may need to focus on educational and professional content, but still with a tone that fits your brand persona.
In essence, adapt the format and type of content for each platform, but still maintain unique communication values and styles.
5. Use Branded Hashtags
If your brand has a branded hashtag, use this hashtag on all platforms. This will help your audience associate the hashtag with your brand and create a consistent impression. For example, beverage brands can use hashtags like #RunWith[BrandName] in all posts related to their campaign. This strengthens brand identity and builds audience engagement.
6. Involve All Teams Involved
Make sure all teams managing these platforms (whether content, design, marketing or even customer service teams) have the same understanding of your brand persona. Often, style differences arise because different teams have different views on how the brand should appear. By holding meetings or creating brand guidelines, you can keep all parties on the same page.
7. Evaluate and Adjust Regularly
Brands and audiences can change over time. Therefore, evaluate your brand persona regularly. For example, see whether the tone of voice you have been using is still relevant or whether there needs to be a visual change. Don’t hesitate to adapt your brand persona to market developments or trends, as long as it remains consistent with the brand’s core values.
Read More : Audience Persona : A Way to Improve Marketing Strategy