It is not enough to know your brand’s ethos, target client profile, and positioning. You should also think about how your brand manifests itself. Is it boisterous, vivacious, and the life of the party? Is it consistent, reliable, and trustworthy? Every brand, like humans, manifests itself in the world in its own manner.
The persona of your brand is what brings it to life for potential consumers, as well as investors, partners, and existing and potential staff. Your persona is how your brand really behaves, whereas your core values communicate the underlying principles that drive your brand’s conduct. It is how your company thinks, feels, communicates, and presents itself to the world.
Establishing your brand’s character needs some serious thinking and consideration. It is a degree of self-reflection that seems almost therapeutic, and its well worth the effort. You will have a blueprint for every writer, marketer, product team, and designer that touches your brand from now on after you have articulated the traits that contribute to your brand’s identity and the fundamental aspects of your brand’s voice. The persona part of your brand book serves as a guide for keeping your whole staff “on-brand.” Brand loyalty and, ultimately, brand equity are built via consistency.
You must first have a strong understanding of your company’s concept, target clients, and how your brand is positioned before attempting to piece together the personality and voice of your brand. It is a good time to convene your brand-building team and work through the persona exercises below after these core parts of your brand are in place. Doing a comprehensive content audit of all your platforms and assets is the easiest method to quickly put your brand personality and voice into action.
A brand’s character is typically a direct reflection of the founder or founding team in early-stage firms. As a result, make certain that the founding team is involved in this effort. You could also want to invite in the employees who develop content (for example, the folks who manage your social media accounts) or who contact your consumers the most directly (like your customer support lead).
After this group has convened, give each participant a stack of 100 blank index cards and a black Sharpie, and have them do the following task. Tell your audience that you will be asking a series of questions and that after each one, they will have a minute to jot down any traits that spring to mind. Explain that characteristics (such as “trustworthy,” “brave,” or “cares a lot”) are words or extremely short sentences that define a positive or poor feature. Each card should only have one characteristic written on it.
