final project - creating a social media campaign strategy pitch for a brand of your choosing

Week 7: Developing your Brand’s Tone

Week 7 Learning Goals

By the end of today’s class you will:

- Be able to identify and apply Brand tone & voice best practices - Understand the role of a Brand’s tone & voice in a social strategy to

use Brand tone & voice to attract and maintain a social following

91% visit the brand’s app or website 89% will buy from that brand 85% recommend to family or friend 84% choose over a competitor 84% visit brand’s physical store 75% will increase their spending with that brand

When consumers follow a brand on social

According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index

High Stakes: Getting and Keeping followers on social

57% learn about new products/services 47% stay up to date on company news 40% learn about promos/discounts 40% to be entertained 34% to be educated 32% to connect with people similar to me

Follow a brand on social

According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index

45% felt the brand’s content was irrelevant 45% felt the brand had too many ads 39% cited privacy concerns 29% negative press 26% corporate scandal 24% felt brands posted too much

Unfollow a brand on social

Reasons consumer say they:

💬 💬 💬 💬 💬

💬

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Top reason for Gen X

50% of Gen Z

According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index

45% Suggestions in feed and/or using discovery tools 40% Recommendations from family/friends 39% “Brands I admired and/or follow 35% “Accounts influencers I like mention” 34% “Brands I shop with offline” 32% Word-of-mouth 34% Hashtags

Ways consumers find new accounts to like & follow

So how do you create the consistency consumers crave?

A Brand’s tone & voice give it human-like qualities- making it something we feel we can engage with

Language

Persona Tone

Purpose

This is the personality of your brand. If it were a person, would they be friendly, quirky,

serious etc?

The tone is the ‘vibe’ of your brand and how you wish it to sound. For example, if your

persona is Quirky, the tone may be humorous, whereas if your persona is more

professional, the tone might be direct.

What is the purpose of your brand? Do you exist to educate your audience, provide entertainment, inspire, or simply sell a

product

What kind of words are you using in your copy? A quirky, humorous brand is far more

likely to use fun and simple language as opposed to something more complex.

Social Media Brand Voice

Constant, Fixed: Guides WHAT you say & share

Range: Guides HOW you say it could be different depending on audience- but

needs to be consistent within voice

Example: Brand: Sharpie Voice: Creative, fun, practical

From their site: Sharpie stands for far more than just markers. Made to write on, stand out on, and stay on practically any surface, it’s The Permanent Marker born for unique, unruly, courageous, outrageous self-expression that never, ever fades from glory.

We are THE BOLD ORIGINAL, genuine article, and cultural icon of Permanent Markers.

Example: Brand: The Honest Company Voice: Inspirational, family-oriented, and clever From their site: Meaningful transparency and thoughtful design. We’re on a mission to change the world, one product at a time.

The Honest Company was born of a simple purpose: to create safe, effective products for our families and yours. And the Honest Standard is how we make that intention a reality. It’s our set of guiding principles, and it’s the way in which we apply our values to innovation and development

This Standard defines the way we move forward with all new products we introduce from here on out. And it will continue to evolve — because our job of making better products is never done.

How to get a Brand Team to back your answer

Step 1: Identify the core business ask in the question you’re being asked Who are our superfans and how can we get them to be active advocates for our brand?

Step 2: Response with an actionable answer 1. Tied to business goals

○ Be explicit about the connection between your answer and the team that will be deciding if they can/should use this data- in this particular example- be sure to justify how you’re able to know that these superfans actually ARE customers- and not just fans.

2. Backed up by data-driven insights & research ○ Ask yourself: How can I demonstrate a clear trend in the data? What examples can I pull that will really

make my point for me?

3. Provides a complete answer ○ Ask yourself: If a brand acted on my recommendation- would they be missing out on anything- the goal

isn’t to answer the question- it’s to completely answer the question.

Example Q: “Define your most passionate subset of customers. Who are they, what social networks are they on, how can you reach them, and what tools and opportunities can you give them to encourage them to share their stories?”