3 strategies to strengthen your brand’s social voice

3 S T R A T E G I E S

To Strengthen Your Brand’s Social Voice

A t its most integrated level, social media presents brands with

unprecedented opportunities for visibility, accessibility, e�ciency and

growth. In return, fans, followers and customers expect a balanced value

exchange through responsiveness, care and profound levels of engagement.

Given the (seemingly) lighthearted nature and subtle nuances of the social media

marketplace, some brands’ social voice strategies could play on par with a

scrappy 140-character count. Yet simply because you publish according to

character limits, file types and fickle formats does not guarantee your tactics

present a consistent and compelling social voice.

The time to treat social marketing and engagement planning lightly has passed;

the creation of an online brand identity and social voice strategy is no longer a

nicety. Prosperous brands now grant socially driven employees, from CMOs to

social media specialists, rightfully earned seats at the table. So go ahead and sit

down, lean in—if you dare—but don’t get too comfortable without smart strategies

and calculated contributions.

Unsure where to begin or want to refine your existing approach? We o�er three

strategies to achieve a more successful social voice. In short: Keep it clear, classy

and consistent.

3 Strategies to Strengthen Your Brand’s Social Voice

“Present a consistent & compelling social voice”

sproutsocial.com

Clearly & Concisely Personify Your Brand

As a marketing leader within your organization, it is your job to accurately and acutely

engage the appropriate people and resources to generate a clear, concise brand voice.

You’ve hopefully addressed, at least conceptually, your brand voice for advertising, public

relations and other marketing e�orts. Social, however, is in a league of its own because

brand conversations may not directly start from, end with or include your brand at all.

Lesson one: you never unilaterally control your brand’s social voice.

So why do many businesses still routinely, and sometimes hastily, throw team members

(often interns or junior associates) head first into social community management? Often

they have little to no understanding of how the voice they project will positively—or

negatively—a�ect the greater business. Others are more sophisticated, with human

horsepower and the technology to implement a social voice at scale. But without proper

alignment even the most prepared team will generate disjointed social experiences and

lackluster conversations. As an initial strategy, discuss with your team ways to establish

and maintain a cohesive voice.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• What are our brand’s guiding principles and how do we extend them socially?

• How can we complement the style and voice of our inbound social conversations?

• Should our brand’s social voice be casual, formal or adaptive as necessary?

• What human qualities do we want to regularly exude?

• What are our tactical sentence structure, verb tense and grammar preferences?

If multiple people on your team manage the social process, the tone of your company’s

tweets and posts may di�er depending on who publishes what content. Even if you agree

on a collective brand voice, each team member may personify it in a di�erent way and, in

turn, cause disparate brand conversations. The devil is in the details and, while seemingly

inconsequential, setting the tone by which you operate will nicely unify your voice and

create a better brand experience.

sproutsocial.com


“You never unilaterally

control your brand’s

social voice.”

1

Be Open & Responsive—But Stay Classy

In a few short years—and with more than a billion people on board—social engagement

now literally shapes worldwide conversations around topics from politics and celebrity to

business and brand loyalty. Naturally, questions arise of who, what, where, when and why

brands should start or jump into social conversations. Without preparation, situations can

get sticky, so find that appropriate balance to stay relevant but (please!) keep it classy.

Lesson two: steer clear of questionable conversations.

It is easy to get caught up in the moment and react to news, opinions and trivial social

commentary, especially within or around your brand category. While it is important to pay

attention and engage with the world around you, quick reactions and dives into

questionable conversations may lead to unwanted attention for your brand. Even with an

agreed upon brand voice, it is important to ensure published content stays on track and

conversations continued by social managers are on message.


• What topics, if any, are o� limits for our social communication channels?

• When is it appropriate to take conversations to direct or private message?

• How should we accurately di�erentiate personal opinions from brand opinions?

• How do we address conversations or questions about our competitors?

• Do we properly support and answer customer issues through social?

In light of these insights, and in concert with your brand marketing campaigns, set terms

of engagement to manage social conversations across channels and networks. Yes,

engage your audience, support varying viewpoints and spark healthy debate but, as

individuals, stay mindful that you represent an entity greater than yourself.

Acknowledgement of these terms is critical and as a team you should set standards

around your social voice that add value and engender positivity.

sproutsocial.com


2“Steer clear of

questionable conversations.”

Be Consistent & Refine in Real-Time

Every company—whether it’s a small business or a large enterprise—is full of varied

personalities in charge of social exchanges. A diverse corporate makeup is great for

innovation and culture, but may present challenges as you define your brand’s social

voice. Once you have determined the overall tone and timing of your company’s social

persona, put pen to paper yet remember to stay agile. Lesson three: social governance

should not prevent your brand from being interesting.

Before companies knew how to appropriately leverage social, most brand activity on

social platforms was an afterthought to comprehensive planning and well-timed

campaigns. As teams grow and players rotate, standards should include key points and

phrases as well as guidelines for the type and tone of social media content. If you ensure

that everyone is in agreement about your brand’s voice, it will help alleviate questions or

concerns about social conversations and who manages what content.


• Who should participate in social conversations on behalf of our brand?

• Who is the point of contact for questions or content approval?

• How will we stay consistent with other ongoing brand marketing activities?

• Should we create formal social voice standards for the company?

• How do we monitor and measure e�ectiveness of our social voice?

After a set of standards is finalized, obtain approvals and sign o�s from anyone in your

organization who should be involved in the process. Then communicate appropriately to

ensure understanding and (fingers crossed) avoid pleas of ignorance should something

go wrong. As you strive for consistency, you’ll likely realize some standards do not fit or

scenarios may arise for which you did not account. That’s perfectly okay. Follow

guidelines to ensure consistency, but refine in real-time and maintain a certain level of

spontaneity to keep your audience coming back for more.

sproutsocial.com


3“Social

governance should not

prevent you from being interesting.”

Sprout Social provides social media engagement,

publishing and analytic tools for top global brands

including AMD, McDonald’s, Pepsi, UPS and Yammer.

A powerful platform for social business, Sprout

enables brands to more e�ectively manage social

channels and provide an exceptional customer

experience. Headquartered in Chicago, Sprout is a

Twitter Certified Product and a Facebook Preferred

Marketing Developer.

For more information or to start a FREE, 30-day trial,

visit sproutsocial.com

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B

uilding a clear, classy and consistent brand voice can be challenging, but

with the right individual and team techniques, you’ll reap the rewards of

heightened engagement. These three strategies certainly require work but, when

implemented, will solidify your brand’s social voice and establish meaningful

relationships that stretch beyond a status update to stand the test of time.


3 strategies to strengthen your brand’s social voice

Social Media