How Do You Convey a Brand's Personality in Writing?
In the quest to infuse a brand's unique personality into the written word, we've gathered insights from five writing professionals, including bloggers and marketing consultants. They share techniques ranging from evoking emotions with specific words to maintaining a consistent tone of voice, offering a glimpse into the art of brand storytelling.
- Evoke Emotions with Specific Words
- Envision the Brand as a Person
- Personify the Brand for Narrative Depth
- Use Customer-Archetype Vocabulary
- Maintain a Consistent Tone of Voice
Evoke Emotions with Specific Words
Using words that evoke specific emotions is an effective way to express your brand's personality. If your brand focuses on inspiration, incorporating an inspirational tone and language will convey that your brand aims to inspire others.
If your brand focuses on money, using words and tones related to wealth can inspire and excite your audience about financial success.
Envision the Brand as a Person
Before writing, I literally envision the brand as a person sitting at a table, interacting with the people around it.
How does it talk? Is it witty, casual, or authoritative? How does it make others feel—excited, comforted, or inspired?
I then write in a way that reflects how the brand would naturally tell its story in that setting, ensuring the tone feels human and relatable, yet unique. This approach helps me break free from generic copy and makes the brand's voice feel real and engaging.
Personify the Brand for Narrative Depth
Do not simply write what you know. While writing what you know is often key to any writer's craft, it can often be limiting and dismissive, especially when exploring new or unfamiliar topics. While it's crucial to invest time in research and exploration to make your writing feel genuine and realistic, especially in areas you're not intimately familiar with, your writing can still feel flat or uninspired.
My key tip to convey a brand's personality in my writing is to make it feel like I'm writing about characters in a role-playing game. This way, I can develop well-rounded narratives. I view the brand as a character and I ask myself a series of questions such as – What is their background? Who are they? What is their role? Why do they exist? What's their motivation? By doing so, I am able to develop a consistent and unique voice that also aligns with the brand's core values and target audience.
By personifying the brand, I am able to write in a way that speaks directly to the audience's needs and preferences. Now that I've solidified my main character (the brand), I can incorporate real-life examples, testimonials, and anecdotes to further build on the brand's personality and successes.
Use Customer-Archetype Vocabulary
My favorite way to incorporate brand voice is through vocabulary that your customer archetype actually uses. I find this through Facebook groups, Reddit, TikTok, and other social media. When you're speaking to your audience, you need to use the words they use AND words that will resonate with them persuasively. Not just a vocabulary you came up with in a vacuum that you think conveys your brand.
Maintain a Consistent Tone of Voice
The one technique that I use to convey a brand's personality when writing is using a "consistent tone of voice." It is important to identify what tone a brand intends to convey and stick with it. Whether it is casual, professional, playful, or authoritative—it has to align with the brand's core values and audience expectations. This is a secret to making a brand feel more relatable and recognizable.
Online media is one of the easiest ways a brand can showcase its identity. Some brands on social media use approachable language that can convey friendliness; this is typically seen with playful jabs, memes, and even innuendos in posts. For others, clear, informative language usually signals the brand's professionalism and trustworthiness. This consistency helps to build a strong, cohesive brand identity across all communications.
