Here’s a brief discussion between myself and a colleague that captures my technique for developing a social media brand voice.
Couple notes:
- Lead generation
- Financial services niche
Initial question
I could really use your overall help with coming up with a brand voice/attitude and overall copy for generic response to common questions, comments, concerns from users on social media.
Just to get the ball rolling, here are a few commonly asked questions and comments:
- Are you legit?
- I’m interested in your service, so far came across competitors X, Y, Z, and you. What do you guys recommend?
- I don’t like your company because of reason 1, 2, and 3.
- Here’s a blog post I like.
- Does anyone have any recommendations for a your niche?
- How can I get a service like yours?
Of course there are more but these at the ones I came up with at the moment. Now keeping in mind the vision for a professional brand who is trust worthy, here are some brand voices with their twist:
- Professional know it all that has a bit of snarkiness and a why should I work with you attitude. Works with exclusivity
- Trustworthy, Happy to help, Professional, want to help even if you don’t choose our service
- Excited about the niche and its rise. Optimistic and enthusiastic but conveys itself as knowledgeable.
- Been there since the start, always believed in the niche and shares that sentiment consistently, still professional but slams down people who don’t believe in the potential of the niche.
Initial response
Big picture is, you wanna respond as though you have NO vested interest in the person’s decision. That way you come off as a neutral observer. Also don’t be obsequious – be confident, above-it-all, be James Bond.
Aside: this is crucial in any form of selling to prospects.
Couple specifics:
#1: “What would a fraudster say? ‘Yes.’ What would a legit company say? ‘Yes.’ Don’t take my word for it – look here and here…”
#2: “This is a big decision. Do your due diligence. We think these things are most important (top 3 benefits we offer). Should you choose to work with someone else, please let me know what helped you make up your mind.”
#3: “I understand. Not everyone thinks (list of benefits we offer) is as important as we do.”
Or, if they’re real jerks, “Constructive criticism is always welcome.”
Or, most passive-aggressive of all, “We celebrate your diversity.” Note: I stole this from an episode of Beavis and Butthead — regardless of the source, this is the best way I’ve ever found to say, “Agree to disagree” without continuing the discussion because people are so confused by the statement it gives you plenty of time to redirect. By far the greatest verbal judo move I know.
#4: “Thanks for sharing! Here’s the last interesting thing I read:”
#5: “Make sure they offer (list of benefits we offer)”
#6: “You have to x and y and z. We keep about a dozen full-time staff busy helping people complete the paperwork correctly, because it’s pretty easy to make mistakes.”
Postscript
Here’s some homework:
- Choose 3 adjectives to define the brand voice – just 3. (This is a difficult task and forces you to FOCUS and refine your target.)
- Find a competitor (or really anyone) who you think is TOTALLY NAILING the voice you want to create for the brand. Think about how they’re doing it — word choice? Attitude? What distinguishes their voice from the pandaemonium of social media?
We can work up some canned responses together to copy/paste/modify to streamline responses – still, you’re going to need such a clear persona that it’s like channeling a ghost or something to do this on the fly.
The End
There’s a lot more to consider. There’s ALWAYS a lot more to consider — but this is enough to get you started.
Further reading: