Let’s talk about your tone of voice.
“What tone of voice do we want? Let me send you some links for our main competitors. They use the industry norm, so if you could recreate that, that would be great.”
If someone gave me a fiver every time, a client said that to me, I would have retired a long time ago.
There is a misconception that every industry has a specific voice.
They don’t.
The tone you use across all your marketing materials should represent you, not your industry.
If it doesn’t, all you succeed in doing is creating another sheep that gets lost in the flock.
Stop being vanilla with your tone of voice
I love it when I take on a client who ‘gets it.’ When they say, “we want to be disrupters. We don’t want to do things the way others do. We want to stand out, “ I do a little jig of happiness.
If you still don’t ‘get it, think about your social group.
It’s made up of lots of different personalities. The one that ties too hard to fit in, the ones who look like clones (because they think it’s the cool thing to do), the ‘also rans’ (i.e., those that blend in), and the one that does their own thing.
The last one is the one people gravitate to. Why? Because they aren’t afraid to be themselves. They let their personality shine through. They are genuine and don’t try to emulate what they think is ‘cool.’
Project your voice
In marketing, the only way to stand out is to be yourself.
Whether in the insurance, finance, healthcare, travel or software industry, you will only attract attention if you present yourself as an individual. That means forgetting about the perceived norm and carving your own space.
If you want to be a disrupter, you have to disrupt. When a potential client whittles down their shortlist of suppliers, you want to be the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
The further you can go from the crowd, in terms of visuals and content, the better. Yes, the time has come to be brave.
Next time you brief your copywriter, be bold and have the courage of your convictions. Don’t ask for something different only to get cold feet when you read it. If it pushes you from your comfort zone, that’s a good thing. If it looks like a square peg in a round hole compared to your competitors, that’s even better.
Come on, now’s your time to show people what you can do and who you really are.
Be bold. Be brave. And stop being a sheep.