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Tips on Writing Your Brand In Words

Written by: Ingrid Cliff

Article Overview: When you think of branding most people think of logos, colours and designs. But the way you write and the words you use are as much a part of your brand as all of the other visual elements. Think about Virgin's Brand – cheeky, taking a poke at the establishment and very fresh. When they write ads or brochures each part of their writing reflects their overall brand. The words they use are fun, not stuffy and say it like it is.

Tips on Writing Your Brand In Words

When you think of branding most people think of logos, colours and designs. But the way you write and the words you use are as much a part of your brand as all of the other visual elements.

Think about Virgin's Brand – cheeky, taking a poke at the establishment and very fresh. When they write ads or brochures each part of their writing reflects their overall brand. The words they use are fun, not stuffy and say it like it is.

Now think about some of the major banks – much of their business writing is quite dry, corporate and staid.

Many small businesses make the mistake of trying to be too formal with their writing. They use big words, formal sentence structures and refer to themselves in the third person. That is the worst thing small business can do for their marketing!

The trend in marketing is personalisation – people want to know and trust the people they work with. They want to know the people behind the logo. The way to do this is to be real and open in your communications with your clients.

Some indicators of this trend are the shift in ads on TV. Gone are the ads promoting a company “Woolworths the Fresh Food People” to be replaced with ads showing core Woolies employees showing their expertise with fruit by showing weekly information about new seasons fruit and vegies.

Bunnings shows their employees talking in their words about their company. Even the banks are cashing in showing their tellers in social settings.

This trend has also shifted into writing. Gone are the boring web pages or brochures with “we try harder”. People expect more. They want to know more. They want to know what it will be like to work with you.

When we work with a company I always insist on having a conversation with the head of the company. I want to hear in their own words what makes their company great. I also want to hear how they speak, what makes them laugh and work out what makes them tick. We use this information when we convert their business into words, so there is no disconnect between the words people read on websites and brochures, and the words they hear when they talk with the company.

As a freelance copywriter, here's my process to make sure your writing reflects your brand:

1. Describe your brand in words – what does it mean, what does it stand for, what sort of people work there, what sort of experience do people get when they work with you.

2. Ask a few of your friends and top clients to describe your brand to you.

3. Look for common words and themes – for example fresh, vibrant, trusted.

4. Use these words as part of your unique selling proposition (USP).

5. Run all your writing past the ruler of these words – if someone didn't know you and they read your words would they think this company was (fresh, vibrant, trusted)?

6. Always write directly to your clients or customers. Refer to "you" and "we" not "the client" and "our company".

7. Insert emotion – have some fun with your words. Put the juice back in your words – don't desiccate all the life out of your language trying to be someone or something you are not. You are perfectly fine the way you are – if you represent the essence of you in your writing the right customers will be attracted to your business for the right reasons. And you will have a heck of a lot more fun in your business in the process!

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Article Tags: banks, boring web, brochures, bunnings, business writing, colours, dis, fresh food, mistake, new seasons, sentence structures, small business, small businesses, social settings, tellers, third person, vegies, visual elements, web pages, woolworths



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