Remember the last time you got a phone call from a robo-caller? It may be using the correct words and grammar, but you can tell right away that it isn’t human. When you hear the voice, it’s obvious that something is off and that clouds the message.
Every writer has a voice. Even if you don’t take the time to develop it, your writing will have a certain tone and style. Just like you can recognize a friend by the way that you talk, you can recognize similar patterns in someone’s writing.
Using the right voice is important for narration in fiction writing, but it’s just as important in business. Making sure your business’s content is relatable, relevant and easy to understand goes a long way with both clients and candidates. Take the time to recognize your business’s voice and cultivate good habits in your content to build immediate rapport with your readers.
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Talk to Your Audience, Not at Them
Even if you can match the right tone, relying on unnecessary language to either sound smart or sound more official gets in the way. There is a time and place for formal language, and it may even work for your company. Make sure your content sounds like a conversation and not a textbook.
Writing the way that people talk to each other makes things easier to read and very human. You can connect with the writer quickly and even place yourself in their shoes. For recruiting firms, use the simplest language you can to get your point across.
Jargon is ok when you serve an industry where those terms are commonplace. When you explain concepts with more complex language than required, you come off as condescending and detached. The voice you use is how many people relate to your company first, so put away your thesaurus and make sure you aren’t turning them away.
Consistency Establishes Credibility
In business, your reputation is everything. You work hard to establish a name for yourself and your business so why shouldn’t your content support that brand? We all like working with reliable people, but if your content’s voice isn’t consistent, you’re building a negative reputation for yourself.
Think of it like meeting friends at a party. The person who is known for being rude and crass shows up and the rest of the group tries their best to avoid that person. The person known for telling great stories and keeping the party entertained always has an audience. Your voice establishes consistent expectations for your audience. When clients and candidates know that they can come to you for clear concise content, they will be more likely to come back and recommend your firm.
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Differentiate Yourself
Like I mentioned before, whether you’ve built your voice or not, it’s there. This voice is unique to your brand. Take advantage of voice in your content to differentiate your firm. Other than making your content easier to understand, your voice gives your company a personality.
When working with candidates, make sure your voice matches the hiring personas you’ve set up. Matching the voice and tone to those personas will stand out to the candidates that you are working to attract. Similarly, your brand voice establishes you as an expert to potential clients. You must walk a line between attracting candidates and clients as well as building credibility.
Developing a consistent voice that is unique to your brand is just as important as a good logo. When you have a strong voice, your audience can immediately identify your content. They know they can trust the information provided and they can contact you to get even more information.
Learn how Parqa helps executive search firms find and build their voice to creating engaging digital content.
