Brand Voice: How to Find the Right Words for Your Business
If you’ve dipped your toes into building a brand through copywriting, you’ve no doubt heard of terms like tone of voice and brand persona. However, one I rarely hear thrown around is idiolect - and if you want to be an emotionally intelligent, self aware brand, it’s time you got to know yours.
It sounds a little like a name for someone with a suboptimal IQ, or maybe a way to describe those questionable decisions you make on a late night out. But idiolect is actually a great little label to describe your own unique way of speaking.
So, what is it?
*Warning: we’re about to dip our toes into linguistics. Strong coffee advisable
Let’s dissect your idiolect
Have you noticed different people have their own distinctive way of speaking and using language? We’re all using English, but not in the same way. That stamp you put on it, like how you say ‘straya when you mean Australia, or how you effortlessly (maybe even subconciously) work in movie quotes into your groupchat messages - that’s all part of your idiolect. And it’s a big part of how the people in your social circle interpret your identity and connect with you emotionally.
An idiolect comprises three main elements:
Pronunciation
This describes the way we say different speech sounds (such as vowel and consonant sounds).
Vocabulary
Theses are the words we use to express ourselves and interact with others. They are specific to you and can be influenced by others.
Grammar
This is how you structure your language, including the types of sentences and phrases you use, as well as things like ‘tense’ and so on.
Your brand has an idiolect. Because your brand is alive.
So why are we talking about people having an idiolect, when what you’re really trying to do is write for your business? It’s because your business is a brand, and in this socially connected world we live in, brands are no longer static products on a shelf - they’re living, breathing entities that people need to invest in emotionally before they’re willing to invest financially.
That makes your idiolect a powerful weapon.
The way you talk is contagious
In real life, idiolects rub off on others. The more time you spend with them, the faster they understand how you use language, and the more likely it is they mimic you, whether it’s the phrases, or even inside jokes.
With time, they may even incorporate it into their own personal idiolect. Boom - you’ve created a bond, and now share even more in common with one another.
Creating emotionally intelligent brands
How can we learn from this when copywriting for brands?
Lesson 1: Be influenced
When shaping your brand identity with copywriting, it’s crucial to place yourself in the shoes of the people you want to win over. Consider how they talk, with whom, what they might watch on Netflix, what they do for fun on the weekend. What words are in their vocabulary? How can you absorb this into your brand’s idiolect as a means to create an authentic connection with the people that matter most to you?
One well-known brand that springs to mind is McDonalds, who in Australia has absorbed the local nickname ‘Macca’s’ from their customer’s idiolect into theirs. Why would they do this, if not to deepen the connection with their customers?
Lesson 2: Be influential
When it comes to identity copywriting, strive to create brands that people want to be associated with. Our words have the power to create loyal followers who want to talk like us, think like us, even be in on the same insider goss and humour - that includes your competitors.
This is what the best brands do. Was the personal computer category always so savvy, playful and human? Hell no. It was stuffier than a 40-floor elevator ride at a curry convention before Apple changed the conversation.
Your brand’s idiolect is so important - so give it the love it needs with identity rich copywriting that pays attention to the things that bring its best self to life.