When you pick up the phone to talk to a customer, you know exactly what you should say and how you should say it — you’re kind, respectful, and helpful. Finding your voice on social media is as easy as that. All you need to do to brand yourself online is to understand how to extend your in-person experience to the web.

Sprout Social explains why finding your voice is important:

“Just like you would concept several designs for your brand logo, it’s smart to define and strategize your voice. Because in a perfect world, everyone would recognize your logo without any content. But we know that’s not the case for most brands out there.”

Exercise #1: Who are you talking to?

You may be thinking, “My customers!” and that’s a great answer. But who are your customers? Are they mostly middle-aged retirees in your neighborhood? Are they young startup workers who order directly to the office? Are they mostly families? The more you know about who you’re talking to, the more you’ll know how to talk to them. Forbes suggests creating buyer personas and writing your social media posts directly to your invented customer.

Exercise #2: What are you like?

Some brands are funny. Some brands are serious. Some brands play the field. For example, all the content by Nike is concise, determined, and more than anything, inspirational. It would be out of place to see something ironic or goofy, just to get a few Likes. Whichever voice you choose for your business, it should feel authentic to your in-house experience and remain consistent across channels, including your website and social media.

Exercise #3: What do you have to say?

Creating content for your business is all about value. Your customers will be looking to you for information, a reminder of why they love your product (this is where photos are key!), and to learn more about you. If you’re passionate about the environment and take care to recycle in-house, that’s something unique about your brand that you can share!

All in all, when you’re learning how to write about your brand online, just remember that you know your business better than anyone — as long as you sound like you, you’re doing a great job!

— Kayla Moses