How to Find Your Company’s Voice

You are an amazing company.

You have top-notch employees, you offer valuable services and quality products, and you work with clients who make you want to keep coming to work everyday and doing what you do best. Now, it’s time to let the world know it!

Online marketing, such as we offer here at Urban Ignite, is a great way to let the world know just how great your company is. You can create countless connections with new clients as well as strengthen your relationships with your loyal customers. If you’re ready to take your first step into the big world of online marketing, one of the first things you’ll need to do is find your company’s voice.

Nowadays, the internet is full of the voices of different companies all clamoring to be heard. As author Justine Musk says in her brilliant blog post about owning your voice, “When you are a presence that lacks a voice, you create an empty space that another voice – a dominating voice that knows no boundaries – is only too happy to fill.” This statement drives the nail home on what it means to be a company in today’s modern world. A company with a neglected online presence simply makes room for someone else to grab their clients’ attention. Content marketing is a great way to make sure your voice heard, and we believe that quality companies who put great care into finding their voice will also find success.

Using Your Voice to Build Your Brand

Building a brand is important for marketing your company. And finding your company’s voice can make your brand stronger. Consider this: a company’s brand usually consists of a basic logo, a company color scheme, and marketing collateral. If you were to cover these things up and just read the content of your site, would you sound any different from your competitors? Would anyone recognize your company just by the tone of the writing?

This is where your company’s voice comes in. Having a unique voice boosts your brand by setting you apart from your competitors and making your brand instantly recognizable. In order to form your company’s voice, you’ll need to know exactly what your brand values are, what sets you apart from your competition, and what your audience wants.

What Makes You You?

What makes your company unique? The first step to developing your voice is to create a “brand positioning statement” or a “mission statement”. Consider the way you do business and the products or services you offer. Is there anything special you do differently that sets you apart from your competition? What’s your company culture like? How do you want to be viewed by your clients and community?

Come up with a few keywords to describe your company’s brand values. Try to avoid generic-sounding words and clichés, like “reliable”, “trustworthy”, and “friendly” to describe your company. These terms set a low bar for your company; the fact that you are reliable, trustworthy, and friendly should be a given. Plus, it makes you sound just like everyone else. Try to brainstorm some terms that really embody what it’s like to work with your company. Are you “creative”? Find ways to make your creativity show in your voice. Are you “unusual”? In what ways are you unusual? Make sure that your voice captures this quality. Choosing the right brand values will help you solidify the way you present your company to customers.

Create a Style Guide

After you’ve created your mission statement, you may also want to take some time to write up a style guide. While you may enjoy doing everything personally now, consider how your company’s voice will be handled when you expand and have a team of marketers writing your content. Having a style guide is a great way to set your company up for success in the future. Consider the pronouns you use when referring to your company (“we” and “us” vs. “Company Name”), what jargon and insider language you want to use (and don’t want to use), and how you can create a unified experience for customers (keep your voice consistent, even on 404 pages and email confirmations). Creating a style guide now is a great way to establish your voice and make sure it stays consistent in the future.

 

 

 

Target Your Audience

You can have a solid mission statement, a flawless style guide, and a consistent and unique voice, but none of that will matter if your voice doesn’t appeal to your audience. Your voice has to meet the needs and expectations of your audience. If it doesn’t, you may find yourself making brilliant posts in on social media only to hear the sound of crickets in response. Know who is buying your products. Then, shape your voice so that it appeals to that audience. A great way to do this is to figure out how your products or services specifically offer solutions to their problems. This can be through surveys, comments, forums, and research. Knowing what your audience wants helps you to shape your voice.

We’re going to talk a lot about targeting your audience and building your brand in future posts, but to keep you satisfied until then, check out this comprehensive guide to Building Your Personal Brand over at Quicksprout.com.  

We hope we were able to give you a good idea about how to find and use your voice! For more helpful advice, industry insight, and company updates, keep an eye on our blog for updates!

Find Your Company’s Voice with Urban Ignite

Ready to boost your amazing company with an attention-grabbing online presence? Urban Ignite offers website design, product videos, blogging, and social media management to help you get your voice heard. We’re your friendly neighborhood web marketing company; pay us a visit, and we’ll work one-on-one with you to create an impressive online presence that gets your voice heard. Give us a call at (443) 878-0192 or drop us a line at contact@urbanignite.wpengine.com. Like us on Facebook for more blog posts, news, and updates!

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Anna

As a Design Specialist for Urban Ignite, Anna Hughes works to create stronger visual aesthetics for client brands via web design and development, social media template design, print collateral, and a variety of other design-centric projects. Her goal is to craft successful, direct, and on-brand design materials to help companies better communicate their mission and purpose. Anna brings thorough experience in print-based projects, giving her a tangible understanding of typography and layout design. Anna works to clearly and creatively communicate a client’s message. 

 

Anna earned a BFA in Graphic Design from Messiah University. She is a huge fan of hiking, running, kayaking, and anything that involves plants and the autumn season.

Brady

Brady Stafford works as a Copywriting Specialist for Urban Ignite, helping clients shape their narrative, tell their story, and expand their portfolio of SEO-driven written content. His copywriting appears on website and landing pages, blog posts, social media posts, and email campaigns. Brady utilizes SEO practices to drive traffic while still creating informative, narratively compelling content across different mediums. 

 

Brady received a BA in History with a minor in Journalism from the University of West Virginia. Several of his historical essays were published by the University. Outside of work, Brady is an avid musician who fills much of his time listening to or playing music. He is also a travel aficionado who enjoys rock climbing and mountaineering (which are different!). Having completed all of his targeted summits on the East Coast, he hopes to conquer Mt. Rainier in Washington and Mt. Denali in Alaska in the future.

Emily

Emily works as a media specialist for Urban Ignite, focusing on videography in production, pre-production, and editing. She uses her skills as a storyteller to visually communicate the stories of our clients and their work, using creativity, problem-solving, and technical knowledge to guide her projects. She graduated from Goucher College with degrees in both Communications and Philosophy, with her philosophical studies amplifying critical analysis and writing skills as well as a love for questioning and research. What she loves most about her career as a videographer is the opportunity to learn a variety of niche knowledge about the different subject matters of her videos. 

 

Outside of work, Emily enjoys painting psychedelic geometric artwork, watching action films, reading science fiction, and learning about history, places, and trivia on Wikipedia. She has a bearded dragon named Franco and sometimes they eat kale together. She plays the piano once a year.

Steven

Steven Quinones works as a Media Specialist at Urban Ignite, balancing pre-production, media shoots, and post-production work. Steven often works directly with clients for on-site shoots, and is an expert at setting the scene and guiding participants through the process. His goal is to help you feel comfortable in front of the camera, and his guidance can help make even your shyest team member feel like a star. Steven previously worked in a professional photography studio for four years and spent years in a sales position as well. His freelance work has included music videos, wedding videography, and more. 

 

Steven has traveled and lived across the country, being born and raised in Nevada before making his way to Maryland. He embraces the experience of meeting new people, and connecting with artists in the places he visits. He is a huge fan of stand-up comedy, with Theo Von and Mark Normand among his current favorites. Steven will be the first to tell you that Mexican food is the best of all foods.

Elijah

As Director of Media, Elijah’s goal is to cultivate an environment of collaboration through media production, driving storytelling for clients through excellent photo and video content. They have worked freelance as a cinematographer and editor, whose previous clients include the Chemistry Department and Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics Doctoral Program at Johns Hopkins. She also works as an adjunct professor at UMBC for photo and video classes. Elijah received her Masters of Fine Art from the Intermedia + Digital Art Program at UMBC, and her Bachelors of Fine Art in Digital Media from Youngstown State University.

 

Outside of work, Elijah spends time on her own bodies of artistic work, focusing on the act/actions of surveillance, as well as notions of memory, nostalgia, longing, and personal identity. They enjoy, as many do, video games, films, tv shows, but also engage in several hobbies focusing around dilapidated and obsolete technologies, like utilizing VHS camcorders, 8mm/16mm found films, and post-apocalyptic costume making.

Tarah

As Urban Ignite’s Director of Design, Tarah Maxsell is your visual design expert. Her work touches nearly every creative process at our firm, from logo and branding design to web layouts, social media templates, and everything in between. Her process is one of intentionally seeking out beautiful solutions to all of your design challenges. Tarah’s work has been recognized by Out Of Home Today (OOH Today) for excellence in outdoor advertising. 

Tarah received a BFA in Fine Arts with a focus on Graphic Design from Messiah University. Tarah enjoys anything she can do outside, as well as ceramics and interior design. You’ll most often find her with her husband Nick and their Goldendoodle Wesely.

Christian

As the Director of Web Content, Christian Fuller helps execute your digital marketing strategy through compelling websites, engrossing written content, and an intricate knowledge of best SEO practices. Christian oversees all web design and written content creation projects, helping ensure the final product delivered to you is spectacular. 

Christian believes that content writing is essential to building the narrative of a business. He puts the work in to help your brand find its tone and voice so you can speak the language of your audience. Copy should always grab attention, and communicate something valuable. He helps you find the perfect sweet spot. 

His web design experience allows him to guide our web team efficiently through the process, accounting for elements like the flow of content, website interactivity, and mobile optimization. Christian believes a strong website is an invaluable marketing tool and helps clients execute their creative vision. 

Christian brings 5+ years of copywriting, web design, and SEO experience to the table. He earned his BA in English from the University of Maryland. Outside of work, he is a frequent traveler and camping enthusiast, creative writer, and super fan of anything horror or punk music-related.

Leigh

Leigh Engelke is our coordinator-in-chief as the Operations Director, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. She is the primary point of contact for clients, addressing their day-to-day needs and communicating new project details to internal staff. Leigh ensures nothing slips through the cracks, and that content output is consistent. She is also responsible for internal procedures at Urban Ignite, helping everyone stay on track and adhere to company policy. 

 

Leigh believes that clear, transparent communication is the key ingredient in a successful business relationship. She wants every client to have clarity on the progress of projects, and be able to communicate any concerns as they arise. Leigh is here to take care of our clients, and she’s excellent at it. Fostering a healthy working environment where employees are free to communicate their feelings is also essential to Leigh as Operations Director. 

 

Professionally, Leigh brings experience working with the Maryland Department of Social Services, where organizational efficiency was crucial. Her decade-plus experience in the food service industry gives her excellent personability, knowledge of task management, and the ability to keep up with the fast-paced needs of clients. 

 

Leigh earned a BS in Psychology from Goucher College. When she’s not managing operations for Urban Ignite, you can find her hiking, painting, crocheting, practicing yoga, or just hanging out with her cat and best buddy, Rex.

Jordan

Jordan Fuller is the Founder and Creative Director of Urban Ignite. He works with clients and the team to help drive the creative vision of each project. 

Content creation has always been at the core of Jordan’s identity, starting with home movie production at the age of 6 and video editing at 14 for his YouTube channel. He took an optimistic approach, teaching himself web design in case the YouTube channel found success. While that project never achieved virality, it gave Jordan the tools to lay the foundation on which Urban Ignite would be built. 

Urban Ignite began with clients in the construction and home remodeling industry and grew as a trusted digital marketing firm despite its small team. In the early days, Jordan saw the adverse effects overworking can have on a team’s creative output. As such, the workplace model was readjusted to focus on efficiency and work-life balance. This model includes industry-competitive pay while maintaining a 30-hour work week. 

Jordan is a creative repository for clients, helping them dream bigger regarding content and marketing strategies. 

In his free time, Jordan enjoys a good concert, nature walks, video games, meditation, or exploring local events across Baltimore. He also loves collaborating with others to make art, whether it’s at work or for personal projects. In addition, he hosts local “house shows,” which have showcased local musicians at the Urban Ignite office space for eight years.