The Challenge of Maintaining Brand Voice in Live Streaming
If talking about maintaining a certain brand image or brand voice, live streaming presents a unique challenge compared to pre-recorded content.
But why is that?
Live streaming dynamic, unpredictable, and leaves no room for post-production magic. You’re live, you’re raw, and your brand voice needs to echo throughout the entire process.
Challenge 1 : Staying consistent
In pre-recorded content, it’s easy to make multiple takes or edit out segments that don’t quite fit the brand voice. In a live stream, that luxury is absent. And so the first hurdle one encounters is consistency.
For one of the projects we used to work on, the first goal was to establish a clear, consistent understanding of our brand voice and values across the team. Everybody had to be on the same level.
Training and repetition was our best friend. Comprehensive training sessions and rehearsals, emphasizing on the characteristics, language, and tone that defined our brand voice. We invested time in practicing how to handle different situations, ensuring our brand voice would stay on track even when handling tricky questions or technical glitches.
If you want your brand representatives to showcase the brand voice you need them to, make it a point to train these teammembers.
Challenge 2: Gracefully handling the interaction
Live streaming allows real-time interaction, which is a double-edged sword. A negative comment can disrupt the flow, but ignoring them can send a wrong message. To stay true to our brand, we chose to engage with constructive comments, even critical ones, turning potential disruptions into opportunities to emphasize our brand voice and values.
One particular incident comes to mind. During a product launch live stream, we faced negative comments about a previous product’s performance. Instead of ignoring it or getting defensive, we acknowledged the issue, reaffirmed our commitment to quality, and highlighted the improvements we’ve made. This approach not only helped us maintain our brand voice, but also built trust with our audience.
It’s also important to mention that online trolls exist and the presenter has to be capable of spotting them and not engaging with them. Engaging with trolls is pointless and disruptive. If you can set up moderators to spot and remove trolls, that’s even better.
Challenge 3: Don’t forget to have fun
Lastly, we found that spontaneity is not an enemy of brand voice. Yes, live streams need planning, but they also require human touch and sincerity. We learnt to embrace the unpredictability of live streaming, weaving our brand voice into unscripted moments. We found it not only made streams more engaging, but also made our brand voice feel more authentic and relatable.
Maintaining brand voice in live streaming is a challenge, but it’s one we’ve learned to navigate with time and experience. Every brand, every stream, and every audience is unique, so remember to adapt and be flexible in your approach. Happy streaming, folks!
