Where is Tiger's Voice?
It is Thanksgiving time again. Many of you have already enjoyed the ritualistic and gluttonous feast, the awkward family gatherings, and the requisite, never ending, left over parade. As well, we remember events from Thanksgivings of years gone by including, as recently as last November, that baffling accident which set-off the death spiral for Tiger Woods. It is rare to see a public figure lose so much, so fast. Not even his well orchestrated PR events, Nike ads, public acts of contrition have been able to stem the tide of negativity surrounding this once dominant golf figure.
Tiger’s empty voice
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, John Paul Newport derides Woods for his feeble attempts to manage the message prior to his one year anniversary of his Escalade hit and run episode. Newport describes Tiger’s absolute inability to connect with fans, despite working an array of mediums including sports radio call-in shows, op-ed pieces, and Twitter posts (only 4 as of early last week). Tiger is losing the PR war despite valiant attempts to communicate with his fans.
At the heart of Tiger’s message issues is his lack of a voice. More specifically, he has had his thoughts so thoroughly homogenized by his cadre of expert message makers that when Tiger speaks it lacks authenticity. When you hear Tiger, you don’t feel that you are really hearing him speak. And that is a shame. Because I am sure that Tiger has much to say that could be interesting, could be titillating, and could be redemptive. But, he has no consistent voice and no personality, and hence, his audience is bored and not paying attention.
Does your organization have a voice?
Unfortunately, Tiger’s communication issues are not unique him, but face many businesses attempting to connect with their audience…customers and prospects. With the voluminous, continuous stream of information emanating from the cacophony of internet sources, your target will not focus on your message unless it is authentic and has a personality. Who wants to read Twitter posts that are nothing more than sanitized PR releases?
The key for an organization is to find its voice. A voice is sometimes hard to describe, but a critical first step in a communications strategy. Your organization’s voice can be defined among multiple dimensions, but it must be consistently deployed and refined. In the end, the voice of your organization must give the impression to the reader that they are hearing from a person, not a droid.
It is important to answer these types of questions in defining your voice:
- Who is the communications being penned under? (CEO, the everyman employee, communications)
- What is the style? (folksy, casual, joking, official)
- What types of issues will you comment on in your communications? (and which do you need legal/regulatory input, subject matter experts, or need to pass)
- How quickly will you respond to comments?
You can’t connect without a voice
In the Wall Street Journal piece, John Paul makes the case for Tiger to favor Twitter as an effective medium to connect with his audience. And that may be true, but it will fail miserably if Tiger isn’t freed of the stilted, rehearsed language that bores his fans. So it is for your social communications. Your audience is looking for a little entertainment, the feeling of intimacy, and compelling thoughts. They will only be willing to let you in if you recognize the need to speak to them in a voice that resonates with them. The positive benefit of social communications is clear, but you will waste your time if you don’t develop your authentic voice that enables you to connect with your audience. Where is your voice? Don’t wait to find it, seek it out and make it part of your communications strategy.
Practical Digital Marketing 
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