What is a content style guide?
A content style guide is essential for any organization that publishes or utilizes digital content to connect with its network and audience. It defines the rules and standards for writing, formatting and visual design and details every aspect of content production at your company. Here’s what makes them useful and five reasons your company should have one.
A content style guide can be as specific or ambiguous as you choose. In its simplest form, a content style guide must include guidelines specifying your company’s voice, tone, and visual style, such as grammar, spelling requirements and defining proper terminology and rules when creating new content throughout your distribution channels. It should also provide information on your key content goals and identify the targeted audience the document is created for and the audience the content is intended for.
The essential document that could make or break your content
A content style guide can be as specific or ambiguous as you choose. In its simplest form, a content style guide must include guidelines specifying your company’s voice, tone, and visual style, such as grammar, spelling requirements and defining proper terminology and rules when creating new content throughout your distribution channels. It should also provide information on your key content goals and identify the targeted audience the document is created for and the audience the content is intended for.
Before you begin producing content, developing a style guide makes it easier for writers or company stakeholders to stay consistent with the goals of your company content while maintaining a recognizable voice and tone while connecting with your target audience. Once your company has a guide, you can always add new sections and update your style guide with new ideas and standards. If not, creating one is not difficult; however, it is a team effort. If possible, use examples from existing company documents that are similar. Our favourite is Mailchimp’s content style guide. Its straightforward, easy-to-read, and fun tone effectively captures the Mailchimp brand and doesn’t intimidate the reader with too much information.
1. Content Style Guides keep your company’s voice, tone and visual style consistent
Whether a small business or a mega enterprise, a company has its unique identity. Much like an identifiable visual brand with logos and colours that bring a company to life, the way it communicates through words and language is also unique.
A company’s brand voice is the way it communicates through words and should be consistent across all channels—from social media to email marketing campaigns—so your audience can easily recognize who you are and what you stand for. A company’s tone is dynamic and changes based on its situation or the purpose of the content, like a call to action. Your content style guide ensures this consistency by correctly defining proper terminology and guidelines for using your company voice and tone pillars, so you don’t lose your audience despite your specific content goals or call to action.
2. Content style guides will keep everyone on the same page.
A content style guide helps you and your stakeholders avoid confusion and frustration. Many moving parts are involved when running a business of any size, and staying consistent can be challenging. Ensuring that your entire team is aware of and understands the company’s content goals will decrease the risk of misunderstandings and ensure that your content serves your business by closing the sales on all leads through consistent terminology and format every step of your content production workflow.
3. It will save your company a lot of time
It seems obvious, but it’s true: the more consistent your content is with your style guide, the faster it will go from idea to publication. If you spend more time creating and updating content than reviewing and editing it, which you will, your style guide could save enormous amounts of money in wasted time alone.
4. It will save your company a lot of money
Why? Because you won’t have to correct mistakes, rework them or get someone else to do it. You’ll save money by having a content style guide as it helps you make fewer mistakes – and correct them quickly if they are made. Your company’s content style guide acts as a standard for utilizing your content to conduct business on your behalf, no matter who the person creating your content is.
5. Your company’s content will start to generate sales
Before you’ve even written a word, your audience has already created an impression of your brand. Your company’s content is the first thing people see, setting the tone for the rest of their experience with your company, which is why consistent language across all channels and devices is crucial—it boosts credibility by setting clear expectations and avoiding misunderstandings. It makes it easy for customers to navigate your company’s sales funnels, allowing you to utilize your content to nurture your audience to learn about your products or services and ensure that they go from leads to customers.
How to use a style guide once you have one
Once you have a style guide, ensure every current and new hire gets one. This is the first step toward ensuring that everyone on your team uses the same language and style when creating content for your brand. You might even consider sending a copy of the guide to partners or vendors who help create content for your company.
When handing out a style guide, ensure everyone knows how to use it: what parts are essential and why, how to update it as needed, and how they can use it as an editing tool when working on their projects or within larger teams.
Let us help you develop a custom content style guide for your company
Now that you know why content style guides are essential and how they can help your company, it’s time to make one! Please reach out if you’re unsure where to begin or have questions about developing a customized content style guide. We’d love to help walk you through every step of creating a content style guide document that will help everyone on your team produce great content consistently.