How to create the perfect tone of voice for your brand
Your tone of voice (TOV) is the key to audience connection.
As you’re reading this, you probably already know how important your tone of voice (TOV) and language are to the success of your brand. Nail your tone of voice, and your target audience will read and engage with your content, building a brand they trust and are likely to invest in. Get it wrong, and your content will be disregarded, leaving a negative or unmemorable impression of your brand.
So, what is ‘tone of voice’ in communication?
Your tone of voice shapes how your customers perceive your brand. It’s what you say and how you say it, and includes the pitch, rhythm, characteristics and choice of words that contribute to the personality and mood of your communications.
Your tone of voice may adapt slightly to the channel you’re communicating through, but it must always ring true to your brand.
How do you find the perfect tone of voice for your brand?
Applying the right tone of voice takes understanding, research and, sometimes, a little analysis. It also involves continual optimisation as you learn which content and messaging your target audience responds best to.
These 5 steps will bring clarity and guidance to creating the perfect tone of voice for your brand.
1. Define your core brand values
Your brand values are the top guiding principles for everything your business does, shaping who you are, what you stand for and how you interact with your audience. For example, are you environmentally conscious, focused on providing sustainable solutions for your customers? Or perhaps you work in a care-orientated industry where nurture and sensitivity are critical?
Your core values should be sincere, not just words on a page but a living, breathing part of how you operate your business if you want them to be taken seriously.
Many businesses choose too many core values, which are complex to bring to life. To be attainable and impactful, choose just three to five. I worked with a leading Australian ‘For sale by owner’ platform in the real estate marketing to define their core values. Here’s what we came up with:
Proudly Aussie
A critical part of their service is that their call center isn’t outsourced offshore. Every member of their team is Australian and when their customers call for support, they deal with a local.
Ethical
In an industry rife with hardcore sales tactics, expensive agency commissions and underquoting, transparent pricing and honest advice is critical to this company’s service offering.
Customer-first
Good customer service is everything to stand out in this competitive market. The information and support they provide puts their customers’ needs first, always.
There are times when you have to make difficult decisions for your business and operations. When you have clear brand values in place, they bring clarity and guidance to your decision making.
2. Know your target audience
The demographics of your target audience play a large part in dictating your tone of voice. After all, if you want your target audience to connect with your communications, you need to use a vocabulary and tone of voice they relate to.
Age, gender, income, education, location and interests all influence the words we use and how we apply them. For example, we all know that young people have a way of talking that’s, well, let’s just say ‘unfamiliar’ to older generations. Terminology can be different from one location to another. And our education can influence the depth and complexity of the language we like to read.
When you know the demographics of your audience, you can take note of the words they use and how they talk. Check out Facebook groups and forums with similar target audiences and read the comments people leave. Lend your ear in the streets. You’ll quickly get an idea for how your target audience communicates. During your research, consider things like:
Do they use short, snappy sentences or fuller, more formal sentences?
Do they use slang, abbreviations and acronyms?
What words do they like and dislike?
What physical and emotional elements are important to them?
3. Craft your mission statement
Your mission statement is the ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’ for your brand. When you have a strong, compelling mission statement, it ensures all future decisions and messaging are aligned with your purpose. It can also help your brand stand out in a competitive market.
To create your mission statement, consider these questions:
What do you offer and for who?
What do you stand for? (use your core values to guide you here)
What’s the single most important promise you give to customers? Why should they trust and invest in your products and services?
I worked with a leading provider of plan management helping NDIS participants manage their plan and funding. Through research, we knew that NDIS participants often feel confined by their NDIS plan because it fails to fully represent their needs. We wanted to give them a promise of hope that we could help them break down the barriers to get the most out of their plan. Together, we crafted this mission statement:
“We see beyond the plan to a world of possibilities, and partner with you to achieve them.”
4. Start defining your tone of voice
Now that you understand a bit more about your target audience and brand, you can begin aligning your tone of voice. I find Semrush’s Tone of Voice Word Dimensions helpful to identify the specific characteristics for a client’s tone of voice.
Image Source: https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-define-your-tone-of-voice/
To attribute the right characteristics for your brand, it helps to understand how they pull together to create an impact on audiences. A funny tone can make your brand more memorable and stand out in a competitive market. For instance, I applied a slightly playful tone for an all-male team of landscapers to differentiate them in the market by playing to the masculinity of their brand:
“Because great looking gardens take a little care and a lot of muscle.”
“Our hands are hardened, but our grass is as soft as velvet.”
“We may be a little on the sturdy side, but our fingers are as delicate as the petals we tend to.”
Yet some brands need a more serious tone due to the nature and sensitivity of their services. For example, a leading Crop Insurance client needed a sympathetic tone to resonate with customers when challenging times arise:
“We help you through the tough times.”
“Have peace of mind knowing your yield is protected.”
A formal tone can give your brand authority, but it can also be impersonal. Most people these days tend to relate to a more casual, human tone – even for formal documents like whitepapers and company reports. An enthusiastic tone creates a positive, up-beat association with your brand. An irreverent tone can be great for edgy, young brands wanting to make an impact. Whilst a respectful tone is better to build trust and loyalty.
5. Create your Tone of Voice guidelines
Now that you have all the specifics identified, you need to document everything in clear, succinct Tone of Voice guidelines. These will act as a framework for future content and messaging, steering your language and how you communicate with your target audience.
Tone of Voice guidelines are helpful to maintain consistent messaging and to give to in-house writers or freelancers (if you use them), so they can quickly grasp your brand and find answers to their questions.
It's helpful to include things like:
Your TOV characteristics and how these apply
How to refer to or talk about your brand (a little like an elevator pitch)
How to describe your products and services
How to talk about topics key to your industry
A guide for written communications, such as using active, not passive voice
Which words to use and not use
Examples of your tone in action for commonly used channels, like social media, emails etc. (It’s one thing to say your brand is friendly. It’s better to provide a sample showing what it looks like in action).
Last words of advice…
It’s a good idea to regularly review and optimiwe your tone of voice as your brand evolves. Encourage feedback from team members and customers to refine and improve your tone and language over time. Update your TOV and Language guidelines, so they remain current and accurate.
And lastly, make sure that someone is responsible for ensuring your TOV is reflected in all your communications, including operational channels like live chat. Take time to go through your guidelines so that all the relevant people in your team are familiar and comfortable with them.
Good luck!