How to define your brand tone of voice

What is your brand tone of voice? It's the way your brand communicates with your audience. And, let me tell you, your brand tone of voice is pretty bloody important. Here are some of my tips for defining your brand tone of voice.

 

 

 

How to define your brand tone of voice

Your brand tone of voice is pretty bloody important when it comes to marketing your business. Not only does it tell the reader or listener about your brand's personality, it also goes a long way towards building a connection and making things enjoyable to read.

Just like your brand look and feel, consistent brand communication also helps build trust and it can be used to influence and persuade people to buy from you. Imagine if your best friend suddenly started talking differently maybe in a strange accent or using words that he or she wouldn't usually use.You'd be a little confused and maybe you'd be a bit concerned. A business is no different to a person in this regard.

Your brand tone of voice should be consistent as it dictates how your brand communicates with people.

It can help to write down a little writing style guide, so that if you ever hire someone to write anything else on behalf of your brand (for example, a social media manager or a copywriter) they can follow the style guide to keep everything consistent.

So, how do you define your brand tone of voice?

If your brand were a person, what would they be like?

Are they the life of the party? Are they the funny one in your group of friends? Or, maybe they would rather stay home on a Friday night and binge watch House Of Cards? There's no right or wrong answer here, it just it should align with how your brand looks and feels. So, if your visuals are fun and out there then your tone of voice shouldn't be reserved or formal.

Your brand personality doesn't have to be the same as your ideal customer or client‘s personality. It also doesn't have to be the same as your own personality. It can really help to think about your brand values and what makes your brand different here. Think about how you can reflect these values in the way your brand communicates.

What words does your brand use? What words does it avoid?

Does your brand use short, simple, snappy words? Or, does it prefer to discombobulate the reader and demonstrate its intelligence with long-winded or technical words?

Are there any particular words that are part of your brand? Or, any words that are definitely not part of your brand? For example, does your brand swear? If it does, at which swear words do you draw the line at?

Does your brand use emojis? Acronyms? Abbreviations? These are all things to consider writing down so that you and anyone else can just pick up your brand's writing style and run with it.

Your brand tone of voice may vary a bit between platforms

You might have slight variations of your brand tone of voice on different platforms. For example, the way you email a client might be slightly different to how your brand communicates on Instagram. And, that's fine, as long as it's not super drastically different.

Don't be afraid to evolve your brand tone of voice over time

Just make sure that you keep it consistent once you evolve it.

I talk about branding and brand tone of voice a lot more in-depth in my 126-page Insta Domination ebook. It's the ultimate guide to marketing your business on Instagram. You can buy my Instagram ebook here.

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