How To Define Your Brand’s Tone of Voice
We agreed before in the previous blog (if you haven’t read it yet, check it out by clicking here) why sticking to your brand’s tone of voice is extremely important to staying consistent.
We also agreed that being consistent helps in maintaining customer loyalty, trust and boosts revenue by a good percentage. So, in a nutshell, a tone of voice is “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”.
The way you speak to your customers is just as important as the products/services you offer them.
Now, Let’s jump on to the juicy part which is…
How To Define Your Brand’s Tone of Voice
Having a consistent voice in your field of expertise makes your brand easily recognizable and authoritative. In the same way, consistency of brand’s tone of voice plays an important part in implementing clever content strategies.
Start With: Your Values
Company’s values and way of thinking is expressed through its tone of voice. By defining your values, you are creating a kind of foundation for the tone of voice.
How do you wish to make your presence known to the world? define your communication's purpose so that you’ll be able to build your voice.
To help you identify your values, here are some questions to ask yourself, key content creators, owners, etc:
What’s the reason of the company’s existence?
How are you different?
Does your company offer human values (compassion, empathy, ...)?
View Existing Content (if there is any)
It's likely that your content has already begun defining a consistent brand tone without even realizing it. If you are going to change the tone, it is best to consider the existing tone and avoid going in a completely different direction.
In fact, improve the tone of your communication by making it more impactful and evocative.
Start Knowing Your Audience
The best way to communicate with your audience is to know their personas and adapt your content accordingly.
Imagine you’re having a one-to-one convo with your audience. Get to know their gender, age, interests, education, occupation, pain points, all the data you can access.
Keep in mind when it comes to tone of voice, it's a good idea to consider what generation you're speaking with, cuz all generation’s unique experiences do have a huge impact on how they communicate.
Afterwards use this information to mold a portrait of your brand’s persona.
Reminder: It's not just buyers who are part of your audience - it includes everyone from loyal customers to first-time visitors.
Turn Your Brand into A Person and Determine His/Her Characteristics
After you sit with your team to discuss the points we mentioned above, the answers you come up with will help you to add human characteristics to your brand.
This is useful for you and everyone else to easily relate to the brand and identify shared values and traits.
Express personality through vocab. Normally, what you communicate (as a brand) are your values, personality is how you say them.
Try This
Take a look at your internal communications. Are there any commonly used phrases/words/terminologies? How formally do you speak, dress, or deal with clients? how formal is your tone when sending e-mails?
Example: Best Wishes. Talk Later. Take Care. Adios!
Decide on your Brand Archetype.
You can think of brand archetypes as your brand's personality. Archetypes were first introduced by our fellow Carl Jung. He defined 12 archetypes that are common amongst all people.
Each archetype has sets of desires and fears; those sets make up that archetype and its unique personality. We’re going to explain these archetypes in the simplest way there is, break’em down into categories, and provide examples on each archetype.
Freedom-motivated Archetypes:
Innocent: this archetype sees the good in everything, and its attitude is always kind and positive.
Example brands: Dove, Disney, Coca Cola.
Sage: this archetype revolves around knowledge and truth. Sages are relentless in their pursuit of truth and collect information in order to succeed.
Example brands: Harvard, OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Show)
Explorer: this archetype is open to travel the world and explore everything the world has to offer. They love discovering new places and things about themselves.
Example: Redbull, Nasa, Land Rover.
Ego-Motivated Archetypes.
Outlaw: this archetype will break the rules and will revolt if it pleases. People are provoked by them, and they don't care what others think.
Example Brands: Diesel, Harley Davidson, MTV.
Magician: this archetype could seem supernatural because of the amount of knowledge they have.
Example brands: Apple, Tesla, TedX.
Hero: this archetype is brave, stand up for the bad guys and will do anything to avoid losing.
Example brands: Nike, Ariel, Marvel.
Social-Motivated Archetypes:
Lover: this archetype is all heart and sensitivity, they love love, and look for true love.
Example brands: Chanel, Gucci, Häagen-Dazs.
Jester: this archetype’s only mission in life is to enjoy it. they don’t take themselves too seriously.
Example Brands: M&Ms, Skittles, Netflix.
Everyman: this archetype expresses themselves in an ordinary voice. Generally, they offer money back guarantees to build trust and avoid untrue or outlandish claims.
Example brands: Ikea, Target, Walmart.
Order-motivated archetypes:
Creator: this archetype is innovative, inspiring, and original. They're deeply driven idealists who will tirelessly pursue their vision in hopes of creating change.
Example brands: Lego, Adobe, Pixar.
Ruler: this archetype is a classic leader. Rulers are stable, strive for excellence, want others to follow them, and will demonstrate why they’re industry leaders.
Example brands: Mercedes, Rolex, Boss.
Caregiver: this archetype offers maternal protection to those around them. They try to prevent any danger and or harm that threatens people.
Example Brand: UNICEF, Volvo, Heinz.
Create A Chart Showing Your Brand Voice
In a brand voice chart, you can define what tones you should use to represent your brand, and which are most common tones you use. A brand voice chart can also show you when it is appropriate to change a brand's tone of voice.
At some point, even brands that are known for having a lighter tone of voice need to change it in serious situations. It is essential to have this flexibility when making important announcements or when addressing serious issues.
