“Products are made in a factory but brands are created in the mind” — Walter Landor
Business transactions are no longer about logical reasoning and decision making. The truth is that these days consumers buy things from brands that they emotionally connect with. They seek authentic brands with a clear purpose, mission, voice, and tone.
By developing these features, you will be able to reach and connect with your audience. Every brand has a story that makes it what it is today, the question is how do we communicate it to the audience? Here are a few steps to help your brand to find an authentic social media voice and tone, and why it is vital to do so.
Related: The Importance of Brand Identity
What is voice and tone?
Voice and tone are very much alike, but it’s helpful to see them as two different concepts. Your brand’s voice is an expression of your brand’s character, personality and communication style, it should remain consistent throughout and across all communication platforms. Your brand’s tone, on the other hand, is how your brand voice is applied and can differ across social media platforms depending on the target audience and circumstances related to specific platforms.
Why is voice and tone important?
Being a “humanised” brand is an appeal for your audience. A lot of brands are selling the same products and services with each other, and also doing it in the same way. They want to be able to see what your brand represents and what differentiates it with the rest. Your audiences want to feel comfortable in engaging and communicating with you online and prefers to communicate to real people compared to robots.
Having a unique voice and appropriate tone will help your brand to communicate its values and mission. Your social media voice will tell your brand’s values, mission and story that will help you to form connections, develop credibility, and establish relationship with customers, that is why it is important for it to be a recognisable feature that is different from the rest. Do not make contents solely focused on hard-selling as it neither form connections nor tell your brand’s story.
Finding Your Voice & Tone
The best way to discover your brand’s voice is to develop a brand persona. You can do so by answering a series of questions while keeping your audience in mind. Sit down with your team members and stakeholders to answer the questions below. For each, brainstorm a list of adjectives that you’ll use afterward to create guides.
In order to discover what your brand’s voice and tone should be is to create a brand persona. Do so by figuring out:
- What your brand’s values are
- What sets your brand apart from similar brands
- The image and reputation that your brand portrays
- The kind of person your audience is
- Your brand’s purpose on social media
- The values you can offer to your audience
- What your audience communication style is (language and tone)
- What your brand does not want to be described as
To find your brand’s voice select five or six voice adjectives (e.g Powerful, Empowering, Direct, Nurturing, Inspiring, Geeky, Playful). This will determine your brand’s personality.
To find your brand’s tone it is important for you to first note the differences between the social media platforms that you are utilising. Your tone will be more professional on LinkedIn compared to twitter. Tones vary in context and there are also different tone for each setting such as when answering customers’ questions, responding to negative criticism, or replying to customers’ comments.
Try to set a base guideline for your employees or team to reference and follow when creating your brand’s tone and voice. Be consistent in your search to what defines your brand the best and find authenticity in every move you make online!
Related: Creating a Unique and Strong Brand Identity to Ensure Success
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