How to define your brand’s tone of voice in 4 steps

You probably don’t know, but your business already has a peculiar tone of voice: yours!

Your business reflects who you are: your values, your way of speaking, and the words you use. Does it seem minor to you? It is already a lot instead! Having acknowledged this, let’s devote ourselves to the fun aspect of defining a tone of voice.

In this article, we propose four exercises that will help you develop the tone of voice of your brand so that it pierces the hearts and minds of the potential customers you want to reach:

1. Imagine your business is a person
2. Draw up a list of characteristics that define your business (“What is / What is not”)
3. Create a checklist to evaluate your style
4. Give rhythm to your words

Once you have completed these exercises, you will be able to:

• Employ the same tone of voice on all channels you use to communicate.
• Face the challenges of communication without fear (it will be much easier for you to understand what to say in various situations).
• Help new team members understand your business tone of voice. This will be especially useful to you as your business starts to grow.

IMPORTANT:  You don’t need to create your brand tone from scratch. It doesn’t have to be completely different from the natural expression of your personality – focus on that and adapt it to your business. To be clear, it is true that you communicate differently depending on whether you are in front of a friend or a customer, but basically, the person speaking (you!) It is always the same.

First of all, let’s try to understand what is meant in a tone of voice.

What is the tone of voice in marketing?

The tone of voice is the feeling generated by your words, by your message. It directly affects the perception of your business and (potential) customers, regardless of whether you are a freelancer or run a business like online casinos usa.

To clarify the concept, please read and dwell on these three sentences:

• “Could you come over when you have a second?”
• “Can you come closer, please?”
• “Come here! Now!”

As you can see, the subject of the request is the same, but the reactions of the recipient/recipient may differ significantly from each other. Because? Precisely because of the tone of voice!

Tone vs. voice: what’s the difference?

The expression “tone of voice” in marketing is often used as a synonym for “tone of the brand” or “tone of the brand,” but it must be said that the words “tone” and “voice” have two slightly different meanings. Here is a brief definition:

Voice:  Your brand voice matches the personality of your business (freelance, SME, large company, etc.). This personality always remains the same. Think of it like this:

If your business were a person, what would it be like? Personality underlies the topics you address, the words you use, and how you interact with others.

Tone:  Your tone changes depending on the situation, the topic, and who you are in front of while you are speaking. Your personality and your voice don’t change, but the tone does! To understand better, here are some examples of different styles of voice that a company can adapt depending on the situation and the communication channel:

• Social post: light style, fun, aimed at stimulating interaction
• Text describing the Product Return Policy: direct, clear, easy to understand the tone
• Responses from the support team: patient, cooperative, professional, non-joking tone

For more tips on writing suitable texts to communicate everything about your business, you can follow www.acepokies.com site.

Does a small business (SME) need a tone of voice?

Of course, yes!

Whether you are someone who has decided to turn a hobby into a business, a freelancer or the head of a small/medium business or even a large company, you must set your tone. of voice, especially if you want to gain the trust of customers and encourage them to buy your products and services even in the long term.

This is why it is essential to carefully elaborate on an original and ad hoc tone of voice:

• Trust drives sales
  Every time someone decides to buy your product or service, they trust your brand and business. The definition of your tone of voice, unique and attributable only to your business, allows potential customers to know and recognize you. If you work well, what will prompt a person to click on the “Buy” or “Book” button on your site will be the thought, “I know this brand, I know I can trust, and I know what I can expect.”
• A wrong tone of voice drives the target customers away from buying
  Imagine that you have created the site for your dental practice and adopted an overly confidential and joking tone of voice. This could make visitors doubt your seriousness and, therefore, your professionalism. On the other hand, too formal and technical jargon can be distant or incomprehensible.
• It helps you always know what to say, even in difficult situations. If
  sometimes you don’t have the faintest idea of ​​how to communicate with your target customers, or you don’t know how to get out of a problematic situation (your restaurant’s Instagram profile is bombarded with messages from vegans angry because you published a photo of a Florentine), always having in mind the tone of voice of your business can help you, guiding you in the elaboration of a message or an adequate response.

Four fun exercises to define your brand’s tone of voice

1. Imagine your business is a person

Even if there is not a single person behind your business but a team, your business needs to have a defined personality that “talks” to and to customers. To help you clarify, first of all, yourself, what personality is, answer these questions:

• If your business were a person, who would it be?
• Where would it come from?
• What kind of sense of humour would he have? Sarcastic, surreal, black, or characterized by a succession of puns?
• What would you do at the weekend?

Now write down three or four adjectives that answer these questions and effectively describe this personality:

For example:

• Self-confident
• Irreverent
• Provocative

Or:

• Quiet
• Thoughtful
• Collaborative

TIP:  Think about the values ​​behind your business: what are they? Ethics drive your business, and you have developed a project to make the world a better place to live or run a family business. All you are interested in is offering a reliable and professional service at an affordable price? After answering these questions, imagine a person embodying these ideas.

2. Make a list of characteristics that define your business

Now that you have the personality of your business in mind define it better, drawing up a list of special features (“What it is and what it isn’t”). This will help you adopt the same tone of voice in different situations and allow new people hired in your company and freelancers who collaborate with us to understand your brand message better.

3. Create a checklist to evaluate your style

A good tone of voice is not only “good” but also captures the favour of potential customers. Therefore, it is essential that you know and then understand the target group you want to reach: join groups on Facebook, check reviews made to competitors on Amazon or Trustpilot, and read comments in the forums.

4. Give rhythm to your words

Does it seem strange to you? But no. It is not.

What is your impression of the sentence you have just read? The style is pretty straightforward, right? Short sentences speed up communication and give a sense of urgency to what is written/said. They also sound confidential and are easier to read. Fantastic!

On the other hand, resorting to longer and more discursive sentences allows the reader or listener to relax and immerse themselves completely in your message or the feeling you want to arouse.