What’s important about your Tone of Voice? EVERYTHING!
When you hear a marketer or professional advertiser say “tone of voice,” we usually tune out whatever words come next, right?! No woman business owner wants to hear fancy jargon that overly complicates her life and adds to the endlessly growing list of to-dos. Well, I am here to tell you that this term describes something you already have and use every day. It is so important to not only become knowledgeable on 2024 branding trends but also to ensure you are aware of your own brand's tone of voice.
My name is Melissa Barker. I started Women Entrepreneurs Inc. after working in advertising for industry giants like Coca-Cola and the Olympics. I have navigated the expectations and challenges associated with building up and maintaining a brand to the highest degree. Keep reading to learn some of my tips for establishing a voice for your business that helps you grow authentically and purposefully.
What Even Is a Brand Tone of Voice?
In marketing your business, there are many opportunities for you or your team to represent the company through communication. Whether this is copy on the website, captions on social media, scripts for videos or descriptions of products, these are the basic building blocks of your tone of voice. We are referring to the way you deliver a message to your clients over word choice, allowing some personality to shine through.
Basically, Tone of Voice = Your Speaking Style.
Ever send texts to a friend and get the sense that the energy is off? You start to worry if they are angry or distracted, only to find that when you meet in person, everything is fine. You picked up on a tone that was accidentally conveyed over your brief exchanges. This is a micro-example of how your written content has the potential to cause miscommunications; it's not just words, it's also a feeling. We do not want to send the wrong signals to our friends, just like we don’t want to confuse or frustrate our clients with our brand tone of voice. Understanding how your words are coming off to the market, as well as knowing how your target customers respond to different messaging, can help you quickly elevate the brand in their eyes.
Tone of Voice Gives Signals: the Good from the Great
I have reviewed many brand guides throughout the years and have a few red flags that tell me who has a good guide versus a GREAT guide. Brand or Tone of Voice Guidelines consists of words or simple phrases that embody the personality of the business. I prefer phrases as they help dig deeper within the emotional and contextual application of this resource. This makes it so you can easily hand it off to someone like me or another branding agency to create copy that fits the style of your company. Not all guides are created equal. When I take a look at a client's existing brand guide, whether they created it themselves or had some help from a 3rd party, I have certain elements that determine the value of this material.
If the list of terms in your guide includes the word “professional,” I can’t help but roll my eyes. This is a waste of space as, OF COURSE, you want the overall messaging that defines your company to be professional. I am also wary of the term “friendly” for similar reasons - this feels like an overused and underwhelming descriptor that does not help give your brand true character.
A great branding guide includes descriptive words that express the real essence of your company. Some of my favorites are conversational, down-to-earth, provocative, feminist, etc. I would recommend using ChatGPT or another AI software to find good examples to use. You can also select a celebrity and describe how they dress, talk, and converse to get an idea for your company. This is a great exercise to use before getting started.
Guidelines CREATE Creativity: 2024 Branding Trends
During my time at Coke - I witnessed some of the best branding experts work their magic on billion-dollar names like Sprite and Fanta. One of the biggest takeaways is this: the STRICTER the guidelines, the more CREATIVITY can flourish. This seems backward, but it's true. Without some constraints on what you can and can’t do, it is very difficult to create work that makes a splash.
Some companies are paying upwards of $250k for a brand guide that is a 25-page PDF. You read that correctly! These files are the foundation of these influential brands and help them maintain consistency and a defined personality. I can’t stress enough how important this is; having a reliable tone of voice makes customers feel more comfortable with your business. They want to have a baseline for what to expect from you, and if it's always different, they feel confused. You want them to have a sense of your business so they can pick you out from the crowd. Trust me when I say - you do NOT need to go and spend upwards of $200,000 to have an effective set of guidelines.
Take this quiz to learn more about your brand and which of the 8 #VISIBLITY styles your company falls under.
How to Start Building a Brand Guide
When working with a branding agency like Women Entrepreneurs Inc., we like to see your preexisting tone of voice (if you have one) and create a thoughtful analysis that ensures a cohesive identity. I like to give descriptions rather than a list of words. This makes it easier to communicate your intention behind the term rather than giving one word and letting the viewer interpret however they see fit. Look into the Message Maker Package for more details on how WE create meaningful brand guides for our clients that establish a tone of voice that connects deeply with their target audience.
If you do not have a brand guide yet, you are making every business operation more complicated than it needs to be. Constantly picking different fonts, color palettes, and tone of voice makes it so hard to streamline marketing processes. Whether you take on the task yourself or work with a professional with a portfolio, take the time to review their work. You want to know that they pay close attention to tone of voice, providing clients with 3-5 phrases with more verbs than nouns. Branding guides are built around messaging, so it is important to check this out before handing over your hard-earned dollars.
Creating Brand Guidelines for YOUR Company
Schedule a complimentary consultation with us to begin this process the right way. Our team gets to know your company, offerings, and existing tone to establish a springboard for innovative campaigns that will push your company further. This document becomes the essence of your business and serves as a valuable tool to draw in your target market with recognizable communication styles. After you have a set of guidelines for your brand, make sure it doesn’t get forgotten in Google Drive! Post printouts by your desk, send them to those who are working on marketing materials for your business and make sure your employees rely on them to create content that represents your company perfectly.
Also read Beachy, Branded Babes BEWARE! to learn more about 2024 branding trends.
