So often when it comes to branding a new business, or even an existing one, people focus on logo design or colour palettes, but forget one very key thing – tone of voice.
Why does tone of voice matter?
Think about when you meet someone. Do you decide whether to be friends with them based on what they look like or the colour of their clothes, or is it more about the conversation you have with them? The words they use, how they sound, and the way they come across.
Tone of voice is crucial for a brand or a business. Here’s why…
Tone of voice helps you stand out – tone of voice reflects our brand personality and makes us different from the rest. If everybody sounds the same, you don’t get heard. Make the way you speak a business USP.
Tone of voice lets people know who they are dealing with – having a tone of voice that represents your brand personality means that people understand you and your business better. They know who they are dealing with and the kind of service they can expect.
Tone of voice attracts the right clients – having a specific tone of voice can help you find clients in your industry or niche, if that’s how you choose to work. If you’re very corporate, you’ll attract corporate businesses. If you’re more conversational, it might be those from creative industries.
Tone of voice can help you scale your business – one of the things that holds people back from scaling their business is worrying about diluting their brand. Having a defined tone of voice ensures that anyone communicating on behalf of your business will be doing so in a way that is aligned to business purpose and brand values.
Tone of voice builds trust – a clear tone of voice helps customers trust you because it enables consistency. If every email, newsletter, social media post and blog post feels different, you’ll seem inauthentic. Getting it on brand every time makes sure your clients and customers know what they are getting when they come to you.
Defining your tone of voice
It all comes down to thinking about who your audience is, who you are, and how you will connect the two. Writing tone of voice guidelines is probably my favourite thing to do, so if you want to know more about how I can help you, get in touch.