Does this match my brand’s voice?
Did that hit the brand tone?
Am I “on brand” with X?
All common questions thoughtful marketers and smart business leaders have rolling around in their head at any given moment. In a world inundated with opinionated information, brands like your must take a stand to define who you are, how you want to be perceived, and what language and delivery makes your offerings be the solution for target audience’s problems every time.
Let’s take a dive into the main differentiators between brand voice and tone, why you should consider both to be crucial, how to build them out, and ultimately how to embrace your standards for the long-haul.
What is the difference between brand voice and brand tone?
Often (incorrectly) considered synonyms of one another, brand voice and brand tone are starkly different, yet totally complimentary.
Brand voice is the words and language you use throughout all communication outlets. It’s distinct, consistent, and your best shot at making you stand out among the rest. Voice displays the important and memorable qualities about someone – how they resonate.
Brand tone is the way you choose to deliver your voice. It’s your brand’s demeanor that can and will be experienced across various mediums, outlets, and platforms. Tone displays personality. It shows off your brand’s vibe and quirks and it both expresses and evokes emotion.
Why is an established voice and tone important for your brand?
As you establish your brand voice and tone, you will notice how their symbiotic relationship attracts, proves, and fosters relationships with your brand. When used successfully, these essential tools will earn you new business by proving your worth and continuing to build brand loyalty.
As a communicative being yourself, you know the feel and attitude of a message is often more telling than the message itself. Tone takes your voice to a whole new level by adding in strategic personality and thoughtful emotion.
How do you develop voice and tone for your brand?
When we’re helping clients develop voice and tone for their brand, the most important exercise we go through is helping to personify their brand.
Think about this: if your brand was a person, how would it dress, think, act, show up… what would it value? What makes it stand out, be unique?
If you consider movie/show characters that stand out to you (Janice from Friends or Dr. Smolder Bravestone in Jumanji), you can pick up their consistencies, social queues, demeanor, personality, humor level, and more just by studying their voice and tone.
Next, we ask our clients to decide on the style and the vibe they want to feel when their brand enters the chat. What mood or experience do they want to provide? How do they want their audience to feel or act in an ideal scenario and how does their brand help them reach that level of feeling or action?
Here’s an example: If your target audience values comfort and that’s your expertise or product’s goal, you want your brand to exude a voice and tone that instills trust that you can deliver comfort. So your brand voice should utilize words that evoke a sense of trust, relaxation, and reward. You would avoid language that feels high-risk, super eclectic, or vague. Your tone should elicit comfort with sights and sounds that feel reassuring, encouraging, and consistent.
Once you personify your brand, voice and tone becomes easier to define.
How do you stay true to your brand voice and brand tone?
To stay true to your brand voice and tone, you need to have a set list of guiding questions that you ask about every piece of content that you put out.
Does this take us closer to our mission or further away?
Is this out of character for our brand?
Is this something that will shock our audience in a negative way?
Does this evoke the emotion we are trying to achieve?
One disclaimer is that it’s 100% okay to be eclectic and a bit off the wall, if that is part of your defined personality and can be expected by your audience. Your brand also may take slightly different tones on different platforms, and as long as you’re not evoking a slip, confusing personality, we say, right on!
Just look at your brand as a character, and voice and tone as a way to stay true to who you are.