I remember my mum asking me this question (or the more formal: "Don't take that tone with me, young lady!") when I was a child. I hadn’t said anything particularly bad, but it was the way I said it that rubbed her up the wrong way. I’m also ashamed to say that I’ve now also said the same thing to my eight year old!
This nudge to check myself stuck and is something I've drawn upon throughout my career in regards to how businesses represent themselves in their key markets. When I launched Marmalade Marketing in 2017, I knew tone of voice development would be essential in establishing an authentic dialogue between clients and their target audiences.
Put simply, your tone of voice should see your brand come to life via the written word. It should allow your audience to get to know who you are and what you stand for. It also should provide a glimpse behind the curtain into your unique culture and offer a sneak peek into what the future holds for both you and them.
Inserting all of these messages in communications may seem like a tall order, but it can be done effectively. Here are some tips on how to start developing a winning tone of voice.
Even if no effort has been put into building your tone of voice so far, you've already got one. It could be more serious and formal than you might like, but it's a tone nonetheless.
A great place to start is to run a session with your colleagues, asking them: "What springs to mind when you think of our company?" If possible, do the same with your clients and candidates. Ask them to describe their experience working with you. To capture some buzzwords, see if they can sum this up in three words. It’s near impossible, trust me!
Also, analyse your messaging. Do you operate in a 'headlines' or 'story' kind of way? In other words, do you offer topline information across your comms, or do you go into War and Peace levels of detail? Both have a place. It comes down to your aspirations for the brand and what your audience is looking for.
Now you know where you stand; it's time to look at who you're talking to. You may have seen my Ozzy Osbourne and Prince Charles post on LinkedIn recently. Whilst they may share similar demographic factors, it’s all about providing your audiences with what they want to know more about, or what they’re interested in being a part of. Talking to Ozzy in a bar and Charles at the opening of an envelope, for example.
While you might wish to emulate the pithy banter on the side of your Innocent smoothie bottle, would it work to win over your particular clients and candidates? Perhaps not, but it could work to appeal to potential employees. That's why it's important to build your ideal client, candidate, and employee profiles before diving into tone.
Workshop with your team to determine these profiles. Who do you want to work with? Incorporate key demographics and remember to be realistic, don’t confuse your audience and remember, the success comes when talking about pain points. Turn these profiles into a person with a name, if that helps! We love to use Ozzy and Prince Charles. Think about what newspaper each of them would read, what car they would drive, their supermarket of choice, where they might socialise, etc. It might feel silly, but it helps to channel your messaging to speak to precisely the right person.
Of course, your tone needs to align with your target audience, but it also must convey your brand's unique personality. So, who do you want to be? Working with your colleagues, look at other brands that are getting it right and why. Be sure to explore brands outside your sector that you find most engaging and see what sets them apart.
Then ask how you would like to be described by your clients, candidates and colleagues. How do you want them to feel when they land on your website, receive an email or spot one of your posts on social media? What do you want to be known for? By collating the answers to these questions, you can start establishing a set of rules regarding your tone and language that everyone in the business can follow, ensuring streamlined and thought through messaging across all comms.
There's no better time to start building your winning tone of voice than now. Follow the above steps and have a bash, or pick up the phone to Marmalade Marketing for some help and advice.