What is Tone of Voice and why does it matter?
An advert comes on when you’re driving, ‘This is not just [insert any food item here], this is an M&S [insert that food item again here]’ blares from the car radio and chances are, you didn’t need to wait until their famous strapline to know it was an advert for M&S Food.
Why? Because their brand identity and passionate tone of voice is so recognisable that you just knew exactly who was advertising. The emotive, descriptive words spoken in sultry voices, were all dead giveaways- drizzled on, oozing with, rich, succulent, you get the gist. Each one designed to tantalise those tastebuds and get you nipping down to your nearest M&S food hall or petrol station.
Put simply, Tone of Voice (TOV) is the way in which you as a business or brand, speak to your customers. And it’s the way you speak that shows people your brand’s personality.
Tone of Voice: It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it
If you’re totally new to marketing, the best way to think of it is to imagine someone you know well. They talk to you in a certain way right? Whether this is written in a text or an email or a chat in person, their tone of voice is individual to them and reflects their personality. Ever had a scam email or text message supposedly from your bestie that you just instantly knew wasn’t from them? Your gut feeling told you straightaway that they hadn’t written it because it didn’t sound like them. Maybe it was too formal, perhaps they said ‘Hey’ when they’re more of ‘Hello’ sort of person.
Tone of Voice helps you to recognise a brand, and if you feel familiar with a brand, you’re so much more likely to engage with that brand, shop with them, recommend them and so on. So is your Tone of Voice friendly and warm, funny and tongue-in-cheek, informative and straightforward? This is your first decision. Your TOV needs to reflect your brand personality accurately.
Here are a few examples of those brands that do it so well:
Skincare brand Soap & Glory have a fun and lively TOV with copy packed full of witty product names like ‘What a Peeling’ face masks and ‘Simply the Boost’ moisturiser that have amusing descriptions to match.
Smoothie makers innocent are well known for being childish and silly in the best way, I mean who else would write ‘Stop looking at my bottom’ under a drinks carton and tell you to get in touch on their ‘banana phone’? Their playful tone even shows up in their job adverts:
When we hire, we want all the juice, bits, and pulp that make you who you are…Probably best to get your skates on though, as we might close this early if we get loads of applications.
Toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap couldn’t come out on the market with a name like that and then have a boring tone of voice could they? Absolutely not. This ethical, eco friendly company has built its brand on toilet humour and funny one liners whilst finding the perfect balance to educate and inform consumers. They use clever, attention-seeking copy designed to make consumers think (and laugh) at every step of the buying process. From adverts shouting ‘Wipe your bum, change the world’ and ‘The climate crisis is ours to crack’ to boxes that thank you for ‘giving a crap’ explaining 50% of their profits go to building toilets for those in need. They even know how to brighten up a boring privacy policy on their website:
We know how much you value your privacy while using our products on the loo, the W.C., the crapper, the lavatory, the restroom, the potty, the throne room, the toilet (whatever you call it, you get the idea!).
Oatly - every wordsmith dreams of working for this brand for a reason - they’re bold, brave and hilarious. As an oat milk brand they could have easily kept their tone of voice informative (and bland) but then they wouldn’t have stood out in the market the way they do now (remember their ‘This tastes like sh*t advert?!). Humour is central to everything they write and they’re not afraid to be self-deprecating or sarcastic to get the laughs. Take one side of their cartons:
WOW! NO COW! The idea behind Oatly was to find a way to make a nutritious alternative to milk without going through the body of a cow. Today that sounds really smart, but back when we started in the early 1990s most people thought we were crazy. That’s okay, everything has its time, who is the crazy one now?
Keep your Tone of Voice consistent!
Your TOV needs to be consistent across all your marketing touchpoints in order to keep resonating with your audience. These brands know how important that is, which is why you’ll see them playing their part at every opportunity. Oatly and innocent in particular are known for their amazing clapbacks on LinkedIn and actively engage with customers on their social media platforms, always in a way that aligns with their brand values. The FAQ page on your website, the billboard campaign, your order confirmation emails; make sure to sprinkle your brand personality throughout by using the same tone of voice.
It’s also important to know who you are and be ok with it. Switching up your tone of voice will just confuse customers and ultimately turn them off. You don’t expect Joules to ask ‘Like what you see? Shop the looks from your fave influencer of the moment straight from the ‘Gram.’ or Pretty Little Thing to tell you that ‘Cropped quilted jackets for women are an effortless throw-on, offering more than just protection against unexpected showers.’ No, each clothing brand stays in their lane and attracts their target customers because of it.
Engaging with your target audience is everything. Who are they? Are they social media savvy? Because there’s no point telling them to DM you to book an appointment if they don’t understand what DM means! Is English their first language? I worked with a client who had this language barrier to overcome so we were careful to keep the language used simple and kept away from complicated jargon.
There is so much to consider when it comes to creating and applying tone of voice, which is where a good copywriter can come in to save you time and energy. But if you’re just looking for the basics then at least think of two words to describe your brand as if it was a person - this could be authoritative and trustworthy, caring and kind, fun and exciting - then write in that style.
Tone of Voice is a key part of forming a strong brand identity, one that speaks to people, one they’ll recognise and trust, and ultimately buy from!
