Why Tone of Voice matters and how to find yours
When it comes to standing out in the marketplace, especially online, brands find themselves in a constant battle to capture attention. Visual branding tools like your logo, typeface, name, and colors are all essential to standing out. But many brands fall into the trap of focusing so much on how they look that they forget the importance of how they sound.
A brand's Tone of Voice (TOV) is what gives it personality. It's the voice that people hear in their mind when they read your web copy, packaging, and social media posts. Your TOV should be instantly recognisable and perfectly in sync with who you are. Ultimately, it’s how you connect with your audience and keep them engaged.
What is ‘Tone of Voice?’
Just like an individual has a personality, so does a brand. Every form of written communication is a chance to show your personality and, in turn, your values. When you do this consistently across every element of your communication, your voice becomes recognisable, memorable, and trustworthy.
My own tone of voice is natural, approachable, friendly, professional and sometimes funny. As an individual this is both how I feel I am really like, and this is how I am when I speak with my clients. Both what I say and how I say it is reflected in my copy.
I would never write:
‘Hi, I’m Laura. Copywriter extraordinaire. Hire me to see what the fuss is about and learn what it’s like to work with THE best copywriter in Northern Ireland. Click here NOW’.
Likewise, I wouldn’t write:
I am a copywriter based in Northern Ireland. Please fill in the contact form below if you would like to enquire about my services.
There’s nothing wrong with either of these, but neither of them reflect my personality. When people meet me in real life, the brand language would seem inauthentic.
How to craft a tone of voice
Just like the process of developing your visual branding, your brand language needs lots of thought and planning. I would argue that both these things need to be done together, as part of the same process.
To create an authentic tone of voice, you need to fully understand your brand and what it stands for. You can start by asking:
- What makes you different from your competitors?
- Who are you speaking to?
- What emotions do you want to evoke?
I like to get really specific and ask clients about brands they love and feel aligned with—even if they’re in a completely different industry. What music would your brand listen to? What would its favorite movies be? Then, I create a list of words and phrases that reflect that personality.
Once you define your tone of voice, you can bring it to life through copywriting. This involves:
- Language choices
- Sentence structure
- Storytelling style
- Punctuation and grammar preferences
Tone of Voice Guidelines
It’s important to keep your tone of voice consistent across all marketing materials, from your website to packaging and social media posts. Even your cookie consent message is an opportunity to reinforce your brand personality.
A copywriter can help you develop your TOV and create a document known as Tone of Voice Guidelines. This ensures that everyone on your team—whether they’re writing a social post, customer email, or ad copy—stays on-brand.
These guidelines should include:
- A clear definition of your brand’s tone
- A list of do’s and don’ts
- Best and worst practice examples
