Tone of Voice: The fine art of brand communication

”What do you want?!” and “What can I do for you?” They are similar in content and yet could hardly be more different. Because how we express ourselves has a big influence on how others perceive us. This also applies to companies. The right language can be proven to increase customer loyalty and even sales. Read this blog post to find out what the tone of voice is all about and how you can use it to your advantage.

What is the tone of voice?

The tone of voice describes the tonality, the way in which a brand communicates internally and externally. This includes word choice and language style. It is not about what is said but like it is said.

How important is the tone of voice?

Language must match the personality of a brand. If this is not the case, there are discrepancies between a company's self-image (corporate identity) and its external image (corporate image). Such inconsistencies are consciously or subconsciously perceived by consumers and have a negative impact on the seriousness of a brand. If the target group finds the chosen tone of voice consistent, the company can convey its values and convictions through the language style. This strengthens your own brand identity, which in turn ensures better customer loyalty. Because when customers feel that a company shares their values, their brand loyalty increases rapidly. According to a survey, 81% of respondents prefer to buy from companies that share their values.

Recognition through consistency

If all of a company's content sounds similar, it's as though they're always talking to the same person. This creates a closer relationship with the company and increases recognition value. Ideally, a tone of voice is so unique that isolated texts can be attributed to a brand. This means that a brand even without the names, the logo or special paints, but is recognized solely on the basis of the writing style and the words chosen. A successful tone of voice can be used across channels and in a wide variety of situations without losing recognition. As a result, communication remains largely consistent, regardless of whether you are talking to customers, suppliers or employees. However, small deviations are normal and appropriate depending on the situation. For example, even a young, cheeky start-up should react professionally in the event of a reliable complaint. The trick is to remain authentic here.

How to find your tone of voice

The first step is to check your current way of communicating. Take a look at your website, recent social media posts, and promotional material. Pay attention to how you talk to your customers. Record your findings and consider whether your current tone of voice can be improved. The appropriate tone of voice depends primarily on the target group and product. As a result, a law firm should choose a different tone than a tattoo parlour. Before you define your brand voice, you need to know your target audience. Research thoroughly.

• Which channels does your target group use?
• How do people talk to each other there?
• Which content is particularly well received?

With this information, you can reflect the tone of voice of your target group. When you recognize and use language patterns in a targeted manner, you become more approachable. By imitating the way of speaking, written texts also appear more human. Customers sense the person behind the letter and attribute certain character traits to them based on their way of expression.

Fix your tone of voice

Once you have found your tonality, you should record it as precisely as possible. Answer questions such as:

• Which approach do you use to address customers?
• Do you publish short or long texts?
• Which topics are taboo?

Fixing these factors in writing has several advantages. On the one hand, you create a basis that can be expanded at any time. Once the various aspects of your brand voice are on paper, it is easier to be aware of them, to review and, if necessary, improve them. It will also be easier for you to write and revise texts and scripts if you have a set of rules that you can use as a guide. Even new employees are guaranteed to hit the right note with precise instructions on how your Tone of Voice works.

Example: Our tone of voice

At Socialwave, we strive for a transparent, objective and informative tone. We avoid conversational and passive language and prefer clear, short sentences. We stick to facts and are factual but not formal. A pinch of humor in appropriate places rounds off the foundation of our tone of voice. Our goal is to enable companies to carry out automated marketing. Our products are technical in nature, but easy to use. We would also like to represent this linguistically. That is why we deliberately use few technical terms and rarely talk about the technical details — these are reserved for our technical department. In addition, our research has shown that the preferred way of reaching our customers varies depending on the channel. That's why we address them as “you” on our Facebook channel and “you” on Instagram. In day-to-day business, on the other hand, we adapt to our customers and do not force a specific approach. Within the company, from intern to managing director, the “you” applies.

conclusion

How companies express themselves verbally and in writing decisively determines which characteristics, values and goals are attributed to them. The tone of voice is therefore an important piece of the puzzle for a coherent overall picture of your corporate identity. Due to advancing digitalization and becoming increasingly popular cross-channel marketing It's more true than ever: The sound makes the music. With our WLAN marketing package, your customers/patients/guests advertise you, are happy and recommend you to others.