A word about voice, message, and tone
And, more importantly, why do they matter?
Have you ever struggled to describe how your brand should sound?
If you have, you’re not alone. Many business owners struggle with this concept, often confusing voice, tone, and message. But they are three different things!
Think of it this way:
- Your brand voice is your brand personality, i.e., who you are
- Your brand message is the core information you want to convey to your target audience, i.e., what you stand for
- Your brand tone can differ depending on channel/audience, i.e. how you say things
Brand Voice
This is the personality of your brand and its characteristics expressed in words. It won’t change from LinkedIn to your website to adverts. It should be consistent, reflecting your brand personality in every piece of content, no matter which platform it is shared on.
Your brand has a visual identity, i.e., logo, colours, typeface etc. Your brand voice is its written identity.
Think about how your business, your products/services and who you want to sell them to. This will help you to identify how your brand voice will sound. For example, will it be:
- Informal, friendly, caring?
- Quirky, fun, full of energy?
- Reassuring, calm, soothing?
- Direct, professional, no-nonsense?
- Serious, authoritative, educated?
Your brand voice should reflect your brand culture and values, and resonate with your audience. If your target audience is 20-something gym-goers, then they may not associate their lives and interests/activities, or relate to voice 4 above.
Once you have found your brand voice, it should be consistent, no matter what you are writing about.
Why?
Because being consistent is the key to building a recognisable brand identity. A consistent voice – like consistent visuals – will build familiarity, confidence and trust. It helps your target audience to get to know who you are, what you stand for, and whether you have values in common. In short, it establishes that all-important connection between you and them.
Brand Message
Your brand message embodies the core idea, promise and positioning of your product or service and it runs through your communications at every touchpoint – both internally and externally.
For example, if your company offers personal financial advice, the brand message could be something like:
“We take the complications and stress away from financial matters.”
If your business is an innovative packaging company using biodegradable products, your message could be:
“Our packaging solutions are the most innovative and sustainable on the market.”
My message (as a copywriter), is all about how clear copy can help small businesses to grow, as they gain the trust and loyalty of their customers, so my message is:
“Helping small businesses grow with clear, confident copy.”
Why is your brand message important?
Because without it, your target audience may not understand what you offer, or even worse, why they should care!
You should have a strong message running consistently through all your communications. All your content, no matter where it shows up, should align your purpose with your audience. Yes, you might phrase it differently – you want to remain interesting, after all, but your message acts as a guide for how you talk about your products or services, the solutions you provide and your brand story.
Brand Tone
The brand tone sets the mood. Just like your own personality, you have different moods depending on the occasion and how you feel. Similarly, a brand’s tone can be adjusted, according to context, target audience and platform.
Illustration
When I write blog posts like this one, I hope that I sound knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. In other words, not too stuffy! This is because I want to provide helpful advice and tips for small business owners who write their own blogs and social media posts, so they can have the confidence to put pen to paper. I also want to convey to possible customers that I know what I am talking about, so they can trust me to deliver what I promise!
However, when I write case studies, I will be more matter of fact. Case studies are all about solving a problem and should clearly define:
- What the problem was
- The solution proposed
- How it worked in practice
- What the result was
- How the customer felt about it
A case study presents the facts and therefore the tone will be more factual and detached, letting the photos, quotes and results do the talking. For more on case studies, what should be included and how to write them, you may like to read my blog titled ‘What is a case study?’
A social media post however, might be more casual or punchy. This is because people scroll the platform quickly, so you have to catch their attention if you want them to read your post.
The brand tone helps you to meet your audience on their terms and where they hang out. It provides you with a way of associating your brand with their needs, rather than sounding generic. It enables you to differentiate between the different customer touchpoints for your business and makes you sound relatable, rather than robotic.
Hopefully, this blog has explained the differences between voice, message and tone, but here is a final example to demonstrate.
For my copywriting business I use a confident, conversational and straight-talking voice. I am quite direct and clear in what I say – no fluff.
My message is that I help small businesses to grow their audience by writing clear and confident copy that informs and engages them.
As I showed above, my tone may change depending on the platform and audience, so:
- In a blog – which is in longer form with a broad reach – I will be informative, helpful and encouraging
- In an email campaign – which is more action-orientated and addresses certain audience segments – I will be more personal and direct
- In a proposal – which talks to a specific audience – I will be professional and reassuring
When the three elements of voice, message and tone are aligned, written content for your business becomes more than just words. It becomes a powerful tool for connecting with and engaging your audience, and starting that all-important conversation.
Remember:
- Your brand voice is your brand personality, i.e., who you are
- Your brand message is the core information you want to convey to your target audience, i.e., what you stand for
- Your brand tone can differ depending on channel/audience, i.e. how you say things
And if you are looking for copy that doesn’t just fill that dreaded white space, but builds trust, encourages action and conveys your brand message in your voice, I would love to chat!