We’ve all heard that having a strong tone of voice is vital for any brand to succeed online. In the age of social media and online marketing, content marketing is king, and to make effective, engaging content, you need to write with personality and conviction.
This is what a great tone of voice does: it shapes the marketing statements, calls to action and key messages you put out into the world into easily-understood, conversational language.
Think about it. How are your customers meant to feel compelled to act on your advertisements if they can’t really get to grips with what you’re saying? You wouldn’t fly to Cuba on your holidays and try to speak to everyone you met in French. You need to talk to people in language they understand!
But, things can get too complicated. When tone of voice starts dictating your messages, you might have a monster on your hands. You should only be using your tone to make your messages clearer, not the other way around.
This happens more than you think. As tone of voice is (or should be) created through a rigorous set of guidelines that binds how you communicate directly with your customers with your brand’s aims, it makes sense that the content you create using it fits those goals. But don’t let it overtake. If you’re beginning to think ‘this content I’m sharing doesn’t hit any of our targets, but it matches the brand’, it’s time to step back and think about what you’re creating your content for.
Not sure what I mean? Okay, let’s take a look at a great example of corporate copywriting to see how the company in question crafts its tone of voice around its content — and not the other way around.
Innocent Smoothies
Let’s look at a copywriting heavyweight.
Everyone in marketing knows Innocent’s modus operandi: they are sugary sweet and as chirpy as a newborn chick, but they get their message across quicker than a kingfisher. In and out like a flash.
Their trick is that all of their copy is really easy to read. Childish, even. You’ve read one of their adverts or bottle labels before you’ve even noticed, and it’s left you knowing more about them — as well as the feeling that you know them. That’s tone of voice.
Even their more corporate content has a touch of the whimsical about it, using simple, casual language to convey a company that — well, what do you think it conveys? How does this paragraph make you feel?
The point is, they’re leading the conversation with corporate goals and using a solid, well-embedded tone of voice to smooth out the sharp, business-like edges.
I’m not saying you need to hop on the cutesy copy bandwagon. It probably won’t suit you, and it has almost definitely been replicated to death. What I want you to remember is this simple rule:
Content first, then tone of voice. Everything else should fall into place.
Until next time…