Voice and tone in communication

Brand voice as identity

What is Voice?

It describes the brand's personality, what it says. It is consistent and can be defined by an adjective, for example: inspiring, assertive, empathetic, irreverent, etc.

What is Tom?

It adds an emotional intonation to the voice, expressed as speech. It can be, for example: more corporate, more informal, humorous, traditional, etc.

Why define a tone of voice for the brand?

The way a brand presents itself is just as important as the way we show ourselves as individuals.

A person conveys their personality through the clothes and accessories they wear, their haircut, their posture, their gaze, their voice, their language.

At the same time, a brand's personality is conveyed through the message it sends, its vision, its principles, the language it chooses, the colors, the images, the videos, the graphics, its interaction on social networks.

For example, a product or service that can be consumed with family or friends can reveal a fun and sociable personality. The more the tone of voice emphasizes these qualities, the more customers associate it with social environments, friends and recreation.

When the identity is well defined and consistent across the various channels through which it communicates, consumers are able to easily recognize that the content belongs to a particular brand, which brings them closer and can influence their purchasing decision.

Types of voice tones

Depending on the situation, the tone of voice varies. It's easy to imagine the tone with which a new product is advertised and the tone when responding to a complaint: it certainly won't be the same.

Delving deeper into the types mentioned above:

• Inspiring - encourages the audience to excel, giving them energy and confidence, referring to an idea or a positive thought.
• Competent - results-oriented, it is generally aimed at a more executive and ambitious segment such as managers, for example, or a more traditional audience. This tone can be both reasoned and accessible.
• Empathetic -it's light, informal, brief, but assertive in its message (usually informative) and creates closeness with the audience, to whom it transmits valuable content.
• Irreverent - unconventional, with a message that "comes out of the box". He attracts attention above all because of the words he chooses, sometimes in puns, and because of his daring images.

How to find the right tone of voice

In theory, it's easy to understand the concept. In practice, it's more complex to determine a brand's tone of voice.

There are two important moments to do this: initially there has to be an introspection to define how/who the brand is, so that it can then communicate with the public.

1. Reflect on brand positioning

Define why

Simon Sinek, known for his motivational talks on organizations, argues that a brand must first define why it exists: what is its purpose ("profit" is not an answer), what is the cause it believes in? In other words, what is the brand going to do to make a difference to people's lives?

Developing your tone of voice

The tone of voice should be unique to your business.
It's useful to find out how other companies in the same field express themselves, so that you can absorb what matters or, on the contrary, differentiate yourself completely.
But you don't have to raise your voice to get noticed. You just have to use the right tone, the tone of voice that is specific to your brand.
An interesting question that can help define the brand's voice is: if the brand were represented by a celebrity, who would it be?

Matching the brand expression to the persona

Having defined the persona's profile, you need to adjust the brand's tone of voice:

• Exclusive / affordable
• Traditional / contemporary
• Young / mature
• Formal / informal
• Serious / fun
• Urban / ecological
• Stable / dynamic

Graphic elements and language

Moving on to the practical side of communication:

• What will the brand logo look like?
• What colors will predominate?
• What is the font on the website?
• What is the initial greeting like in each email?
• And what's the farewell like?
• Do you speak in the first person?
• And will the public be treated as you?
• What terms will definitely NOT be used in communication?

2. Communicate consistently across all channels

Define communication channels

Depending on the persona, the target audience and, of course, the company's resources and objectives, the channels chosen to communicate can vary.

So it's important to know where your audience is, which channels they use.

A corporate brand might give priority to email and LinkedIn, while for a brand whose target audience is a younger segment it might make more sense to use Instagram and Twitter.

Depending on the purpose of the content, the tone of voice is adjusted. For example, if you're posting a video on Instagram, where the visual component is the strong point, you want the tone of voice to be close and practical, while if it's an article for a blog it can have a more informative and assertive tone.

However, not forgetting all the campaigns that may take place in a non-digital environment.

Create a brand communication guide

A company's communication is not done by just one person. As such, it's important to draw up a document that contains guidelines for the whole team, so that there's a standard of organization.

This guide will ensure consistency between the company's various communication channels, allowing a consumer to recognize the brand when they go from its website to social networks, when they see an advertisement for one of its products or services on the street, or when they open an email.

An evolving personality

A brand's personality is constantly maturing. After all, behind every brand are people, who are also evolving.

A brand can therefore decide to adjust its tone of voice, which is a sign that it is keeping up with the changes in its environment. But how can it do this without losing its identity?

On the one hand, it is necessary to analyze the communication that the company already has, to get an overall picture. On the other hand, it's important to permeate the creative side with these unique aspects.

Here are some starting points:

• What aspects distinguish the brand's voice?
• Is the voice consistent in terms of language both on social media and on the website?
• How does the audience interact on the different channels?
• Which publications have the highest user interaction rate?

The voice of the brand representatives

A special ingredient that can be added to a brand's recipe to differentiate its Voice is the voice of its own executives.

According to Forbes in 2018, "The reputation of a company's leadership is directly responsible for 44% of a company's market value".

In practice, this means that company leaders can extrapolate the influence they have on their team to the community if they use the media wisely. They can take the brand's messages to another level and, consequently, reposition it in the market.

Examples of voice tones

1. Morning Milk: a manifesto for self-esteem

Always associated with a mostly female audience, the Matinal brand has repositioned itself, inspiring each woman to celebrate her individuality.

The slogan itself has changed over time, relying on progressively affirmative language. It went from the question "If I don't like me, who will?" to a more positive tone "If I like me, who won't?" which has now become a certainty: "Because I like me".

This shade is inspiring and expresses the individual power of every woman, regardless of her beauty, style, age, role or status.

2. BPI and Millennium BCP: joining the App

The purpose of these two communications is identical: the banks explain how to create a user account on the App. Although both present the information concisely, there is a noticeable difference in the tone of voice between the two:

BPI opts for a more serious tone and the information is presented in text, on a website with sober colors. It corresponds to a more traditional and competent tone.

On the other hand, Millennium BCP is going for a more empathetic tone, with a presentation summarized in steps, through infographics, in bright colors, and sealed with a gif at the end that conveys the feeling of a job done ("And it's done!"). It corresponds to an empathetic, flexible tone.

3. Renova: elevating toilet paper to the lifestyle category

Throughout its history, Renova has managed to transform one of the most basic products in our homes, whose purpose is unattractive, into a utilitarian item with design. From a perspective that is "outside the box" of what is traditional and with a lively voice that goes so far as to name its toilet paper "the sexiest on the planet".

A few years ago, it repositioned itself internationally by launching black toilet paper, which has since been recognized across borders:

On Instagram, we recognize the irreverent tone of voice because the brand maintains these qualities, expressed in the bright colors, the "international" element and the fun message: