Tone of voice types in content writing is an important part of developing a consistent tone within your marketing and content. Tone of voice is simply the personality or attitude a writer has when writing. There are various ways to develop tone with your brand’s tone, which the author discusses in this article.
In this article, we will look in greater detail at what tone of voice is. The different types of tone of voice and how you can create a killer tone of voice for your brand and content writing. Let’s get started.
What is tone of voice in marketing and branding?
The tone of voice is one of the many components that make up branding and marketing. It is basically an expression of how you want something to be perceived. It is usually a combination of words and vocabulary that create a unique voice for your company or brand.
A tone of voice will have 3 things:
1) Express your brand’s personality.
Yes, that is right your brand should have a persona or personality that speaks to people. This will make it much easier for your audience to identify with. Your brand needs to convey a feeling and an experience that is tied directly back to your products and services.
Personality is important as it conveys to the audience how the brand is generally perceived.
It’s important that you don’t forget to ask yourself what your audience thinks of your brand and what they expect from it. If you are not sure ask them.
Examples of a personality in a tone of voice are:
- Witty
- Friendly
- Professional
- Formal
- Sophisticated
- Funny
These personalities can be achieved by taking a look at what your competition is doing and seeing how you can make them better. This will allow you to stand out from the noise and create a unique persona for your brand.
2) Develop a clear message.
The tone of voice communicates an emotional state or feeling to the audience. It is important that this is an emotion that relates to your brand and product or service because no one wants to hear a sales pitch about something they can get elsewhere for free.
You should formulate your message in such a way that it becomes an easy and straightforward call to action. We will talk more about how to do this shortly.
You need to think about what you want your audience to do after hearing your brand’s voice. Think about your most important calls to action.
Examples of calls to action:
- Make a purchase.
- Check out your website.
- Leave a review.
- Sign up for our discounts.
- Download our newsletter, etc…
It’s important that you keep in mind what your brand is always promoting and how the audience can benefit from it. You want to make it easy for them by having a clear message that is bold and relatable to them. If they understand you better it will be easier for them to take action.
3) Persuade your audience to do what you want them to do.
As we mentioned above, the tone of voice is all about persuading your audience to take a certain action. This is done by getting your message across in a way that maximizes the chances of you getting them to act.
The tone of voice should be able to grab and hold attention, but at the same time not be too pushy or obnoxious. It should be able to persuade people by actually caring about their wants and needs.
Think about the last time you bought a product or service from a company. What was it that convinced you to buy? Was it because they banged on and on about the product or service? Or was it because they spoke to you in a way that made you feel like they were offering something that would value add to your life?
If they had a bad tone of voice; chances are you moved on and never looked back.
What are the different tones of voice and what are they?
Understanding the different tones of voice and what they are is important to creating a tone of voice for your brand. When developing the tone for your brand you will need to take a look at the various aspects of how different tones affect the audience.
There are 5 basic tones of voice that will help you begin creating your brand’s own unique personality and charisma.
1) Conversational (friendly, chatty).
The conversational tone of voice should be used when you are writing to your audience as a friend or family member would. The tone should be informal and down to earth and make the audience feel like they can come to you with any question at any time.
This type of tone is used in content that is more educational or informative in nature. It’s good to use this tone when you are writing for people who know a lot or want to know a lot about the topic, and it will be more useful for them.
It’s important that your tone of voice is not too similar to everyone else. You should make it your own by adding some extra personality and pep in it, and making sure that you stand out from the crowd.
Examples of people who use this tone:
- Your mom
- A well-meaning teacher
- Your best friend
- The person that fixes your computer
2) Authoritative (professional, serious).
The authoritative tone is the tone of voice that people use when they are giving you directions or instructions. It is a very professional tone and it’s also very intimidating. You should only use this tone when you need to make a big impression on your audience.
This type of tone is best suited when you are writing for expert audiences or when you are trying to sell your product or service. You should also be careful not to overuse it as it might not appeal to many people.
People who use this tone:
- Your boss
- Your accountant
- A police officer
- A doctor
- An attorney/lawyer
3) Friendly (chummy, kid-like).
The friendly tone of voice is the tone of voice that you are probably most familiar with. This is the tone you use when speaking to your family members and friends. It is a very informal tone, but it can also be very powerful and frightening as well.
This type of tone is best used when you are writing for individual people or small groups who are directly related to you. The tone is very personal and intimate as well, so it can be useful when creating an e-commerce website.
It’s important that you avoid sounding too childish. It’s best to use this tone when writing for a more mature audience, or audiences who are interested in personal or romantic relations between people.
Examples of people who use this tone:
- Your mom
- A friend’s parents
- A friend’s sister/brother
- Your BFF at work
4) Authoritative (polite, professional).
This type of tone is very similar to the authoritative tone, but this one is also very polite. The authoritative polite tone is different from the conversational tone because it is used when you are trying to please your audience. It can be used when you are buying something for someone else, or if you just want to give them a heads up about something. You are putting yourself in a position of submission and asking for their help in doing what you need to do.
This tone is best used when you are writing for people who are in a position of power. It’s also good for when you’re trying to change someone’s mind or make them do what you want them to do. It should only be used sparingly though because people don’t like it when you use it and they will start to get annoyed by it very easily.
Examples of people who use this tone:
- A spouse
- An employee
- A significant other
- Your boss
- A friend’s wife/husband
- The babysitter/caretaker
5) Casual (friendly, hip).
A casual tone of voice is also known as the hip tone of voice. It’s used when you are writing for fun. Because of the use of slang and funny humor; the casual tone is generally more entertaining than the authoritative tone. This can be a little trickier to use than the other 4 tones, as people will want to know where it came from and wonder if it’s authentic or if you just think that you’re cool because you’re using it.
This tone is best used when you are writing for people who are already interested in or familiar with the topic. It’s also good to use when you’re creating content for a night out or a laugh at work. You only want to use this tone when you are writing for people that you know will appreciate it.
Examples of people who use this tone:
- Your friends
- Your family
- A comedian
- An e-commerce store owner Creating your brand’s tone in 4 easy steps.
Now that we know what the different tones of voice are, and how they affect the audience, it’s time to talk about how to put them into practice. There are four easy steps that you can follow to help you create the tone of voice for your brand.
Step 1: Listen to your audience
The first step in this process is to find out what tone of voice your audience prefers. Listening to what your audience says will show you how they speak so that you know how they react when someone speaks to them in a certain way. This will help you to understand how people feel about different tones of voice and which ones are more enjoyable or better suited for different purposes.
Step 2: Make a list
Listening to your audience and getting ideas can only get you so far. You need to do something with the information you’ve gathered. You need to make a detailed list of different tones of voice and how they relate to each other. This will help you create a complete picture of how your tone of voice works and what it’s purpose is.
Step 3: Choose a tone
The third step in this process is to decide which tone of voice you want to use. There are five tones of voice that you can choose from, but only one will fit your brand perfectly. The other four should just be used sparingly or when they are particularly necessary.
Step 4: Be consistent
Finally, you need to make sure that your tone of voice isn’t too much or too little for your audience. You shouldn’t go overboard, because people might not appreciate it or they might get annoyed with you. It’s also important that you don’t undersell yourself to your audience- if you use a tone too much your audience will get bored of it.
A good brand is made up of more than just the name and logo. It is also made up of the attitude that you present to your customers, and the way that you market your products or services as well. You need to make your tone of voice authentic. It’s a big part of how you present yourself to people. All this work is done on the inside, but it is what makes you stand out from the crowd.
It can be boring work and at times frustrating, but when all is said and done- it will pay off in the long run.
Creating a Tone of Voice guide for other people to reference
As a content writing service, we love companies that have already developed this sort of guide for others to work from as makes creating content for your business so much easier if we know what we are aiming to do.
A guide for your tone of voice should look like the following:
1. Introduction
In this part, you introduce your business and the tone of voice that you will be using. This will give the reader an understanding of what they can expect and how to use the guide. It should also help them to understand how important it is for you to have a consistent voice throughout all your content.
2. Guidelines for writing
Here, you explain the guidelines that you follow when writing content for your business. This includes things like writing for human beings, not search engines.
3. Tips and tricks
In this part, you can give your audience some tips and tricks that they can use when trying to create content for your business. This can be anything from the best plugins to use when creating content or how to find good sources of information. It’s good stuff, but make sure to keep it short and not too much at once.
4. Case studies
This is where you explain how your business came to have the tone of voice that it has and what the purpose of that voice is. This can also be a good place to talk about attempts that you’ve made in the past and what worked and didn’t work, but don’t explain too much in this section. You’re wasting space if you’re putting all of your secrets in the beginning. Instead, keep it short and sweet and don’t give away all your secrets until later.
5. Quick reference chart
This is a chart that breaks down your tone of voice into basic categories and shows you where it comes from. It’s a quick reference tool for your audience. It will also include other things like what to do if you ever get stuck or are unsure about how to continue writing.
Conclusion
Now that you know about the tone of voice types and how to create your own, you should have a better understanding of how to use them in your business. You’re now able to make informed decisions about whether you want to use the tone that you already have or if you need to create a new one. Creating an awesome tone of voice is a great way for your business to stand out and let your customers know who you are and what you stand for. Your customers will remember that voice when they think of your brand, so it’s important that it’s something that they love.
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