What Is Brand Voice and Tone, and Why Does It Matter?
Typically, when people think of a brand, they think of its visual elements like font, colors, and illustrations. But a brand is so much more than that. Every brand has a unique personality that comes to life through its brand voice and tone in marketing communications.
Have you ever been to a dinner party and noticed that one person stands out among the rest? They're either a great storyteller or humorous or maybe vivacious. Regardless, something about their personality distinguishes them from the crowd.
If you want a brand that stands out, you need to have a clear brand voice and tone that rises above the digital noise.
Let's talk more about brand voice and tone, and why defining your brand voice matters.
What is brand voice?
Here's an easy way to remember the brand tone and brand voice meaning:
Brand voice is what you say, brand tone is how you say it.
Your brand voice is about projecting your brand’s personality through the communications you distribute. It's directed at your target audience and helps build a memorable connection between your brand and them.
Think back to that person at the dinner party.
If your brand was a guest at the party, and the attendees were your audience, how would you show up? What personality traits would you possess? How would people describe you at the party? Are you outgoing, opinionated, shy, funny? What would you be talking about? What topics would you avoid? What common phrases would you use?
Listing personality characteristics helps your brand voice strike a balance between just right and too much. For instance, you may want to be perceived as friendly (just right), but NOT a pushover (too much).
You can define your brand voice by stepping into the mind of your audience and determine how you want them to perceive you. Then, act (and speak) accordingly.
When do I use my brand voice?
Your brand voice is applied to any communication your brand makes internally or externally (e.g., website copy, blogs, newsletters, social media captions, company emails). Brand voice shines through all of that content, presenting a unique personality and tone.
What is brand tone of voice?
Brand tone of voice is a reflection of your brand personality and brand values. When speaking, your personality and values don't change, but how they are communicated can.
Your brand tone of voice may vary based on a few different factors, such as target persona, where a client is at in the buying journey, communication channel, etc.
For example, when you talk to your boss in person, you're likely formal and poised in your communication style. However, when you text a close friend, your tone is probably more informal and candid. In both of these cases, your personality and values haven't changed (brand voice), but how you communicate does (brand tone).
When you think of brand tonality, think—emotion. Do you sound happy, angry, curious, sarcastic, cautious? The words you say can take on a completely different meaning in the mind of your audience depending on how you say them.
3 brand voice examples
Brands have a different tones of voice that distinguish them from each other. Here are three of my favorite brand voice and tone examples.
1. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a great example of brand voice and tone because their style guide is publicly available. When they write any kind of copy for their brand, their voice must fit into this mold:
We are plainspoken
We are genuine
We are translators
Our humor is dry
They keep their communication clear, entertaining, and informal with a touch of humor, but they never force a joke. Mailchimp uses positive language when writing content and they avoid using industry jargon at all costs. If Mailchimp were a person, they'd be supportive, friendly, and funny.
2. Oatly
Oatly is a non-dairy milk alternative that has disrupted their industry with witty, self-deprecating humor, creating a distinguishable brand voice. As a copy-driven brand, they are opinionated, pithy, and fearless in their marketing communications.
Here are some examples of their cheeky brand voice and tone:
“It’s like milk, but made for humans.”
"If this side [of the oat milk carton] bores you, please read no further. Flip the carton around and have a wonderful day. Otherwise, please do enjoy."
If Oatly were a person, they'd be brutally honest, contagiously funny, and wildly authentic.
3. Spotify
As a company, Spotify is edgy, casual, and friendly. If they were a person, Spotify would be current on all things pop culture, playful, and wouldn't take themselves too seriously. Spotify's brand voice and tone are reflective of their target market, Millennials, which separates them from the competition.
Why does brand voice and tone matter?
In Sprout Social's 2020 Index, respondents were asked why some brands stand out among the competition more than others—memorable content, distinct personality, and compelling storytelling were the top three reasons.
Do you know what shapes all three of those answers?
You guessed it: brand voice.
So, here are three reasons why brand voice and tone matter.
1. Helps shape your brand personality
Brand voice and tone together help define your brand personality.
Your brand personality is what attracts your target audience to you. In a sea of digital noise, you need to find ways to stand out from the competition. A unique brand voice can help you do just that. Put the same amount of effort into refining your brand's voice and tone as you do your visual identity to create a holistic brand presence.
2. Creates consistency across your brand communications
Your brand voice and tone help you establish brand awareness through consistency.
Brand voice is a crucial element of your branding. It helps create consistency across communication channels. Ideally, your brand content should be recognizable even if your logo isn't present. You want your audience to be able to identify your content without having a visual cue about which brand is being represented. In order to do that, you need to use a consistent brand voice and tone in all of your communication (no matter who in your company is writing the content).
3. Connects your brand with your target audience
Good public speakers "read the room."
Likewise, your brand needs to identify its audience and use language that creates a connection. If you don't know who you're talking to, you won't know how to present information in an engaging way. How does your audience prefer to be addressed? What words or phrases do they use a lot? Is there slang that they use based on location or generation? Answering questions like these can help you create a more meaningful connection between your brand and its audience.
Define your brand voice and tone with brand strategy
Brand voice and tone give your brand character and emphasize its personality. Do you know what your brand personality is? Have you dialed in on your brand voice? What's your brand tone?
If you need help uncovering some of these details for your brand, consider investing in a 2-hour brand strategy intensive. During this call, we'll define your mission, vision, values, target audience persona(s), brand voice and tone, personality, and more!
