Authenticity has great power
Authenticity is “the antidote to our online lives,” says Kit Yarrow, a marketing psychologist. In today's retouched world seen through the glass of the screen, we miss what is real. For the brand, the testimony of realism is personality. On the other hand, the embodiment of the character of the brand is its voice - and this is exactly what today's article is about.
Voice & tone, the voice and tone of the brand. What is it?
Voice & tone is how a brand communicates with the world. An integral part of her personality (You can find more about personality in “Loves, doesn't love? Why do you need brand personality” 👉 Go ). It affects every touchpoint between the brand and the audience, but it is not limited to the ways of communicating. It goes much deeper. It extends from the website through advertising campaigns, social media channels and company brochures, to the mindset and attitude of employees towards the recipient: greeting on the phone, reception in the office, words used in an email farewell.
Think of your natural, human voice. About the words you use—and how you use them. Do you speak fast or slow? High or low? Are you loud and enthusiastic, or rather quiet and reserved? Do you bet on the concrete, or do you like ornaments and sentences that are repeatedly complex?
How is voice different from tone?
Each of us always has the same voice — and the tone is its emotional variation. It changes depending on the situation we are in and the current feelings of the person we are talking to. We turn differently to laughing friends over dinner on the town, and differently to an upset boss at a business meeting. Translated into customer communication: a social media post about the Christmas sale will have a lighter tone than the latest news about the company's crisis. And the voice will still remain the same.
Why is voice and tone important?
Voice & tone are an expression of your brand's personality, beliefs and values. Embodiment of her identity. And companies with character and a clear sense of purpose are not only the most sustainable, they also earn up to 25% more than bland competition (more on this in the article “A strong image drives success” 👉 Go).
However, in order for it to do its job, developing recognition among consumers requires consistency and repeatability. If your personality (or the message that goes with it) is consistent across all channels at the same time, but changes frequently, your audience will sooner or later doubt what you really mean. As a result, all the effort may be in vain.
Consistency is important
Imagine: you have been browsing the profile of a bicycle store on Instagram for a month. The brand is direct, sometimes downright funny and light in reception. It explains the technical intricacies in a simple way and this new knowledge that you gain every day will satisfy you very much. In the end, you decide to choose one of the bikes from the offer.
You go to the website and... hello? Something's wrong here. It's cold, impersonal and official. You have the impression that you have mistaken the pages. You feel surprised and confused — and this is the main factor that leads to consumers abandoning brands.
“Cohesion is the King*,” might be the title of Bill Gates's essay. Your tone, voice, and temperament should be distinctive and completely consistent across all customer touchpoints with your brand. Otherwise, we expose clients to cognitive dissonance — a state of unpleasant mental tension, triggered by two simultaneously occurring cognitive elements that are incompatible with each other (e.g. behaviors and attitudes).
Let the world hear you!
The benefits of defining your own identity and voice & tone are enormous. And they do not end at all with an increase in sales. Working on your own brand and being aware of yourself gives you incredible fun from running a business. Isn't that what this life is all about?
* “Content is the king” is an essay by Bill Gates published in 1996 on the Microsoft website.
