4 tips for pinning down your brand’s tone of voice

Competition is what drives motivation, pushing business owners to distinguish themselves from the crowd. This is why your brand’s tone of voice should never be an afterthought — it makes you recognisable and encourages a deeper connection with your audience. 

But how do you structure a brand voice that resonates across all of your marketing efforts? From landing page content and blog posts to social media ad copy, it’s all about mastering the art of communication — not just in what you say, but how you say it.

The pillars of effective tone of voice

Before we go into our tone of voice tips, it’s important to note that your tone of voice consists of: 

• what your brand says
• how it says it
• why it says it
• who it’s talking to. 

As you’ll see, these four pillars can act as a content guide, as well as ensuring that every piece of copy has a unique and clear purpose.

1. Understand the 3 C’s of brand voice

The 3 C’s of brand voice can easily be broken down into clarity, consistency, and character. Each of these elements should play a crucial role in ensuring your message resonates with your audience at all times.

Clarity

Clarity is all about keeping your message crystal clear so it can be easily understood in all circumstances. Sometimes, it may be necessary to add a bit of extra flair to your copy, but this shouldn’t be your go-to approach. It’s always a good idea to assess where less means more.

Consistency

Say you have an example of your social media copy, and then an example of your website copy side-by-side. You should be able to instantly recognise your brand’s tone across any and every platform. Consistency is incredibly important to consumers — they like to know what to expect and what they’re getting from you.

Character

Every brand has its own personality. It’s one of the best things about running a business — so why not utilise your unique business personality in your marketing communications? 

If your brand is playful and fun, you can reflect this in your tone of voice by using lighthearted language and jokes, for example. Is your brand more on the serious and sophisticated side? Use your language to convey authority and trust, providing answers and solutions that appease your target audience’s needs and pain points.

2. Create actionable tone of voice guidelines

Your tone of voice (TOV) guidelines should act as a blueprint for your business’s communication strategy. TOV guidelines often act as a developing document, changing with the trends and needs of your target audience. However, TOV guidelines can also offer a clear structure for you to return to when you need to take action.

Your guidelines should clearly set out the rules of engagement and the do’s and don’ts of how your brand communicates across all platforms. They need to provide clear, actionable steps that ensure your employees can reflect them consistently throughout their content. When you have your tone of voice guidelines ready, it’s always a good idea to talk through the document with your team, making sure they understand the reasoning behind your approach and feel the guidelines are appropriate for your brand. This will also allow you to iron out and develop any issues raised.

Crafting your business’s TOV

Here are a few steps to help you create actionable tone of voice guidelines:

1. Define your brand’s personality: Start by laying out the core characteristics of your brand. Is it professional yet friendly? Innovative yet approachable? This will act as your clear starting point.

2. Lay down the rules and examples: Clearly outline how your chosen personality traits should be reflected in communications. For example, if your brand is friendly, use colloquial language, and avoid corporate jargon where possible.

3. Review and revise: Your brand will naturally evolve over time, and so should your tone of voice guidelines. Don’t be afraid to go back and change things — this will ensure your guidelines remain relevant. It doesn’t mean they were wrong, just that they’ve served their intended purpose at the time.

3. Gather and use constructive feedback

Our top tip? Listen to your audience. If you have multi-platform communications in your strategy, you essentially have free feedback just waiting for you to take notice of it. Your tone of voice should be guided by your target audience’s needs and responses — a great opportunity to make adjustments, ensuring that you resonate even more deeply with your audience. 

Not sure where to start? Begin by adding quarterly reviews to your marketing strategy. This will ensure that you’re not just talking at your audience. Instead, you’ll be able to engage with them, learn from them, and evolve your tone of voice to meet their needs and expectations.

Use surveys, social media interactions, and customer service communications to reveal insights. Then, weave this feedback into your communication strategy, tweaking your tone of voice guidelines as you go. It’s the best way to ensure that your brand’s voice stays fresh, relevant, and authentic.

4. Stay true to your brand

The bottom line is that authenticity fosters trust, builds relationships, and it’s a surefire way to stand out from other businesses in your industry. Why? Because it’s refreshing to see a brand stray from the predictable.

The main challenge with this is balancing professionalism with approachability. It’s a bit of a metaphorical tightrope, but the catch is — you can’t know unless you try.

For example, if our brand were a person, how would we speak to our best customer at a coffee shop? We’d probably be professional but also unafraid to be ourselves — friendly, engaging, maybe even a little humorous. This may look completely different for your business, but that’s the sweet spot for us. 

Master your tone of voice with the help of Narwhal Media Group

Now that we’ve journeyed through the nuances of nailing your brand’s tone of voice, it’s time for you to put these tips into action. The easiest way to start is by thinking about your own brand’s voice. Does it truly reflect your values? Is it consistent across all channels? If you’re leaning towards ‘no’, then now is the perfect time for a bit of fine-tuning.

We get that tone of voice can seem like a daunting concept at first, especially if you’ve never considered it before. But you don’t have to go it alone. At Narwhal Media Group, we’re all about helping brands like yours find their voice and own it. 

Our content writers are always keen to ensure our clients’ distinct brand identities shine through with each and every word. We’re also lucky enough to work with big brands and household names, crafting tone of voice guidelines to bring their copy to life

Ready to give your brand’s voice the attention it deserves? Dive into the possibility of our copywriting and SEO services. It’s time to make your brand’s voice impossible to ignore.