Tone of voice is the way a person addresses another person. It refers to the choice of words, volume, pitch, and speed of the message, and can affect how the listener perceives and responds to the speaker.
If not done correctly, the message can be misinterpreted or overlooked What is tone of voice.
Tone of voice can affect how the listener perceives and responds to the speaker.
In the context of branding and marketing, tone of voice is the way a brand communicates with its audience through messaging and customer interactions.
It helps companies differentiate themselves from the competition and communicate their brand values to their audiences.
For example, Old Spice is known for its humorous tone.
Their absurd and memorable ads set them apart from others in the personal care industry:
Tone of voice includes the words and mobile phone numbers images you choose (and the order in which you put them) across all content formats . Including emails, landing pages, ads, social media posts, blog posts, and more.
At the end of this article, you will learn how to:
- Identify your brand values
- Find the perfect tone easy navigation within the website of voice for your company
- Observe how your audience communicates
- Create and apply a tone of voice guide
Ready to get started?
Use our template to follow the process .
First, let’s look at some examples.
Examples of tone of voice
Nike’s tone of voice is serious and powerful. They have run many campaigns over the years encouraging athletes to be the best they can be.
Many brands also show a more playful side, as Dunkin’ does in this Instagram post :
Old Spice, Nike and Dunkin’ show how tone of voice can vary dramatically from brand to brand.
Why tone of voice is important
The words and images you use shape how your customers see your brand.
Which is crucial, because 88% of respondents in a recent study said it was important to buy from brands they trust.
Think about creating a personality for your brand: how should your brand “speak” to others? What message should be conveyed?
Setting a specific tone of voice will help you:
- Break through the competition
- Build your brand (and authority)
- Emulate face-to-face communication
Break through the competition
Many brands fall into the trap of adopting a tone of voice that someone in their industry “should” use. However, your goal should be to stand out so that your customers remember you.
Take BlenderBottle for example. They avoid the typical hyper-masculine tone of protein powder and fitness brands:
Build your brand (and your authority)
Let’s take Duolingo as an example. They’ve taken TikTok by storm, gaining over four million followers and becoming a constant meme on the site.
His videos always feature “Duo,” the australia database directory green owl, who is often seen getting into mischief at the office, moaning about his crush (Dua Lipa) What is tone of voice, and following the latest TikTok trends:
Duolingo took a risk by adopting an irreverent, goofy tone on this app, but it clearly paid off. They now have a massive organic presence on users’ “for you” pages and have become a familiar character to many on TikTok.