By Laurie Jo Miller Farr

Building the Right Tone of Voice

Can you name the companies you most admire and the products or services that you love? Some people will say Apple, others may say Nike or Coca-Cola. These brands are typically named as the most popular and successful at connecting with customers.

Therefore it’s smartphones, sneakers or soda, these popular brands have a strong, defining identity—a personality that widely appeals to people. These brands each possess a tone of voice that’s relatable, authentic and consistent. And all three of these traits are essential to building a customer relationship that lasts.

The Goldilocks Principle

Nobody loves a robot. Algorithms and artificial intelligence are just that…artificial. To create a tone of voice for your brand that is relatable and will engage people, remember that humanizing the brand is of utmost importance. Speak and write conversationally and you’ll be on track.

To get the tone just right, apply the Goldilocks effect derived from the 19th century British fairy tale. Remember? Goldilocks was a little girl who stumbled upon a cottage in the woods where one bowl of porridge was too hot, a second was too cold and a third was just right. The beds upstairs were too hard, too soft and just right. The Goldilocks principle suggests that basic things should fall within certain margins, as opposed to reaching for extremes.

Apply this principle to your brand voice. Consider these three advertisement wording examples for a residential real estate agent promoting their open house viewings:

• Too formal: We wish to inform you of a new listing currently available.
• Too pushy: Just listed! Must see to appreciate! This one will go fast.
• Just right: A house is not a home until you make it your own. This could be the one.

For Authenticity, Avoid Jargon

Go beyond the tagline. An authentic, conversational tone of voice that’s free of industry jargon goes hand-in-hand with a brand voice that’s humanized and relatable.

Take Apple, for example. They didn’t just tell us to “Think Different,” they delivered a different look and feel across their product line.

When Nike says “Just Do It,” we know they’re inspiring movement, even if it’s not a marathon. The people behind the brand are encouraging us to get up off the couch and get some exercise in the fresh air.

The brand voice of Coca-Cola is naturally friendly and fun-loving. For 130 years, the beverage has managed to sound as effervescent as the bubbles inside the bottle, adjusting and adapting its tone of voice with each passing generation.

Digitally Speaking, Words Matter

Online, one of your key goals is the search authority. Offline, a key objective is customer loyalty. Especially when combined with relatability and authenticity, consistency stimulates loyalty.

Ask yourself, if your logo didn’t appear beside your content, would anyone be able to identify it as yours? If a customer came across messaging on different social media channels, would the consistent branding voice come through loud and clear?

Just Add Spritz

Let’s talk about your brand voice. Experienced copywriters at Spritz are ready to help you craft a relatable, authentic, consistent voice that genuinely and consistently expresses your brand’s personality.