Writing Content: What’s Your Company’s Tone of Voice?

Writing Content: What’s Your Company’s Tone of Voice?

When your marketing team asks, “we’re thinking about using a conversational tone of voice for this piece, are you okay with that?” Do you find yourself getting annoyed and thinking, “why are you asking me? Isn’t this what I’m paying you for?”

If so, this little article is for you.

I don’t expect you to take a deep interest in the writer’s voice, but I want you to have an opinion, because as the boss, you want  the tone of voice to match the way you imagine that customer or employee interaction. If you agree with me that branding is defined as a consistent expression of quality at every customer touch point, that’s why I think you need an opinion.

To have an opinion, start with defining what voice is. Take a look at this quadrant:

On the horizontal axis, we have a range of expression from enthusiastic to matter of fact. On the vertical axis, we have a range of situations ranging from formal to casual.

Tone of voice is where that range of expression and situation intersect. If you’re in a formal situation and matter of fact in your expression, we’ll label that traditional voice. If the situation is more casual but you’re still matter of fact in your expression, we’ll call that a polite voice. That same casual situation with an enthusiastic expression is a funny voice. (label aside, whether or not the humor hits the mark is a separate conversation) And finally, a formal situation with enthusiastic expression can be labeled as casual voice.

Using that orientation, you can have an opinion and meaningful input. Let’s use a customer thank you card as an example.

“Thank you for your continued patronage.” – Sounds formal, right? Traditional.
“Thanks for being a great customer.” – The “thanks” suggests a more familiar relationship. Polite.
“Thank you for trusting us with your business.” – The use of “trusting us” is more enthusiastic, but it’s still formal. Casual.
“You are awesome.” – The thank you is implied and the use of “you” suggests intimacy. Funny.

I want you to stake your brand on one of the 4 axis labels. Formal, casual, enthusiastic, or matter of fact. Just one. Use that as your guide.

Next time you hear something like, “we’re thinking about using a conversational tone of voice for this piece, are you okay with that?” think about your guide. “I’m okay with that as long as we don’t drift into anything too casual. We’re not your father’s old law firm, but I want to keep it on the formal side. Can you do that?”

You’re marketing and communications people will thank you.

Good stuff.