Does your brand have a personality? A defined tone of voice?

Your brand tone of voice is a way of standing out.

It’s not always easy to be distinct, and when you need a new website or brochure the temptation can be to look at your competitors and craft something similar.

I won’t deny there can be some benefits to this.

Let’s say you’re a financial services firm. If you follow the crowd your website is likely to have images of retired people on beaches or a family outside a new house looking joyful. It will probably talk about financial security and looking after the ones you love.

That’s all very familiar and safe to prospective clients – that’s what a financial services website should look like, right?

But isn’t it all just a bit boring?

And the danger with this same old, same old approach is that you don’t stand out. Your brand looks and sounds the same as everyone else in your sector.

Take off your logo and would a customer know the difference between your website and your competitors?

“We’re different!” your marketing copy might proclaim, but it’s all a bit Life of Brian “we’re all individuals”. https://youtu.be/QereR0CViMY

So whilst you should of course keep an eye on your competitors, don’t do a copy and paste. Think about your brand personality, your point of difference and how you should talk to your audiences – your tone of voice.

Innocent Drinks are a great example of a brand that created a very distinct personality from the start. Their website, email newsletters and packaging copy all reinforce their brand messaging in consistent tone of voice – conversational, quirky, open and ethical. Despite now being owned by Coca Cola, they still have a brand that is anything but corporate. 

And you don’t have to be a big brand for this to be relevant.

I regularly visit Schull in West Cork and I love to browse the house ads in the window of an estate agent there. I’m not thinking of buying, it’s just that their descriptions are so poetic and completely different.

We're all familiar with the standard estate agency blurb.

‘A Spacious 3 bed property’; ‘A stunning family home’; ‘Must be viewed to be appreciated’ and so on.

If you were starting an agency yourself, you’d probably write your house descriptions in the same way just because that’s how everyone else does it.

But back to Schull. This estate agent doesn’t follow the template. They have a very distinct tone of voice and as a result they stand out.

How about this introduction for a three bed detached:

There is something reminiscent of the Greta Garbo ‘I want to be alone’ quote, as she gazed from her luxurious 5th floor apartment overlooking the East River, New York about this property.... it stands alone, amidst its neighbours, on Bill Barry Road, overlooking glamorous Schull, its harbour and surrounding countryside..... who could ask for anything more....!

Or this for another:

With a back drop of mature trees, located atop a long Meadow beyond which acres of mixed farmland stretch sou’west to the shores of Dunmanus Bay, and the ever full Lissacaha lake to be found a few fields ‘be’south the house’ , there is no end to the pleasant scenes layed out in front of this property.

Persuasive and I’m not even looking to buy! If I was selling in Schull, that’s the agent I’d want. 

Tone of voice in the ‘real world’ has such an impact on interactions. ‘Oh how lovely’ – am I being enthusiastic or sarcastic? It all depends on the tone of voice (and probably my mood that day).

Online or in print, your tone of voice will come across with your choice of words and writing style.

Be distinctive. Choose a style that reinforces your brand messages and personality and that your target audience will relate to. 

If you need some help, get in touch.