Brand voice — also known as Tone of Voice or Brand Tone — is simply a term for how your brand speaks. While it might sound trivial, and it’s something smaller brands (and honestly, even many larger ones) often overlook, your brand voice is an integral part of branding and an incredibly practical tool for unifying your company’s communication.
Your brand voice is essentially the personality of your brand. It’s not about what your brand says — it’s about how it says it and the impression it leaves on your audience.
Why Is a Well-Defined Brand Voice Important?
Every person you know has their own way of speaking. We’re all unique in the way we express ourselves. Whether we’re hyper-correct, use lots of pet names, or pepper our texts with emojis — it all leaves a certain impression on others.
And every brand wants to leave a lasting impression on its audience too. The way your brand communicates shapes how people perceive you. A distinctive communication style sets you apart from the competition and makes you far more memorable.
What Does a Brand Voice Document Look Like?
Your brand voice is part of your brand book (brand manual) and is created as a component of your content strategy. It’s a standalone strategic document that every employee should be familiar with. This document serves as a guide for how to communicate with customers and suppliers alike.
It covers aspects like formality level, how you address customers, the use of emojis, punctuation conventions, the use of slang and jargon, and other specific communication characteristics.
More thorough documents include real-world examples from customer support interactions, supplier communications, social media posts, presentations, and more. They often also outline how to write and reference your brand name correctly.
How Do You Set Up a Brand Tone of Voice?
- First, a marketing specialist audits your communication channels and evaluates the current state of your messaging. (You’ll also fill out a detailed questionnaire together.)
- You write down how you want your brand to be perceived. You may already have this covered in your brand manual.
- You identify your core customer demographics (for example, if your primary audience is 45+, you’ll likely opt for a more formal tone).
- Based on all of the above, the marketing specialist crafts your Tone of Voice document.
How to Define Your Brand Voice Without a Marketing Specialist
Complete the first three steps above, and then — based on your target customers and the way you want your brand to be perceived — decide on the following:
Formal or Informal?
Only a handful of brands dare to take a casual, first-name approach with their audience. It’s bold, it’s risky, but it’s highly memorable. This approach works best for brands that want to appeal to a younger demographic and come across as edgy and fresh.
What Will Your Communication Style Be?
Will you lean formal or casual? Will you aim to be witty and playful, or will you always stay professional and authoritative?
Brand voice example from the Tone of Voice guide of nanoSPACE:
How Do We Communicate?
- Simply and clearly.
We value our customers’ time, so we communicate in a straightforward, clear, and concise way — no filler words or unnecessary fluff.
- We’re translators.
We can explain complex technologies in simple terms that anyone can understand. We use relatable comparisons and simplify information without distorting it.
- We’re authentic.
We grew from a very small company, and even though we now have hundreds of thousands of customers, we still remember the days when we shipped just a few packages a day. We genuinely value our customers, listen to their concerns, and do our best to help.
- We’re kind and polite.
We’re customer-first. We enjoy communicating with our customers, we strive to understand their issues, and we do everything we can to help. That’s why we always communicate courteously and with a smile.
End of example.
What Kind of Language Will You Use?
Decide whether you’ll stick to standard, polished English in your communications or allow slang and colloquialisms. If your brand aims to evoke strong emotions, you’ll likely permit expressive language and a more conversational register.
This section also addresses the use of jargon and technical terms. For instance, nanoSPACE advises its employees to avoid technical language whenever possible and to always communicate in a way that anyone can easily understand.
Emoji Usage
It might sound amusing, but emoji usage is now commonly regulated within companies. Emojis convey emotions, which is why brands define which emojis are allowed and how many can be used across different types of communication.
Some companies ban emojis in their communications entirely, while others permit only a select few that align with their brand identity.
Use of Colours, Punctuation, and Capital Letters
Just like emojis, punctuation is regulated in brand communications. Most companies clearly state that you cannot use more than one punctuation mark in a row (e.g. multiple full stops or exclamation marks).
It’s also standard practice to regulate WRITING IN ALL CAPS, unless it’s a product or company name. All caps can come across as shouting at your customers — and that’s never a good look.
Some companies also prohibit using any colour other than black in email communications, or specify exactly how important information should be highlighted for the customer.
Need help setting up your brand’s Tone of Voice? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at info@lkmedia.cz.
Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation
Don’t Overpay for Flights
Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.
Book Your Accommodation Smartly
The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.
Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).
Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.
Find the Best Experiences
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!
