If you’ve taken formal writing classes or have just been involved in writing in general, you have probably heard of this thing called “Tone of Voice”. It’s pervasive in writing and applicable in nearly every situation. However, although they share similarities, literature and business writing employ tone of voice in distinct ways.
Literature vs Business Tone of Voice
In literature, tone of voice more closely refers to a combination of the vocabulary of a writer, how they structure their sentences, and how they put their paragraphs together. It takes time and repetition to develop and for many writers, it is a very personal thing – it represents their identity and personality as a creative and an author.
In a similar way, a business’ tone of voice represents those same things but for a brand rather than an individual. When multiple writers contribute, a business uses its tone of voice to unify their individual styles into a single, easily identifiable brand voice.
Tone of Voice Example
A perfect example of this that heavily affected how brands engage on social media is the Wendy’s Twitter account. The snarky and sassy yet confident tone combined with how they engaged with their audience online created an internet sensation. As Wendy’s main selling point is their ‘fresh never frozen patties’, they responded to a McDonald’s Tweet with the following:
“@McDonalds so you’ll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants? Asking for a friend.”
This Tweet is chock full of personality, displays their unique selling proposition, and is fun to read, all within 140 characters.
That said, businesses should not expect to copy Wendy’s and achieve success. As stated before, tone of voice is a showcase of personality and like people, brands are all unique in their own ways. On top of that, businesses need to think of the industry they are in and the appropriate tone for it. If an insurance company tried to copy Wendy’s tone of voice, it would definitely give off the wrong impression to its customers.
Tone of Voice Dimensions
While an individual’s tone of voice is likely developed and discovered over time, it takes a a more thorough and structured process of discovery for business’ ones. To help businesses’ find their tone of voice, Nielsen Norman Group has determined 4 primary dimensions that an online tone of voice will fall under:
- Funny vs Serious
- Formal vs Casual
- Respectful vs Irreverent
- Enthusiastic vs Matter-of-Fact
It can also be “neutral” under any of these dimensions and while it’s not 100% comprehensive, these 4 primary dimensions serve as a good starting point towards discovering your brand voice. Using Wendy’s as an example again, its voice would be classified as Funny, Casual, Irreverent, and Enthusiastic. Using these dimensions as a base, you would then dig down and find, for example, sassy, snarky, and confident as specific words to describe their personality.
Applications
Despite this blog heavily mentioning social media examples, it’s important to note that tone of voice has its place in business for every piece of content as well. How do your internal communications sound? How bylines perceive you? Does your website’s content need to have a unique feel? A brand’s tone of voice could be slightly different for each one – and they definitely should be! Each platform and type of content have unique audiences and what resonates with one might not with another.
If you want to learn more about content strategies and how a developed tone of voice can work to your advantage, then contact us today!
Author
Angus Au
DIGITAL PR & COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE
Angus is a passionate marketing professional who loves being challenged and growing by overcoming those challenges. He assists the team with research, media monitoring, media outreach, and social media content creation among other tasks.