Tone of voice: two small businesses doing it right
What is tone of voice (TOV)?
Tone of voice in writing is essentially how your brand speaks - its personality and character. When creating a business people often jump to creating a name and logo, a colourway and font they’d like to use. They think of the visuals.
The way a brand speaks, however, is just as important. It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. It can differentiate you in crowded markets, it can create deeper connections and can develop customer loyalty.
Consistency in the way you speak across your platforms makes you more distinguishable. If your brand is serious, formal and matter-of-fact on your website yet your tone of voice in newsletters is cheeky, joyous and inquisitive it will cause confusion. Inconsistency between the two will confuse your audience or, worse, attract the wrong people.
Tone of voice examples
Below are two of my favourite TOV examples of small businesses getting it right. Arguably, it’s easier to achieve for small businesses, especially those run by one person. In effect they write as they’d speak and project their personality.
The take away here is that effective tone of voice for brands should sound like one person talking directly to you. It creates a brand persona and a more direct and meaningful connection between the brand and the customer.
A meaningful connection builds more emotion, more emotion leads to action.
These two examples couldn’t be more different but have their delivery spot on!
Get Baked
Get Baked, for those not familiar with the viral sensation, is a bakery based in Leeds. Run by Rich Myers, Get Baked is home of the internationally renowned Bruce - the 12 layered chocolate cake. He’s a big bastard (Rich’s words, not mine!).
Get Baked Instagram post reading ‘enjoy your baked goods you tart’
Get Baked’s tone can be as offensive as the sugar content in their bakes. Their communication is dry, potty-mouthed and sarcastic but it’s also entertaining, direct and brutally honest. For those with delicate eyes, it may not be for you!
This has helped Get Baked to go viral over #sprinklegate, the saga of a bitter customer highlighting their use of illegal sprinkles. Off the back, Rich created Expen$ive Sprinkles - legal sprinkles with the same vibrant colour of the previous ones but without hyper-activity inducing ingredient, erythrosine.
Rich’s narration of the whole ordeal built an international following, led to a pop-up event in America, and a fan following of over 75,000 on Facebook and 150,000 on Instagram.
Those he offends obviously aren’t flocking to the bakery. But that doesn’t matter. The numerous fans of his dry humour are loyal and Bruce sells like hot cakes… literally!
I’m currently scheming a trip to Leeds just to get a slice of their Lemon Meringue pie and possibly a slice of Bruce if my blood sugar can take it. I’m not sure if that says more the success of Get Baked’s writing or me though…
Toots Design
Full disclaimer here, Toots Design is run by friend and fellow skier, Lorna Gibson. I’d used her services as a talented illustrator to design a bespoke print for my nieces. I then signed up for her weekly newsletter.
It’s the only non-copywriting-related newsletter that I read religiously. Why? Because her newsletters are like having a cup of tea with a friend. They inject a dose of whimsical positivity and childlike wonder into my inbox.
Her work is heartwarming, magical and transports you to a world where it could reasonably be Christmas everyday. She addresses big topics such as grief, self-doubt and mental health with warmth, sensitivity and encouragement.
Through Lorna’s tone of voice, you get a real sense of who she is, her work and her wonderful world. Her tone of voice remains consistent across her instagram posts, newsletters, poems and her glorious animation. Her distinctive voice gently oozes out of every creative pore. And she has a lot of them!
When I asked Lorna if she actively thinks about her tone of voice she said:
I massively think (overthink!) the tone I set. I get quite anxious putting words out into the world, I know language has a lot of room for multiple interpretations so I do my best to be as clear and compassionate as I can. It takes a lot of time to write my posts but it’s always worth it.
Since starting her illustration business she’s commissioned prints, produced sell-out cards, published books: Tales of Mr Bear and Hidden Monsters (amongst others), and her 2020 animation, Mr Bear’s Christmas, is being screened alongside The Snowman at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, orchestrated by the Hallé Orchestra and can be found on iPlayer, now narrated by the legend himself Stephen Fry!
She is growing something truly beautiful, and her way with words is the sunshine we all need.
Why is tone of voice important?
Having a consistent tone that portrays the personality of your business has a myriad of benefits:
It helps differentiate you from competitors
It can build your authority and make you more memorable
It makes your business more unique
It creates an authentic connection with your audience
It develops trust and loyalty to your business
In my own writing, one element of my TOV is being approachable. By writing in an informal, chatty way I want people to feel they can comfortably approach me to work or chat with.
Through my writing you’d hopefully anticipate getting a warm and friendly response if you were to reach out. If you’ve had a browse through my website or work and don’t feel that do let me know! 😉
How to build and maintain your tone of voice when outsourcing
You may be embarking on a new business and not know where to start.
Or you may have spent years building your business and a connection with a captive audience. Your business continues to grow but days seem to be getting shorter; you have less and less time. You’ve outsourced your accounts, you’ve invested in a PA yet you’re still fighting fires day to day. Your marketing time is getting squeezed and your social posts are becoming draining (this all sounds very dramatic doesn’t it!)...
Either way, it can be nerve-wracking to hand over your voice to someone else. What if it isn’t as authentic? What if a change in tone shifts the feel of the brand?
Below are 3 things to do when hiring a copywriter to develop a TOV or to maintain the one you’ve built yourself:
1) Invest in a tone of voice guidelines
Tone of voice guidelines help you define how you write and speak. Larger businesses will often have tone of voice brand guidelines to direct writers. If you run a small business, you’re never too small to invest in one too.
If your writing or voice is something you’ve struggled with or if you have several people writing different types of content then a set of guidelines helps with quality and consistency.
These guidelines cover everything from:
A style guide for different formats
Guidelines on punctuation, capitalisation, abbreviations and acronyms
Spellings (British or US english, for example)
The tone of the language and how you want to make the people feel
Highlight differences in tone for different formats e.g. changes in the writing between web copy and social media posts
Include a ‘what not to do’ as well as a ‘to do’, or a ‘before’ and ‘after’ to demonstrate the difference in copy
These guidelines provide practical help with how to develop consistency, whatever type of content is delivered.
If you’re unsure of how to write a set of guidelines, some copywriters provide TOV guidelines as a service. These can be used by writers or future employees so that everyone’s on the same page when it comes to your voice.
2) Get to know your writer
When you’ve spent years building a business and a brand, it’s hard to hand over the reigns. As Lorna explains,
‘I’d massively struggle with this. I think I’d know a good match if I saw it and it’s not something I’ve ruled out, it’d just need to be the right person.’
And this is the key. It has to be the right person. Take time finding your ideal writer and get to know them. Find a specialist or a writer within your niche if needed. Most copywriters will offer a free introductory call where both parties can get a feel for if they’d be a good match.
Once you’ve picked your numero uno, a thorough briefing call should follow. Your copywriter will find out about you, your business, your audience, your goals and make sure your tone of voice is maintained.
If you’ve been struggling with your tone of voice or if it has felt inconsistent, a copywriter can help you to find one that fits you and your business so every piece of writing evokes the desired emotions from your reader.
3) Let it go!
The hardest thing for small businesses when outsourcing your writing is trusting that a writer will remain authentic. It gets to a point, when your schedule is bursting at the seams, that you need to trust the process and pass the voice baton onto someone else. It’ll only free you up for more of the things you love.
You may even be surprised how quickly a writer can pick up your tone of voice. They’ll be able to tune into your tone, your terminology, and nuances in the way you speak. It’s almost creepy… but it’s our job!
If you’d like help finding or refining your tone of voice, pop me a message.
