Although many companies have brand guidelines to ensure consistent visual identities, they usually lack an essential voice and tone guide. This is a huge oversight since copy is equally as important as remaining visually on-brand.
Voice & tone guides help ensure consistency when many different writers and/or agencies are working on your brand. They also guarantee a consistent experience across channels. With these types of guides in place, you’ll have smoother review cycles since you’ve removed some of the subjectivity.
Your voice & tone guide can (and should) be custom to your brand and needs – there’s no “one size fits all” template. Here are some tips to making your voice & tone guide user-friendly and effective:
Tips for creating an effective voice & tone guide
1. Keep it visual
The last thing you want is to go through all the hard work of making a voice & tone guide and have people at your company think, “I don’t have time for this.” Would you want to be handed an encyclopedia full of guidelines?
That’s why you have to make something that’s palatable and visually appealing. Your team members should be able to easily scan the guide and understand what it says.
Use simple language and short sentences so the content is simple to read. It’s best if the writing is conversational and concise. Technical lingo? Yawn. Business jargon has no place in your guide.
2. Define what your brand is and isn’t
To help you understand your brand’s voice and tone, start by looking at your company’s core values. Think about why you started your company, what makes it unique, and what values it upholds. If your brand has a mission, this is a good time to utilize it.
Once you’ve gathered this information, use it to come up with phrases or statements to describe your brand. Gather a few dozen adjectives and separate them into who your brand is and who your brand isn’t.
For example, let’s say you own a marketing agency that works with startups. Maybe your chart would look something like this:
After you identify adjectives that apply to your brand’s core values, you can clarify nuances. Maybe your brand is “fun” but not “goofy.” Be sure to include this chart in your content strategy.
3. Identify your brand archetype
When you’re defining your target audience, you most likely came up with buyer personas. You can perform a similar process by using a brand archetype to help round out your brand’s personality.
It can be helpful to look at a brand archetype wheel like the one below (or take a quiz) to identify the brand archetype that best fits your business. For example, given the personality traits of the marketing agency example above, they might choose Creator, Jester, or Outlaw.
(Image from Map & Fire)
Answer these questions to help identify your brand archetypes:
- What personality would my brand have if it were a human? (Use your top 3 adjectives from your “What my brand is and isn’t” chart)
- What relationship would my brand have with customers if it were a human? (A friend, teacher, neighbor, etc.)
4. Include do and don’t examples
A good way to develop a voice & tone guide is to create a “do and don’t” list like this one below:
(Chart from LeonardoCommunity)
Start with one overarching characteristic or idea then give examples under the do and don’t columns. This will help writers at your company get a clear idea of your brand’s voice and tone.
Another way to do this is to make a “like this, not this” chart. Here is an example of a chart with this layout:
This chart not only does a fantastic job of being visually pleasing, but it also gives examples of writing that is on-brand and works with the company’s voice, purpose, language, and character.
By creating a voice & tone guide, you can help people at your company properly communicate your marketing messages to ensure they create a connection with your target audience.
Would you like a voice & tone guide for your business but don’t have the time or team to make it happen? At Content Clarity, we work with agencies and businesses of all sizes to create effective voice & tone guides and performance-minded content plans. If you’d like to learn more, reach out to us today.