5 tips for finding your brand's tone of voice

Unsure how to define your brand's tone of voice? We get it! Identifying a tone of voice that captures the essence of your business can feel overwhelming. Where do you start, how do you connect with your audience, and how do you use a brand tone of voice?

In this article, we’re addressing each question so you can develop a genuine tone of voice that represents you — but also converts those all-important leads into customers.

How do you identify your brand tone of voice?

Creating a brand tone of voice (TOV) is like untangling a ball of string. But following these tips can help you uncover what your TOV is and how to use it.

1. Think about your brand’s core values

Brand core values are the beating heart of your company. They are the beliefs and ethics it holds, which determine the direction, decisions, and behaviour of your brand.  

Ask yourself, “What does my brand stand for? How do I want other people to see my brand? What qualities describe my brand?” These are the questions that shape your core values.

Once you know your brand core values, they guide you towards the tone of voice to use in your copy. Below are examples of common brand values and subcategories within those values.

Sustainability

• Veganism

• Biodegradable packaging

• Ethically sourced

High-quality

• Luxurious

• Single product-focused

• Exclusive

Authenticity

• Down-to-earth

• Transparent

• Personality-centred

Passion

• Empowering

• Supportive

• Joyful

Inclusivity

• Celebrating all body shapes

• Showing multiple skin types

• Supporting gender diversity

• Affordable prices

These values can be mixed and matched to shape your brand voice, such as:

• Luxurious and vegan skincare

• Affordable and ethical clothing

• Empowering period products for all body types

2. Nail down your brand’s personality 

A brand personality showcases the traits of your brand. Think about yourself. Are you a fun, bubbly, and energetic person? Maybe you’re logical-thinking, optimistic, and charismatic. Perhaps you’re whimsical, heart-felt, and warm. That’s your personality, so, what’s your brands’?

What is an example of a brand personality?

A famous brand personality is Nike. And yes, we know they’re a pretty overused example, but for good reason.

If you describe Nike as a person, they’d likely be motivated, disciplined, and action-driven. Their iconic slogan, “Just Do It”, is an example of their brand tone of voice. The words reflect the brand’s personality, which is shown consistently throughout their website, with words such as “confident, structure, style, and all-eyes-on-you.” This shows that Nike’s strong and clear brand personality directs their TOV.

3. Create character profiles

A character profile is a detailed and in-depth description of your target audience. It typically includes age, gender, personality traits, interests, and goals (to name a few). Once you have your character profile, it can help you decide the tone of voice you need to use in your brand copy. 

Example of a character profile

Mia is an eleven-year-old girl with two younger siblings. She wants to feel more grown-up, but her mum doesn’t want her wearing “adult” make-up. Mia likes fun, colourful makeup she can share with her friends and often goes on TikTok.

Mia would respond best to an enthusiastic, joyful, and expressive tone. You are also most likely to reach Mia using TikTok rather than Instagram or Facebook. Therefore, you need to develop a tone of voice suitable for that social media platform.

4. Look at brand archetypes

Brand archetypes are the personality traits of prospective customers. They allow you to tap into the subconscious minds of your target audience, creating a deeper emotional connection.

Discovering your brand’s archetype will help shape your tone of voice by directing the style of writing and words that appeal to your audience's archetypes.

There are 12 brand archetypes:

• The Innocent: Optimistic and positive thinkers who crave safety and happiness. 

• The Everyman: Relatable and supportive individuals who strive for connection and belonging.

• The Hero: Determined, courageous, and bold personalities who want to make the world a better place.

• The Outlaw: Rebellious risk-takers who seek freedom, justice, and independence.

• The Explorer: Curious adventurers who desire the freedom to explore the world for a fulfilling life.

• The Creator: Innovative, creative thinkers who crave expression, meaning, and value.

• The Ruler: Responsible, authoritative, and organised individuals who seek leadership roles.

• The Magician: Visionaries who want to make dreams become reality.

• The Lover: Passionate and committed individuals who desire a loving relationship with people, work, and life experiences.

• The Caregiver: Compassionate and caring personalities who wish to protect and nurture those around them.

• The Jester: Humorous and fun troublemakers who seek joy and living in the moment.

• The Sage: Deep-thinking truth-seekers who crave understanding the world through logic and intelligence. 

You can find your brand archetype by looking into your brand’s core values and personality to see which ones align most closely with your brand. If you’re stuck, it can be helpful to bring in professional branding support to identify your archetypes. 

5. Document your brand’s TOV

The next question is, how do you document tone of voice? The answer is surprisingly simple: create brand tone of voice guidelines. This allows consistency across all copy, including blog posts, product descriptions, landing pages, and social media accounts. 

Start with a word bank of adjectives that reflects your brand identity. 

For example, a natural hair care brand may use words such as:

• Free-from, soothing, gentle, all-natural, and non-irritating. 

However, camera companies are more likely to implement adjectives like: 

• High-resolution, compact, focus, capture, and sharp imagery

Need a helping hand? We’ve previously developed tone of voice guidelines for SpotDif, ELEMIS, Large Scale Solar, and a range of other clients, so we’re experts at crafting TOV documents. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to see how we can help you put together easy-to-apply tone of voice guidelines.

How to apply your brand’s unique TOV across your copy

Once you have a well-documented tone of voice, you can implement it across all your copy. This helps make your tone of voice copywriting consistent for a strong and memorable brand. You also need to add keywords to your copy to further reach potential customers.

For instance, if you’re selling quality workout gear for female gym enthusiasts, your tone of voice copy may look like the below:

• Website landing page copy: “High-performance workout clothes for women.”

• Product description copy: “Durable and breathable material so you can confidently sweat.”

• Blog post copy: “How to push boundaries and hit your 60-day workout goals.”

• Social media copy: “Check out our high-impact sports bra for a distraction-free workout.”
  

Adapt your TOV on social media

You also need to adapt your brand tone of voice to each of your communication channels. Opting to hire a copywriter to outsource your copywriting is a good idea to ensure you’re on the right track.

Here are a few examples of TOV copy across different social media platforms:

• LinkedIn (Gym-going, career-driven women between 30 and 50 years old): 

“Gym KPIs you need to know for a high-performance workout.”

• Instagram (Health-conscious, busy women in their 30s):

“Sweat now, rest later.”

• TikTok (Fitness enthusiasts in their mid-20s to early-30s):

“Hit your gym goals and look good doing it.”

Discover more: Why is tone of voice so important for your web copy? 

Empower your brand using TOV

A strong TOV is an effective way to lift your brand off the ground and connect with your audience. Our work provides transformative branding services, including a captivating TOV tailored to you. 

Please feel free to take a look at our pricing and packages, and contact The Coven today for a unique voice that reflects your brand.