Why Tone of Voice Matters?

When it comes to branding, creating the correct tone of voice is critical. Yet despite the fact this phrase includes the words “tone” and “voice”, “tone of voice” generally refers to written brand materials. Within the world of these written brand materials there are of course endless channels from social media, to content campaigns to brand partnerships, launch events and more.

Thankfully, in today’s world, the philosophy of “if you build it, they will come” is more or less gone and there is a general understanding of the importance of branding and within that of finding the correct tone of voice. As Phillip Kotler from the Kellogg School of Management puts it, “The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you are not a brand you are a commodity. Then price is everything and the low cost producer is the only winner.”

In today’s world, brands have become almost human. For many of the best brands, it is as if they have developed full-blown personalities. And often, when people describe brands they love, it is if they are talking fondly about a good friend of theirs or even a family member. Sometimes people’s love of great brand even seems to stray into the category of worship or religious devotion.

A good brand knows all of this and is constantly thinking about the correct positioning and tone. Just take a look at all the luxury brands that have recently aligned themselves with arts and culture in an attempt to ennoble their brands. The luxury brand outlets themselves often resemble temples, so it is perhaps fitting that they should be throwing in their image and brand values with our modern temples of art and culture.

The strange thing is that within all this talk of tone of voice, the actual and literal meaning of tone of voice is getting lost. The real richness and nuance of a voice can never be fully communicated in even the most sophisticated text-based branding campaigns.

Of course, user-generated content can do a lot to create the correct tone of voice for brands. And in today’s world it is arguably far more effective than other branding channels. And yet – actual voice is also missing here. It seems like a major oversight, and especially in terms of comments and review platforms.

But there has been a recent trend of reclaiming actual voice within the realm of tone of voice, and this is the new generation of voice and comment platforms that actually allow us to hear each other. Bringing audio to brands ads an enormous amount of nuance, personality and richness, and for brands looking to stand out and differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market, it is the only way to go.

Heyoya is a unique comment and reviews platform that brings voice to e-publishers and e-stores, improving sales and user engagement by allowing readers to express themselves beyond the medium of text. Heyoya is a game changer for websites and is proven to increase brand affinity and the quality of user-generated content.

 For more information about Heyoya, or to start using Heyoya for free today, click here.