Choose your words carefully - the why & how of tone of voice

@jowalters
Choose your
words carefully
The why & how of tone of voice
Jo Walters ~ 25 Dots

@jowalters
I’m Jo.
I’m a marketing and comms
freelancer working with students’
unions and other small
organisations.
My favourite client (not at all
because they’re in the room) is
brightonSEO where I do social
media, email and other
marketing bits.

@jowalters
On a basic level, words are pretty useful…
...and yes, I am a grammar nerd.

@jowalters
Your tone of voice
is how you
communicate your
brand using words

@jowalters
I’m thinking of an industry that is well
known for its friendly and clear
communications that you enjoy
reading and customer services you
don’t mind dealing with.
What is it?
A challenge for you:

@jowalters
I’m thinking of an industry that is well
known for its friendly and clear
communications that you enjoy
reading and customer services you
don’t mind dealing with.
What is it?
Obviously it’s banking.
A challenge for you:

@jowalters
monzo.com/tone-of-voice/

@jowalters
The right tone of voice
helps provide clarity and
build trust.

@jowalters
Consistency of tone of voice matters on the phone, when staff
speak to clients or customers, on social media.
Tone of voice is for everyone
thatexplainsthings.com/the-bank-that-likes-to-smiley/

@jowalters
So that’s cute and
all but what does it
mean for SEO?

@jowalters
So that’s cute and
all but what does it
mean for SEO?
Keywords & links

@jowalters
Your tone of voice should reflect your
customers and how they refer to
things.

@jowalters
things. Do they
say this?
Or do they
say this?
University induction Freshers Week
Orientation
Engage with Talk to
Ask
Listen to
Obtain Get
Buy
This one is my pet hate...

@jowalters
things. Are they searching
for this?
Or searching for
this?
University induction Freshers Week
Orientation
Engage with Talk to
Ask
Listen to
Obtain Get
Buy

@jowalters
It can be
newsworthy
in its own
right...

@jowalters
I’m sold. How do
we refine* our
tone of voice?
* (because you already have one whether
or not you have ever thought about it)

@jowalters
Your tone of voice should be in line with
your overall brand/business strategy

@jowalters
brightonSEO is casual, friendly and a
bit silly, not super glossy & snooty.

@jowalters
We see this in things like the (lack of a)
dress code, silly stage props and social
activities.

@jowalters
That means we typically open our
emails with ‘hi’ (not ‘dear’) and don’t
mind the odd bit of friendly snark.

@jowalters
We emailed attendees a somewhat
sarcastic ‘fill in the gaps’ email for them
to send to colleagues.

@jowalters
Find your voice
How do your best people answer the phone?
How do you greet visitors?
How do you handle complaints?
What do your audience need?
What are your goals?

@jowalters
Find your voice
“If our organisation was a kitchen utensil /
sandwich / animal / superhero it would be a
__________________ because __________________”
Ask people; your team, your customers, your mum.

@jowalters
Make sure it’s authentic
People can smell artificial
attempts to be ‘cool’.
Not everyone can/needs
to be like Innocent Drinks.

@jowalters
Clearly express & share
Keep it simple and find a
method that works for you.
Examples help.

@jowalters
You can flex for different situations but your tone of voice shouldn’t
change drastically in different scenarios or across different channels.
Be normal. Be human.
Balance consistency & flexibility

@jowalters
I love
wordsJo Walters ~ 25 Dots

Choose your words carefully - the why & how of tone of voice

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