What tone of voice are you using? A tone of voice is not what you say, but how you say it. This encompasses not only the words you choose, but their order, rhythm and pace. A brand’s tone of voice should be distinctive, recognisable and unique. This needs to be expressed in the words and in the imagery you use and if used consistently will start to feel familiar to your customers. Pick up any book that talks about the psychology of persuasion and it will tell you that there is a strong link between familiarity and trust. Trust is the aim. So what is your site going say and how is it going to feel?

As American author Maya Angelou once said, “People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you made them feel.”

Do you know your tone of voice? You will already have one, you might not know it, be able to define it, but you will have one. It’s important to define it and use it constantly across all your platforms including your website.

So if you need a little help in clarifying your tone of voice, try this exercise:

1. Imagine your business is a person. How do they talk? What kind of words do they use? What’s their personality? Are they formal, relaxed, fun, energetic? How do they interact with others? Are they sociable, hold parties, enjoy 1:2:1 coffees. Write this all down get to know your business like it was an individual.
   ‍
2. With your list of words define what you mean by these words to reduce ambiguity. For example; if you selected Confident, you might want to say, “assertive but not arrogant”. Expand on this to say, “I have a point of view on a subject matter but I am open to listen to other options and consider their perspective”. 
   ‍
3. Create a mood board of images that start to represent these words. If you have brand colours incorporate these, release your creativity and have fun. 
   ‍
4. The outcomes of this exercise will be both written and visual. Share with others, see if they agree that you have captured your personality and it feels like your business.

Knowing how your want your website to look & feel will be a combination of knowing your audience, knowing your business, knowing your USP and knowing what you want to achieve. 

If you would like to understand more about how to apply your tone of voice to you website, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.