Questions to Ask When Coming Up With the Voice and Tone of Your Brand

Just like you the human, your brand has its very own personality. Part of that personality is known as its voice. In this article, you’ll learn why voice and tone are important, what’s the difference between the two, and how to come up with yours.

Why voice and tone are important.

Voice and tone are some of those foundational things that a lot of us – especially when we are first starting out as entrepreneurs, don’t really take the time to figure out. But it’s actually really important.

If you are a personal brand it seems like a no-brainer because your brand personality is pretty much your personality, but if your long-term goal is to grow and scale, you need to keep in mind that someday you won’t be doing ALL the things in your business. Someone else might be creating content for you, so having your voice and tone all figured out beforehand will make that transition much smoother.

On the energetic side of things, taking the time to determine your voice and tone clears things up for your subconscious and makes it easier to show up authentically. Because we are consuming content all day long, it’s easy to have some energetic leaks and accidentally let someone else’s voice come through your fingers as you’re typing. We all do it. But when you’ve established YOUR voice, it’s easier to course correct and be like, wait… is that really how I talk?

What’s the difference between the two.

Voice and tone are similar but different. The voice of the brand is the overall personality. The essence, if you will. This is the foundation that the different tones sprout out from… or the umbrella that the different tones fall under. (Very spring-y metaphors here lol) The voice is the true north – the true YOU…. speaking as if you are the brand.

But do you talk to your grandma the same way you talk to your bestie? No. You have different tones. Same with your brand. You’re going to speak in different tones on social media vs. blogs, on live videos vs. scripted, on your website vs. emails, etc.

The reason for this is that your reader is in a different headspace when they are consuming content in each of those different ways. When someone is reading websites they are probably looking for more detailed, rich information, and when they are on social media they probably want to be entertained a little bit!

It’s still your “voice,” but with different styles. More flare in some cases, curse words in others, and more buttoned-up in others.

Ways to come up for yours.

Here are some of the questions that I ask my actual clients when helping them come up with their voice and tone:

• When someone asks “what do you do,” what’s your answer? Give me your elevator pitch:

• WHO are you talking to in your content? Be as specific as possible:

• What problem are you helping them solve?

• What social media platform do your people hang out on?

• What’s your spirit animal?

• Where are you from and what funny things do you say there? What’s your local “slang?” (For example, I’m from Wisconsin and we say “bubbler” instead of water fountain. We also say “you guys” a lot. If you’re from the South  you might say “y’all” a lot. Etc.)

• What kind of tone are you drawn to? Give some examples of brands, websites, celebrities, etc., not necessarily related to your industry, that resonate with you.

• Name 3 of your favorite movies:

• Dream vacation?

• If you could see anyone perform (dead or alive) who would it be?

• What inspires you? What’s your “why?”

• What words would you NEVER use to describe yourself or your business? (For example traditional, modern, classic, cutting edge, etc.)

• What would you have for your last meal?

• Do you have any “catchphrases” or “brand buzzwords” people would recognize?

• Where do you fall on the curse-word scale? Never? Only a few select words? Fucking go for it?

When going through these exercises for yourself or with clients, it might seem redundant at times, but that’s totally intentional. People will have different responses to you based on how the question is framed, what mood they’re in, if they’re writing or talking, etc., and the more they open up, the more you have to work with.

Some of the questions will also seem entirely unrelated to voice and tone, but the idea is to get them to loosen up and feel comfortable to share their true, honest self with you more freely. You will be surprised what comes out in totally unexpected places and ends up to be ™-worthy content.

If you’re looking for support with coming up with your brand’s voice and tone, or would like to create a full brand messaging guide, we should chat! Contact me here. And take a look at my other services here.

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