Shout it Loud and Shout it Proud

The Importance of using an Appropriate Voice and Tone in your Company’s Content Marketing

Okay, so you don’t want to be too loud or too proud, but you want to confidently put forth content that conveys a voice unique and true to your company. Finding, establishing, and properly conveying this voice and using the correct tone is sometimes easier said than done. Within your extensive toolbox of internet marketing services, email marketing, by in large, offers the greatest return on investment and has been cited as the number one channel used by B2B marketers. Knowing this, it becomes even more imperative to discover and use a congruent voice throughout all platforms of your marketing mix.

Understanding the difference between voice and tone

Many successful business professionals are unable to correctly differentiate between voice and tone of voice; often times these terms get grouped into meaning the same thing. An easy way to understand the difference is to think of a speaking or vocal interaction. Regardless of the situation or person you are interacting with you will have a constant voice. This voice represents your personality and, in essence, who you are. However variably, the inner tone of your voice changes all the time depending on the circumstance, the mood, and the formality of the conversation. When you write an email on behalf of your brand or company it helps to read the content out loud to see if you appropriately captured the intended voice and tone.

How to craft the right tone for your business content

Voice is something inherent to your brand, and making sure it is ingrained in the foundation of all the content you publicly put forth is crucial. You do not have to be a technical writer to craft the appropriate tone of voice for your email marketing campaigns. Ideally, the first place to start is to determine what the content type is. Ask yourself: is this a success message? If so the tone can be playful and light-hearted or: Is it a warning or informational message? If so the tone should be direct and concise.

As a general rule, using a compassionate tone in your writing shows that you fully understand who is reading your content and the feelings of these readers matter to you and your company. When you can convey honesty and authenticity in your writing not only will it facilitate greater trust among your current customers but also appeal to prospective customers.

Why this matters for your bottom-line

Awareness of your company’s voice and appropriate alteration of the tone may not directly translate to immediate monetary success, however showing greater empathy and understanding of your clients’ feelings will surely foster increased engagement on their part. In effect, this will add long term value and trust in your company. What’s more help to position you and your company as an outlier in a very crowded room of email marketers.