I have decided to take a deeper look into the importance of language in a brand and how I can improve my use of language. After having learned about language from Daniel in our first lecture of the semester I wanted to do some more research into the topic as I want to get this aspect of my brand right because language is such an important aspect to the branding process. I have gathered research about language within branding and included this information below and my main source for this information was Mailchimp and a few other reliable online sources.
Mailchimp is an All-In-One integrated marketing platform for small businesses, they allow people to grow their businesses on their own terms. They have a very helpful Styleguide online source which I have found very useful for reading about branding and I gathered a lot of language information and tips from Mailchimp.
What is the difference between voice and tone?
To put it simply, you have the same voice all of the time but your tone changes often, this depends on the circumstance and situation of course-Voice and tone when it comes to branding is the exact same as this.
Voice
Within the Mailchimp article they speak about how with the voice of their brand they don’t want to confuse people when they write copy, they want to educate them. I found it very useful to read how Mailchimp write content for their brand work-
- We are plainspoken.
- We are genuine.
- We are translators.
- Our humor is dry.
They go on to explain these further and how they achieve each of these language goals. I found this section on Voice very helpful, I understand that a good brand uses their voice to communicate with their audience in a clear and non confusing way. A lot of brands these days bombard users with too much information and complex things that they struggle to understand but it is important to always keep language short and snappy, this makes people actually want to read your content and actually search you up. Being genuine is so important to me and this shines through in a brands voice, I want to create a brand where it is a safe space and my consumers feel like they can easily communicate with my and can see that my brand is genuine.
Tone
Tone is more adjustable when it comes to branding, it may be different for different clients or circumstances. In Mailchimps source they suggest when you’re writing, consider the reader’s state of mind and when you have an idea of their emotional state, you can adjust your tone accordingly. They also suggested that having a sense of humour is okay and feel free to be funny when it’s appropriate. This was interesting to me because when you think of most brands you think of very serious atmospheres and formal tones of voices. I want my brands tone of voice to reflect my work and help me attract the right people to my work and my brand. It is important that I get the right balance between formal and informal, as I want me and my work to be taken seriously but also attract people.
Here are a few tips that can help me when it comes to writing brand content:
- Avoid slang or jargon- I should write in plain English
- Write positively
- Active voice- avoid passive voice
- Be consistent
- Focus on my message
- Be specific
- Write content for everyone
What did I learn from this?
I think that the most important detail to take away from this is to make your brand’s voice heard, I should make it unique and make it stand for something. Clarity is another big thing that I have taken away from this language research. I now know that I need to keep it short and sweet, and make sure the reader enjoys it and takes something away from the reading; if it doesn’t make sense to the reader, then there’s no point. I need to keep the reader in mind when I am building my brands content, will my words register with my target audience and does my language properly portray my brand.
It’s fairly obvious to say that in order to understand your brand language, you have to understand what your brand stands for, therefore I need to be 100% in what it is that I want to say and do with my brand. I need to know what my beliefs are and what it is that I stand for. This is all reflected in my brand language and I need to ensure that I choose the right tone and voice that radiates my beliefs and brand image in the best way possible.