Quick Tips - Tone of Voice
Last time, we talked about setting up to film your video and making it look as good as possible with just your phone.
Now we want to talk about the content of your video, specifically the Tone of Voice. Tone of Voice, simply put, is how you and your brand comes across to your audience.
The reason Tone of Voice is so important, especially during this difficult time, is that people are looking to make connections with the products or brands they associate with. If you can connect with your audience on a deeper or an emotional level, you might just make a loyal consumer for life. A great example of this would be one of our favourite brands, IRN BRU. Their Tone of Voice hits the nail on the head because of their humour and refusal to take themselves seriously, and it just feels incredibly Scottish, like we’re all in on the joke. Their campaigns are still spoken about, quoted, memed and enjoyed years after their release.
So how do you convey a good tone of voice? First off, you need to make some smart decisions. Do you want to rely on humour, or do you want to go down a more serious factual route? Obviously there are no hard rules - there’s a lot of grey area when it comes to creating content, but as we always tell our clients, consistency matters. But here’s the real tea - you need to play to your strengths. Are you funny? If you’re not - don’t force it! Authenticity is key. Your audience will see right through you, and even something that doesn’t seem quite right will turn them off.
We’ve broken down how to nail your tone of voice to a few points.
What is your message? Is it on-brand and within your company guidelines? You know your brand better than anyone, so share that with your audience and get them to believe in your message.
Consider your language and delivery. Lay off the jargon unless you’re sure your audience will know exactly what you’re talking about. For your delivery, don’t just wing it. Make a loose script and be concise with what you’re saying. You might consider getting some fresh eyes on it, perhaps from an outsider.
Consider your surroundings. don’t have a pile of laundry behind you, raunchy romance novels or empty beer bottles in the shot.
When editing your video, do not use bad fonts, bad graphics, bad transitions or really obvious stock video. It’s going to do the complete opposite of what you hope it will and make you look unprofessional.
Happy shooting!