Knowing which tone to use on which social media platform is a key element in managing a successful campaign. Using the wrong tone on a platform can lead to results that aren’t as stellar, whereas if you used the right tone on the right platform you could drive additional leads to your business.
If you’re posting the same thing in the same voice on all social media platforms, why would anyone follow you on more than one media? Each platform has a specific voice and audience, so knowing which platforms your business needs to be on is an important step in building a social media campaign. As a business owner, you want to ensure that the people looking for you online, and on social media, are being presented with the side of your business that they want to see. For example, are you using LinkedIn to market? Then you need to have a more professional voice and focus on your business itself, not to be confused with Instagram where the voice is more free-spirited and laid back. Identifying the proper voice is a combination of several factors including platform, business, and target audience.
Know Who You Are
It’s important to know what kind of personality and persona your brand should be taking online. Think about what kind of traits would describe your business if it were an individual. Restaurant? Try coming across as friendly, inviting, fun-loving, and charismatic. Your tone on social media can be shaped by the persona you give your business.
How to Create an Online Voice for Social Media
- Use similar language to how you talk in day-to-day conversation
- Write to your readers, not at them
- Know what makes your business different from your competitors
- Engage with your audience, make them feel that you genuinely care
- Understand your business’s persona and how it would interact with each platform
Understand the Difference
One could use the same voice across all social media platforms. However, you are unlikely to see the results you want when compared to assigning a voice to each platform. While the voice a business uses may be similar across multiple platforms, there are small but important variations that occur to make sure that the correct audience is being served on each platform.
Finding Your Best Brand Voice on Social Media Platforms
Best Tone of Voice for LinkedIn
- Characteristics: Clear, Concise, Informative, Professional, Expert
- Provide that professional, experienced tone that users expect
Best Tone of Voice for Facebook
- Characteristics: Friendly, Human, Casual, Conversational, Engaging, Community-based
- Take a more friendly and conversational tone while still providing experienced opinion
Best Tone of Voice for Instagram
- Characteristics: Fun, Playful, Exciting, Charismatic, Adventurous, Confident
- Utilize an adventurous, outgoing tone to appeal to users
Best Tone of Voice for YouTube
- Characteristics: Positive, Motivating, Engaging, Helpful, Genuine
- Be natural and authentic in your presentation while using content to answer potential questions
Best Tone of Voice for Twitter
- Characteristics: Witty, Fun, Personable, Responsive, Receptive, Informative
- Come across as approachable to encourage consumers to interact with your brand
It is important to remember that while these characteristics and voice tones are effective on each platform, understanding the identity of your business helps you better adapt how your business should approach social media. Your voice also helps guide the type of content that you put out on each platform to strengthen your reach and engagement. These are only general rules of thumb and being adaptive to each platform is important for the long-term health of your social media campaign.
Constructing an effective and consistent brand personality can be a harrowing task, but it in the long run, it is rewarding and ultimately beneficial for your business. An experienced Social Media Coordinator can take the persona and brand voice that a business wants to portray online and turn it into a reality to generate real connections (and leads!) with a target audience.
Developing your business’s voice online is just one part of creating a comprehensive strategy to increase brand awareness and engagement. A dedicated social media coordinator works with you to help create a strategic plan for your business’s online presence. For help in creating this plan, reach out to us at (707) 743-3714 or fill out this form.
This blog is part of WSI’s Smart Marketing Guide to Social Media. [Click here] to view the complete guide.
