social voice
The term social tone of voice is a well known one. But like some other social media marketers, I think about it differently. Voice and tone are separate but related concepts that help to establish a brand’s personality on social. Imagine you’re known to be a funny person. That’s your voice; it’s your overarching personality. But how you’re funny with your best friend is likely not the same as how you’re funny with your mom. You might tell different jokes. Your observations might be skewed differently. You might choose different words.
A specific, custom voice helps to humanize a brand. Remember, people would rather engage with a friend than with a corporation. A brand is most effective when it has a clear voice that is then flexed depending on the audience, the platform, or any other number of factors (that’s the tone). But voice is also more than just the caption that’s paired with your creative asset. Voice should be reflected in the asset, itself. Consider design, editing, and more, and how all of these factors help to express your brand’s personality—or voice.
nj pbs
I’ve never been a fan of social voices that are merely a list of adjectives: “Our brand is A, B, and C — not X, Y, and Z.” It’s too “on the surface” for my liking. Your voice is your personality, and personalities are complex and nuanced. Inspired by voice work done at the Social Media Agency of the Year where I was trained in this work, I’ve devised a system of exercises that asks specific questions based on a variety of factors and points of view. The end result is a one-sheet, similar to this one for NJ PBS that I created. It spells out the brand’s voice in a few different ways, helping anyone who picks it up to understand what NJ PBS on social is all about. (The one-sheet is customized for each brand.)
paramount+ | bargain
The TV series Bargain perfectly exemplifies how a brand’s voice may not align with its social voice. The series is an intense survival thriller. But for social, we decided to convey the unexpected twists in the series through the lens of common social trends. By abruptly toggling from humor to intensity, we aimed to draw in new fans while demonstrating the show’s social appeal.
usa network
Despite its former moniker as the “blue sky network,” past USA Network original series were quite different, expressing a variety of personalities and reaching different audiences.
Psych is a fun and spontaneous friend with lots of inside jokes and silly puns.
Suits is a sophisticated colleague who is one-third witty, one-third charming, and one-third dramatic.
Graceland is a testosterone-fueled bro who seeks out violence and sex, and finds himself in complicated messes.
These are just a few ways I communicated these personalities.
I chose this scene to engage fans over a recent episode of Psych. Paired with a witty caption, it captures the show’s irreverent and almost childish personality.
Game of Thrones stars Michelle Fairley and Conleth Hill guest starred on Suits, soon after Catelyn Stark, Fairley’s GOT character, had her throat slashed in that show’s famous “Red Wedding” episode. We aimed to leverage that cultural moment to promote the actors on Suits in a way that aligned with the series’ wink-and-a-nod voice.
Sometimes all it takes is one perfect image paired with one perfect word. And this says all you need to know about Graceland’s vibe.