Written By Mohammed Wasekur Rahman
Over the years it has been observed that the art of voice production and delivery played a huge role in the fields of marketing, advertising and branding. However, the significance of this particular quality is often overlooked and underused.
According to experts, the tone of voice is still a new concept to a wide range of companies but at the same time, there exists a group of trailblazers who have a tone of voice and are getting huge value from it. “Businesses that offer complex products and services often find themselves drowning in jargon that just doesn’t connect with customers. As competition becomes fiercer than ever, they’re turning to tone of voice to help them communicate more clearly and stand out in the market,” said Anelia Varela, The Writer’s U.S. director. She further mentioned, “Language is how customers get to know you. If what you’re saying as a brand strikes the wrong tone, it is inconsistent or difficult to understand, it’s going to affect how they feel about you. Worst case scenario, they might just give up and go elsewhere.”
Surprisingly, it is the voice of a brand that enables a brand to be far unique than the others. For instance, one of the most popular form of advertising is the usage of “jingles”. A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. As soon as you hear a voice saying “parapapapa I’m lovin’ it,” without even looking, you recognize that that’s McDonalds. The power of a jingle not only allows you to recognize a brand but also, that very jingle revolves in your head for the rest of the day ensuring that you do not forget that particular brand. This is often the work of the AI text to speech concept which has become a norm in the advertising world.
This whole idea of voice in advertising and branding may seem simple but it is actually quite complicated as a number of factors have to be taken into consideration before you can come up with the right voice. Factors may include the tone, pitch, the voice script, and most importantly what the consumers are looking for.
The most fundamental key in reaching the perfect voice is the “tone”, as all the components to hit the right voice is somewhat connected. Securing the perfect tone is all about understanding your customers and practicing empathy. It may sound simple but it is harder than you think. Despite of what your brand may be about, you have to put utter importance into what a customer needs. Are they looking for a consoler? An advisor? A motivator? Something less serious? Something to make them laugh and provide entertainment? Each of these needs will warrant a different tone. Comprehend the consumer’s circumstance and you’ll hit the right tone. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, but it does take thoughtfulness. The idea here is to interact with the consumers. This leads to the pitch of the voice. Well, as discussed earlier, a brand has to identify the consumers’ needs. If the mass is looking for something serious, the voice should be of a lower pitch making the tone serious enough for the audience to concentrate and be attentive across the whole script. This enables the mass to take the brand earnestly. There may be a natural tendency to think that the “louder” you say your message the more you will be heard. But that’s not true. The person who yells the most is almost never the one to be taken the most seriously in a room.
One thing you should keep in mind is that every single thing is interconnected. So, right after you sort out your tone and pitch, you will have to learn to deliver those with the most accurate words. Words act as the skeleton of a voice. Depending on the tone and pitch, a brand has to choose the words. For example, when you look at jingles, the idea is to ensure that you get your brand’s slogan installed in people’s mind. To attain such a goal, one has to choose words which might come off to be appealing, perhaps, words that rhyme or words that are easy to catch. In the same sense, we should take into account the cultural differences and make sure that the words used are caught by the majority to ensure successful advertising and marketing. So, choose your words carefully!
The key is to avoid having a boring voice. You can always modify your brand voice by composing with a little music or rhythm. A brand’s aim should be to provide excitement and enthusiasm as well as to make consumers feel comfortable by being clear and vivid. Choosing the precise tone, pitch and words will guarantee that.
Apart from those, technology also plays a vital role. You have to assure the best sound quality. The sound should typically be well balanced in terms of frequencies, be clear with no clipping, void of background noises, and have as little reverb as possible. The latter can be assessed with good quality headphones.
Your tone of voice adds a dimension to the personality of your brand. The tone of voice of your brand helps deliver your message through a certain emotion to your audience, rather than hard, cold logic. And as many a research have shown, emotions play a primary role to our buying decisions.
