Tone is often overlooked when developing a social media strategy.
As professional communicators, we know our tone and how it impacts the meaning behind our messaging. Tone is attached to how others perceive us. It is linked to our reputation and personality.
Although it is second nature to consider and recognize tone when engaging in verbal communication, it becomes difficult when communicating online.
While it may be difficult, it’s important.
Deciding the right tone to complement your social media strategy can help separate your company from competitors and improve consumer engagement.
Choosing the Right Tone for Your Social Media Strategy
When incorporating tone into your social media strategy, consider how you want your company to be perceived and how audiences already perceive you.
Your tone must make sense for your company, or you risk deviating from your brand identity and sounding inauthentic.
If your company is known for creativity, don’t be afraid to apply this to your messaging! Adopting a humorous or playful tone on social media has become increasingly popular. Participate in online challenges, trends, or memes. Create unique content relevant to your company.
Want to emphasize a laid-back, welcoming culture? Try adopting a casual or informal tone. Incorporate abbreviations or emojis — conventions usually not present in formal or traditional communications. Word choice is important. Keep the language clear, understandable, and conversational.
Informal and creative strategies will not work for all companies. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining a traditional or formal presence online, especially if that is the tone your followers expect. Formal, corporate messaging is a tried-and-true strategy that upholds brand image and ensures consumers receive the right information.
Benefits of Creative Tones
Using a creative tone on social media can allow for better consumer engagement and can contribute to boosting company perception and reputation.
More personable tones allow consumers to see past the corporate image and sense the human behind the account. Engagement improves when consumers feel the corporations they follow are approachable.
This engagement allows for a better flow of two-way communication through the direct line of communication from consumer to company and back again.
Engaging with consumers in this manner will also earn your corporation a reputation for being approachable and responsive.
The tone approach you take should make sense for your company and the content you create. The Pilot° Creative Marketing Team can help you understand what’s right for your company and brand.