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How Far Can Social Media Go? Stand Out With Your Tone Of Voice

Written by Paul Mortimer

30 | 08 | 16

This post discusses the consequences of having a company social media presence which goes too social. It also offers advice on how to stand out on social media by adapting your tone of voice and behaviour to maximum benefit.


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Originally part of one of our free eBooks, Getting MORE From YOUR Inbound Marketing, this tip came about in response to a growing feeling that companies who use social media were either too informal, too sales-y or a combination of both.


Solely Self Promoting Isn't Good

There has been recent condemnation, from a wide range of sources, that #contentmarketing contains too much noise. Self promotion, hashtage misuse and gratuitous retweets and shares mean that, often, traffic is high but conversions are low.



This isn't productive for anybody and is a poor way to go about your inbound marketing. There's no point having high traffic and low conversions; it's better to have better quality traffic and therefore more conversions.


Being Too Informal Isn't Always Great Either

They shall remain nameless but many business' social media accounts try to add some informality and end up taking it too far. This isn't in reference to keeping personal views or taboo language away from company posts but rather the general level of formality in tone.

We undertook some research within the inbound.org community and the general consensus was that users enjoy a personal touch on a company's social channel. It adds a human element to what could easily be a faceless and cold interaction otherwise.

The issue is when this informality goes too far or feels false.

A number of big brands, such as Burger King, incorporated personality and humour into their social media very effectively. They became worth following in their own right and still entertain their followers, helping build up the trust and affinity to their brand.



These kinds of accounts are fun and entertaining but this level of informality isn't suitable for all sectors and industries. Also, the accounts which pull this tone of voice off are clearly run by witty people. A fast-food chain is obviously very different from something like an energy supplier but even those types of businesses can include the right level of friendliness.



Basically, being natural and chatty is the best way to be. It's how you would interact with people visiting you in real-life so it works best when your staff respond to potential customers online.

Whilst showing your natural personality is engaging and even necessary, if you run your company's social media accounts, remember that you are the face of the company online.



6 Easy Tips To Get Your Voice On Social Media Right

  1. Be aware of your audience and how your business needs to be viewed. People probably won't want to hire a solicitor who shares alcohol-related memes, for example.
  2. Respond to messages personally and in the same way you would in "real-life".
  3. Be natural.
  4. Work out whether you want to include humourous posts. And don't force humour that doesn't come naturally to you.
  5. Be honest and reliable. This builds up trust in your brand.
  6. Always remember this; it's social media so don't constantly promote or sell your product. You wouldn't make many friends acting this way in real life so why do it online?


Want more tips to help you get more from your inbound marketing?

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