What is the difference between brand personality and tone? If you are building a brand, you might have heard these terms before, but do you know what they mean and how they affect your brand identity? In this article, we will explain the concepts of brand personality and tone, and how they relate to each other and to your brand strategy.
Brand personality is the set of human traits that you associate with your brand. It is how you want your brand to be perceived by your target audience and how you differentiate your brand from your competitors. For example, some brands might have a friendly, playful, and humorous personality, while others might have a sophisticated, elegant, and professional personality. Your brand personality should reflect your brand values, mission, and vision, and appeal to your ideal customers.
Brand personality is the enduring set of human traits that define a brand, while brand tone is the specific style and manner in which the brand communicates.
Brand tone is the way you express your brand personality through your words, voice, and style. It is how you communicate with your audience and how you convey your brand message and values. For example, some brands might use a casual, informal, and conversational tone, while others might use a formal, authoritative, and respectful tone. Your brand tone should be consistent across all your touchpoints, such as your website, social media, email, and advertising.
The difference between brand personality and tone is that brand personality is the underlying essence of your brand, while brand tone is the manifestation of your brand personality in your communication. Brand personality is more stable and long-term, while brand tone can vary depending on the context, channel, and purpose of your communication. For example, a brand with a friendly and playful personality might use a humorous and witty tone in their social media posts, but a more serious and informative tone in their product descriptions or customer service.
From brand personality, you get voice and tone. Personality is who you are, voice is how you articulate who you are, and tone is the level of your articulation. According to Nielsen, there are four tonal dimensions—your personality guides where your voice falls on the tonal scale. The tone depends on the platform, message, or situation.
The connection between brand personality and tone is that they both contribute to your brand identity and image. They both help you build a distinctive and memorable brand that stands out from the crowd and resonates with your audience. They both help you create a strong emotional bond with your customers and foster loyalty and trust. They both help you align your brand with your goals and values and communicate them effectively.
Having a clear and consistent brand personality and tone comes with many advantages. It can help you attract and retain customers who share your values, increase your brand awareness and recognition, improve your reputation and credibility, boost engagement and advocacy, and ultimately improve performance and profitability.
Creating and maintaining a coherent and compelling brand personality and tone begins with defining your brand purpose, vision, mission, values, and positioning. It's important to research your target audience to understand their needs, preferences, and expectations. Additionally, analyzing your competitors and identifying your unique selling proposition will help you create a distinct brand. Choose a few adjectives that describe your brand personality and tone and create a brand voice guide that outlines this information, providing examples of best practices for communication. Train your team and stakeholders on how to use the guide and monitor and measure your brand communication to adjust your brand personality if needed.