To win the constant battle for profitable contracts, the best customers and talented employees, you need to be clear and consistent about what makes your brand different. Well articulated tone of voice guidelines can help you – and your team – get this right. Time after time.

Alongside your visual identity, your tone of voice is a key part of who you are and how you connect with people.

And, as always, consistency is crucial.

Your customers and prospects will encounter your brand in many places and contexts so the more consistent you are, the more likely it is that people will grasp what makes your organisation unique.

And if that resonates they will go on to admire, respect and trust your brand.

One way to help ensure this consistency is with a comprehensive set of tone of voice guidelines that everyone in your organisation understands – and adheres to.

But what should a set of effective tone of voice guidelines actually include?

1. Vision

A vision captures the overall direction of a company. It explains where a business is heading and where you want to be in the future. It’s your big, stretch goal.

That vision shall be outlined clearly here, and should guide daily decisions. It’s not necessarily broadcast to the outside world or used in outbound communications but your organisation’s vision should always be used as a guiding principle whenever you’re communicating.

You should look to encapsulate this vision in no more than two sentences.

2. Values

A company’s values are beliefs that you hold dear and will stick to no matter what.

We find that an expression of four values seems to be the sweet spot for most B2B organisations.

Sometimes a value can be expressed as a single word or sometimes organisations respond better when a value is a statement.

Whichever route you choose, it always helps to provide some text alongside the value statement to help explain exactly what you mean – and sometimes what you don’t mean.

Remember, you’re trying to provide a set of guidelines that anyone in the company can use in communications – from CEO to new-starter.

3. Personality

A company’s personality dictates how it expresses itself, its approach and how it does things.

A personality guides how an organisation sounds. The number and type of words that are used. And how to address people.

A brand might be confident, friendly, aggressive, cheeky, brutally honest, comforting or challenging. If this personality is clearly articulated and bought in to, it’s easy to adopt.

Once again, we find that choosing 4 personality traits seems to be the right amount for most organisations.

And, just as with the value statements, it really pays to provide some explanatory text alongside each personality trait to get people in the mindset of what it’s like to be communicating in the style of your organisation.

4. Some key guidelines to follow

Your tone of voice may require some specific stylistic approaches in sales materials, advertising or emails. This could include:

• Using full stops after headlines
• Using everyday words
• Keeping sentences short

In each case, take time to explain what the approach involves, why you do it and give some examples of the approach in action.

5. Before and after examples

It can be really useful to provide before and after examples to underline the difference that following the tone of voice guidelines can make.

Something like this works well:

Before
At Brookes & Sowerby Limited we are proud to specialise in marketing communications and can trace our roots back to 2013 when the business was originally established.

Our philosophy from the very beginning has been to work hard to develop marketing communications materials that look great and offer you maximum possibility to attract new clients.

After
We are a B2B PR & marketing agency that helps businesses communicate with clarity.

Why change?
Shorter, confident, more punchy, more accessible.

In summary:

By including the above items, you will establish a comprehensive set of tone of voice guidelines for your team to follow.

And it’s important to remember that these are just that – guidelines.

It’s not necessarily a one-size-fits-all document.

However, once people have read through it a few times and your advice starts to sink in, it will become easier for everyone to put themselves into the mindset of your organisation and communicate accordingly.

Here are five more tips and tricks that will help you refine your script and ensure you give the production team the perfect platform for success.

So, you’ve completed the first draft of your script.

You’re preparing to share it with colleagues for initial feedback.

Are you sure it’s the best it can be?

In the second part of our script writing guide, we’ve got five more tips that will give you the confidence that you’ve ticked all the boxes.

1. Think visually

While it’s up to the designer, animator or director to explore how best to execute your script from a visual perspective, you can certainly make things easier by thinking about how this might happen as you write.

Can you describe things in a visual way that brings them to life and helps your design team?

For example, contrast:
You can spend the money on anything.

With:
You can cover rent payments, pay medical expenses or even go on holiday.

Quite clearly, the second option gives the design team much more to work with and could make it easier to transition from one scene to the next.

2. Slow down

You might be able to talk at 200 or even 250 words per minute but, as we’ve seen in Part One of this guide, you should stick to 150 words per minute with your script.

Notwithstanding the fact that your voiceover artist will need time to breathe, you need to allow enough time for people to understand what you are saying and to follow your narrative – especially if you’re talking about complicated products or services.

A rapid fire approach will cause confusion and will have people switching off in no time.

3. Don’t forget your call to action

You’ve hooked your audience in.

They’ve been attentive as you explain how you can help them.

Make sure you don’t leave them hanging – tell them what you want them to do next.

Whether it’s visiting your website, purchasing a product or sharing with their friends, be sure to finish your video with clear and concise instructions about what action your audience should take.

4. Read it out loud

You may have read and re-read your script countless times but have you read it out loud?

The way we write and the way we speak are actually quite different so by reading your script out loud you’ll find it easier to find sections or phrases that don’t flow and need sharpening up.

You might even want to record yourself and then play it back – would you be engaged by what you’re saying?

5. Give yourself enough time to get it right

Two minutes. 300 words.

Easy, right?

It doesn’t sound like a lot but crafting a compelling script that explains your key messages, engages an audience throughout and then compels them to act isn’t something that can be rushed.

Make sure you allow adequate time in your schedule to write something that you’re excited to share with colleagues and customers.

And there ends our scriptwriting masterclass.

Your next step is to bring those words to life and think about how best to launch to your audience. In the meantime, here are a couple of our recent videos that might provide a bit of inspiration…

An engaging explainer video is a powerful B2B marketing tool but everything needs to hang off that all important script. We can help you make sure it’s spot on. 

There’s always a buzz in the studio whenever we get a brief for a new explainer video.

It’s a great chance for us to combine our creative talents, work with talented partners and explore new techniques.

But before getting stuck in to character styling, illustrations, music or animation we always make sure we get the foundation right – with a well-written, refined and punchy script.

After all, an eye-poppingly dazzling animation is no use if people switch off and miss the point because it doesn’t make sense.

So, how can you make sure your script is a real attention-grabber?

In the first part of our script writing guide, here are 5 tips to get you started on the right foot:

1. Think about your objectives

This one sounds obvious but it’s very easy to dive straight in and start writing everything you know about a product or service. But, is that what people want to hear?

To capture attention – and sustain it – you need to be talking about benefits and prove how your product or service will make lives better or improve a bottom line.

And the best way to write like that is to be clear in your own mind about your audience, key messages and calls to action from the very beginning.

2. Be honest and clear with your audience

Again, you’d think this would be a given but you’d be surprised how many videos we see that talk about ‘our customers can do this’ or ‘our clients can do that’.

You need to make anyone watching your video feel like you are talking one-on-one with them so make sure you use words like ‘you’ and ‘your’ and put real effort into getting the tone right.

Rather than trying to lecture your audience, write in a way that’s more conversational and be clear at all times. That way people are more likely to trust you and buy into what you have to say.

3. Write line by line

Rather than writing long paragraphs of text, write your script in single sentences of text with a break after each sentence.

Not only is this easier for any colleagues (or voiceover artist) to follow, but you’ll find it easier to keep an eye on the flow and rhythm of the copy.

In writing this way you can also include important details about any action that needs to happen at a particular point – which could be displaying text or statistics on screen when a phrase is read out.

4. Get your hook in early

If you’ve successfully completed point 1 above, then you should be able to write what your video is about in just one sentence.

Put this sentence to good use and make sure to include a version of it within the first 75 words of your script.

It will give your audience a clear reason to stick with the rest of your content if they know exactly why they are watching.

5. Be brief

Let’s face it, attention spans are short – especially when people are online. So you need to grab attention and then complete your pitch as soon as possible.

We’ve found recently that somewhere around two minutes is perfect for online explainer videos – shorter if possible but certainly no longer than four minutes.

As a rule of thumb work to 150 words for every minute of video. So if you can cover everything you need to say in 300 words or less you’re in business.

And there ends part one of our scriptwriting masterclass.

Hopefully that will help get the ball rolling with your next explainer video.

Next up: we’ll look at five more tips and tricks that will help you refine your work and ensure you can give the production team the prefect platform for success.

We’re often asked by clients and prospects if there are still valid reasons to consider email marketing. Our answer? Yes, there are definitely clear benefits especially in a B2B context.

As we are bombarded by eye-watering stats about the ever-increasing use of social media, it’s easy to think of email marketing as old news – and ignore it when planning your marketing strategy.

However, we know from experience that a well-written and expertly designed email campaign still has plenty to offer, especially when you’re trying to communicate in a business context. Here are 5 reasons why:

1. It’s extremely cost-effective

There are no print costs and no postage costs – and transactional fees per email are tiny in comparison, especially if you can subscribe to monthly retainers on a platform like MailChimp or Campaign Monitor.

So you can stretch your budget and spread your message.

2. It’s highly targeted

If you’ve built your list correctly over time then those receiving your emails should be doing so because they have asked to receive the messages and information that are in there!

You’ve got a captive audience – so tell them what they want to hear.

3. You can see how people react

Email marketing is extremely easy to measure – with quick and simple access to useful information including click-throughs, open rates and link popularity. Plus, online retailers can even track sales from a click in the email to a purchase in store.

If you spot something isn’t working then you can always change that in your next campaign to ensure that your messaging is spot-on, every time.

4. It’s immediate

One of the main benefits of email marketing over other channels is its immediacy.

Having a flash sale or need to react quickly to changing circumstances? With email marketing you can set up your communication and make sure it’s with your customers in minutes.

And, with a little bit of list wizardry and some time spent planning up front, you can even create a targeted set of emails that are triggered to send automatically by a date, event or subscriber activity.

This could help generate product reviews, renew memberships, follow up from events and much more.

Whatever your need, you benefit from less admin and more engaged customers.

5. It more than pays for itself

When you look at the finances, it’s hard to argue against using email marketing.

The latest research from the Direct Marketing Association shows that email marketing delivers a return on investment of £38 for every £1 spent.

The numbers certainly add up!

In summary:

Email marketing still has a role to play in an effective marketing communications mix.

When to choose it, what to say and how you combine it with other marketing tools will ultimately define success.

But with an impressive ROI, it’s safe to say that rumours of its demise can certainly be marked as junk for now.

When it comes to backing up your claims and providing reassurance to existing – and potential – customers, it’s hard to beat testimonials from people who are already happy with the service or product you provide.

Case studies give you the chance to highlight the difference you’ve made and underline the emotional benefit you deliver. And that’s the key – emotion.

The most powerful case studies are those with which the reader can empathise. They can see themselves in the same positions, with the same problems and challenges. They take heart from the fact that others might be struggling like they are and are drawn to the fact that you might be able to help.

That’s why when you write case studies you need to think about what your reader might want to learn – not just what you did for the particular customer in question. In doing so, you will be able to draw up a list of suitable questions and structure your interview to capture the right information.

You’ll be able to show that you have a true grasp of your industry. You’ll be able to show that you understand the unique problems and issues at hand. You’ll be able to engage the reader.

And, once engaged, you’ll have their full attention. You start to gain their trust. And that will put you on the front foot when it comes to negotiating any potential sales.

It helps you stand out from the competition and should ensure you have a steady stream of future case studies from happy clients too.

As all good copywriters know, one missing letter or one additional letter can mean the difference between a fantastic piece of printed collateral or an embarrassing phone call to the client. Which is why proofreading is such a key part of the design process.

It’s easy to see how this happens too. Hours and hours are spent going through key messages and creative concepts. Layouts can go through several revisions until you have a final piece that looks fantastic. It ticks the boxes in terms of relevance, creativity and impact. But everyone’s now so close to it that you fail to spot the rogue ‘i’, the missing ‘t’ or the sentence that’s dropped off your final paragraph.

So what can you do to avoid errors?

Ask someone else to read it.

A lot of the time, your brain will see exactly what it wants to see – and not what’s actually there. A fresh pair of eyes can work wonders.

Print it out.

This really really helps. You’d be surprised just how much you can miss when you simply read from the screen.

Leave it and come back.

Give yourself a chance to forget what you’ve written. By coming back after a break you’re more likely to pick up any errors rather than read from memory.

Read aloud.

Okay. This might not be practical in all situations but it certainly focuses the mind. It forces you to listen to how you’ve constructed your sentences and highlights any problems with pace or grammar.

Don’t just look at the words.

If you’re asked to check the final layout or design look for things like extra spaces between words, lo-res images, mis-aligned columns, incorrect fonts, missing page numbers or wrong colours.

That should ensure you never make a fool of yourself in pubic.