Category: Email Marketing
If social media has taught us anything, it is that users appreciate it when companies express themselves informally. It is a myth to believe that brands have to be serious and use a professional tone when addressing their customers. It is not always the best, in fact, it is unnecessary to maintain the same style all the time. Adjusting your tone to your channels is a good practice and that includes adapting your email marketing style to suit the recipient and the type of message.
The origin of this myth may lie in the difference between voice and tone: the former is invariable and is what the brand tells, while the latter does vary and has to do with how it is expressed. For example: in a press release you can be more informative and, in an email more informal, but the message will always be the same.
Voice and tone are two important elements in communication, but it can happen that, mistakenly, a company wants to simplify and use the same style for all the content it generates. This is why the simplest option is used, the one that has always been used: the professional tone. But there are many more options! The document that compiles them is the style guide, which explains both the voice and the tone chosen by the company for each situation, audience or channel.
Let's face it, it's the one that has always been used and that's as positive as it is negative. In traditional sectors, it is what is expected so there is no need to complicate your life. Change is frowned upon and it's better to stick to the old ways. Or not, because it is precisely for this reason that using a different style can be what helps us to distinguish ourselves from other companies.
A professional tone uses formalisms such as putting the recipient's full name instead of just their name in the message header or addressing them as "you" in call-to-action buttons.
Not all brands are a good fit for humour because, clearly, there are many types of humour. And there are sectors for which it has always been banned, such as health, insurance, finance or industry. However, there are also some brands that rebel and provide an amusing counterpoint capable of attracting the attention of different types of user profiles, not just the youngest.
Humour can permeate the entire message, from the subject line to a sarcastic question in the header or a series of unexpected images.
It is arguably the most objective of all because it does not include value judgements or anything like that, rather the opposite because the result could be a newsletter taken from a media outlet, with unbiased and descriptive news or reviews. This tone can also be used in promotional campaigns, although they can become very repetitive because they will all sound very much the same. That is why it is also recommended to introduce changes in tone at special times of the year, such as international days or anniversary greetings.
There are many brands that convey optimistic messages. Being positive is something that is in the DNA of some brands, but it is difficult for the opposite to happen because there are not usually communications that destroy the morale of subscribers. You want them to be happy and motivated to face the decision of having to buy your products or services, rather than with a big smile on their face, dreaming of a better future.
Any brand can be optimistic, there is no need to put unicorns and rainbows in the design. It is enough to avoid speaking negatively and send communications that reinforce the positive aspects of the relationship with the recipients.
It is synonymous with closeness and that is what brands want, to get closer to their contact list without them being scared off by corporate language. An informal message is similar to the one you would send to a person in your inner circle. We wouldn't say "Dear Sir" and we wouldn't say "Yours sincerely".
Today, that level of formality is reserved for paper letters, not online communications such as a transactional message. Few brands dare to treat subscribers as colleagues, but it can be a good way to make your personality clear and be bold.
It is a tone that is classified within the serious ones, such as professional or informative. You probably remember it from when you were studying and you may even use it in some annual reports. It is not the most common in corporate newsletters, but it can be the tone used by study centres or even any company that is distributing a course or an ebook, because it conveys a certain air of advanced knowledge by the words used (higher than what would be used in a normal conversation).
If, according to the psychology of colour, black and gold are used to give the image of a quality (and sometimes expensive) product, the equivalent tone is sophisticated. It is not the opposite of natural, but it is possible that some subscribers may see it as false if it does not match the type of product or service that is being sold. This is why it is usually reserved for brands associated with glamour and beauty, because it takes it to another level that would not be achieved with corporate colours alone.
This tone is closer to the professional than the informal, although it can also be the opposite if you want to give a good image at a low cost.
When we talk to someone we have known for a long time, we do not express ourselves in the same way as if we were addressing the company's management: we adapt the tone. And, do you know what is the most popular nowadays? The conversational tone. Yes, the one that uses short sentences. And separates them with a double space and constantly asks questions so that it doesn't sound like a monologue, but like a chat between friends. That's right: the one that takes the conversational tone to the extreme. You've probably come across it more than once! Don't you like it? Well, it's the one that the new generations use all the time, so you should keep it in mind if you're going to send them campaigns.
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