One thing that has struck me recently (despite my digital fatigue) is, that when brands famously converse with their target audiences online, how do they speak well? No, it hasn’t struck me that they need a tone of voice, or that this tone of voice has to be translated from general brand communications, but how hard it is to actually speak like that. It’s not easy talking like Nike, talking like Whole Foods, or to talk like an advertising agency. In the expensive, bogus, social media strategies that probably lies on the desks of every major brand in the world since a good year back, I can imagine the explicit recommendations. Nike’s would probably read “Talk with an encouraging, inspiring, optimistic, energetic, creative, and so on tone of voice and have a go-get-it-attitude with a twist to stand out etc.” Talk like Denzel Washington more or less.
Now, to the point. How easy is that really? I personally don’t know anyone that can talk like that, or that can be creative and geeky, and sensible enough to converse in the name of Apple. Not without seeming awfully contrived and false. The only people who could pull it off are the copywriters in the agencies, authors and playwriters mastering conversation, and are they worth the investment? And would Harry Pinter had been interested in Twittering for the National Theatre?
One Comment
People who are the only ones that can ‘pull it off’ (by your own admission) are worth the investment because they are indispensable.