tone of voice change: when, why, + how
just like a website, icon, or logo, sometimes the tone of your company needs an update. what once felt authentic + *right* now feels off, disingenuous, or just like it’s missing its mark. when your business’s tone no longer matches your brand or no longer helps you reach your target audience, that’s how you know it’s time to make a change.
our client, Harbor’s Edge, is a luxury senior living company in Norfolk, VA. we started working with them on web development + maintenance, SEO, social media + paid ads at the beginning of 2024. initially, we were focusing on the more elderly end of the spectrum from young to old seniors because they wanted to fill openings in assisted living + memory care apartments + needed to rank for care keywords.
now, business goals have evolved causing our focus to shift. we’ve changed their tone of voice to remove care from the equation, focusing on independent living keywords + younger seniors. instead of speaking to 80 year olds or their adult children, we now speak to recently retired, young at heart seniors in their 60s + 70s who are looking to live the lifestyle they’ve been working their whole lives for.
we’re carrying out this shift in tone for a few different reasons. firstly, Harbor’s Edge is primarily an independent living community with care levels sprinkled in rather than dominating. secondly, they’ve recently gone through a change in leadership, which means new people in charge with new ideas about the direction the company should be moving in. thirdly, through our marketing materials, we want to show people *why* it’s a great place to live, not that it’s a decent place to finish out your life at.
the crux of it all is that Harbor’s Edge is a great place to truly live. while you do have to be a senior to make the move, it breaks away from the traditional ideas that come to mind when you hear “retirement home” or “senior community.” it’s all about taking the pressures of home ownership + maintenance off your plate so you can focus on the things you love + create the life you want.
when we determined it was time for a change, we created a new tone of voice guideline document that expressed the feelings we were trying to communicate + the audience we were trying to speak to. with all the information in one, easily accessible place, everyone was on the same page + could refer back to it whenever necessary.
we started by creating example posts in the new tone of voice and getting approval from Harbor’s Edge so they could get a sense of what this new tone would look like in practice. from there, we just continued using the new tone and following the new guidelines, speaking from the perspective of an independent living resident, sharing moments from the engaging lifestyle available at the community with their friends.
need help making a change to your business’s voice? get in touch.
