Crafting social media tone of voice guidelines for two leading Hospitality brands

Alongside our work sizzling up the social media marketing output of two of Mitchells & Butlers iconic brands — O’Neill’s and Sizzling Pubs — we identified a gap in their existing strategy and brand assets to craft tone of voice guidelines tailored for social media copy and creative.

The challenge

Following internal refreshes of their overarching brand guidelines, the primary challenge was to maintain each brand’s unique identity whilst applying it to a social-first approach, including:

• How to tailor language for each platform
• How we interact, and communicate, with each brand’s online community
• And the finer details like caption lengths, appropriate emoji use, and how many exclamation marks are too many exclamation marks.

The overarching objectives were set out from the start, providing our social media marketers and copywriters with a clear framework to work from. The specific objectives were to:

• Develop an updated tone of voice document for each brand, reflecting their current vision and purpose.
• Ensure the tone of voice resonates with their target audience on social media, taking into consideration audience subsets on different platforms.
• Provide clear guidelines and examples to inform and inspire anyone who works on the brand’s social media content.
• For O’Neill’s specifically, integrate the cultural authenticity of their approach to Irish hospitality into their tone of voice.

Turning instinct into action

Research and Ideation

The process began with a thorough understanding of the client’s aspirations and limitations for each brand. Assistant Marketing Managers for O’Neill’s and Sizzling Pubs completed detailed briefing documents outlining:

1. How their current tone of voice could be evolved to better suit social media marketing.
2. What brands they admire on social media — including competitors.
3. What famous people and characters personify their brand and why.
4. And any constraints and limitations – the do’s and don’ts – we’d need to factor.

We broke down these briefs, analysing competitor brands and celebrity figures activity on social media. We specifically looked at the nuances in their tone of voice, and how it shifted across different platforms. Look carefully, and you’ll notice brands like Brewdog and Burger King making subtle shifts between channels.

This research formed the foundation of our ideas decks. Presented to the client, we proposed initial suggestions and ideas for the tone of voice documents, including:

• Analysis of existing tone of voice and areas for improvement
• Insights from competitor brands and those admired by the client
• Suggested approaches for evolving the tone of voice to suit individual social media platforms.

Through these discussions, the decision was made to focus on one guide at a time to ensure everything is aligned.

Drafting the tone of voice documents

Armed with our research and client feedback, our copywriter began drafting the initial document for O’Neill’s. The initial outline focused on defining the brand purpose and vision, which led the way for us to flesh out the tone of voice.

The tone of voice document was strategically structured to provide:

• A clear articulation of the brand’s purpose and vision.
• Descriptions of the brand’s voice and tone, including personality traits and key messaging pillars.
• Examples of social media posts that embody the desired tone of voice.
• Practical guides for tailoring copy to match the brand’s voice across various platforms.

Specifically for O’Neill’s, we included an additional section on embedding their Irish hospitality into their brand voice. It was important to strike a balance between their audiences, as well as ensuring the content remains authentic and doesn’t fall into the ‘plastic paddy’ trap. This section included an acceptable Irish slang dictionary, complete with examples of how words and phrases could be used specifically for O’Neill’s on social media.

Iterative feedback and refinement

The drafting process was highly collaborative, from internal peer review to regular feedback loops from the client. Each version of the document underwent careful review and amends based on the client’s input. This iterative process ensured that the final documents were finely tuned to meet the client’s expectations and needs.

Bringing the vision to life: collaboration with the studio team

Once the content was approved by the client, we briefed in our in-house studio team. Their goal was clear: create visually appealing and brand-consistent tone of voice documents to distribute as necessary.

Using an internal meeting, we walked the project’s dedicated graphic designer through each section, discussing the look and feel to ensure the documents would take readers on a seamless journey from brand vision to actional social media activity.

The studio team created their drafts, which went through iterative internal reviews before being sent to the client. Through constructive feedback, amends were incorporated meticulously, resulting in visually striking documents that aligned perfectly with the brand’s overarching guidelines.

Results

These documents serve as a robust foundation for all future social media content creation, ensuring consistency and authenticity in every post. By aligning the brand's voice with its vision and purpose, we anticipate stronger connections with their target audience, ultimately driving brand loyalty and growth.

Through this project, we have demonstrated the power of a well-defined and authentically crafted tone of voice in enhancing a brand's presence in the digital and social media landscape. The collaborative approach and deep immersion into each brand's world have resulted in tailored, actionable guidelines that will guide the client's social media strategy for years to come.