An example of a voice that I feel is assertive, factual, and informative would be the Cleveland Clinic. The Cleveland Clinic’s voice expresses its brand. The tone it takes in its online communications is engaging, relevant, authentic, compassionate, resourceful and authoritative.
A PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS
According to Chapter 4 of Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, “Voice is about how you write, certainly. But in a larger sense, it’s also about how you express your brand. It’s about the tone you take in all of your communications and publishing. It’s about figuring out what’s unique about you and your perspective.”
Here are four example Facebook posts by Cleveland Clinic:
“If you’re healthy enough to donate, you could change someone’s life completely. Here are the facts:”
(Headline of linked article: How Much of My Liver Would I Need to Donate to Save Someone’s Life?)
“1 minute = 2 million neurons. Expert tips to prepare you to act fast if someone has a stroke.”
(Headline of linked article: Stroke: Know These 4 Lifesaving Tips Because Every Second Counts)
“Congestion? Facial pressure? Headache? Here’s how to deal with a sinus infection”
(Headline to linked article: Killer Sinus Infection? How to Tell if Yours is Viral or Bacterial)
“What should you do with that old bottle of pain pills? How to safely dispose of old medications:”
(Headline of linked article: How to Safely Throw Away Old Medications)
According to their Facebook profile, “The mission of Cleveland Clinic is to provide compassionate healthcare of the highest quality in a setting of education and research.” The tone of the voice in the Facebook posts reflects this brand’s mission.
A TRUSTWORTHY VOICE
“A unique, human-sounding corporate voice is critical if you want to engage, stimulate, or excite your audience—especially now, when your content is increasingly an essential mechanism through which to define, enhance, and clarify who you are. Your tone of voice, in other words, is your greatest ally: it’s the basis for the relationship you hope to create with your customers, along with your products, service, and culture—all the other things that go into a brand.” (Handley and Chapman, Ch.4)
Finding a doctor can be stressful, confusing and difficult, Cleveland Clinic carries the voice it uses on social media onto its website platform, by providing a “human-sounding” corporate voice that helps to establish the relationship with a new patient.
The content on the “Find a Doctor” website page spells out trust:
“Our find a doctor tool assists you in choosing from our diverse pool of health specialists. Discover better health & wellness by using our doctor ratings & reviews to make your choice.”
A search bar appears below it, with filters available.
“Physician Ratings at Cleveland Clinic: Choosing the right doctor can be difficult. How do you know that you can believe the ratings you see online? Cleveland Clinic is committed to helping you find the right physician for you with ratings you can trust.”
A link to learn more appears and a video.
Trust is one of those intangible metrics that indeed has a return on investment; however, it takes time.
Chapter 1: Is Content Marketing Right for My Business? on the Moz website states, “The respect and admiration of your audience will absolutely take time to build, as they require earning trust. Once you've proven your knowledge and (even more importantly) your integrity, though, you can become the guiding light that people turn to when everyone else is simply contributing to confusion. … The authority you gain then transfers to your products or services, making customers that much more likely to choose you over the competition.”
The Cleveland Clinic has the right prescription for voice. It is an engaging, relevant, authentic, compassionate, resourceful and authoritative voice.
Cleveland Clinic Facebook Post Example