Voice and Tone

The voice and tone of the language we use when writing content plays an important role in conveying brand personality.

Brand voice never changes. It is how we want to act when speaking and writing and is directly tied to our brand attributes: dedicated, resourceful, agile, resolute, and prescient. Tone changes depending on the persona to which we are writing and the circumstances.

Voice

Cybersecurity is a serious undertaking, and the stakes are very high. Flippant and comical language and content runs counter to this reality. A casual or conversational voice implies that neither the audience nor subject is taken seriously enough.

We are also optimistic and use positive language to inform and encourage rather than employing negative language to scare them into action. We do not define a problem without providing a solution. We educate and assure rather than create ambiguity and alarm.

At Fortinet, we are confident in our advanced technologies and assure audiences that they perform as advertised, protecting digital assets while enabling business performance.

We always have the best interest of customers, partners, and the cybersecurity industry at heart and build rather than tear down; collaborate rather than criticize and dispute.

All of this means we write copy that is:

  • Straightforward - We strip away all hyperbole, never overpromise, and avoid emotional language and metaphors (as they donā€™t always translate). We want to aim for sentences of 20 words or less and to write them so that they can be easily unpacked for translation. Additionally, we should stay away from metaphors and idioms that do not translate (e.g., only relate to U.S. audiences).
  • Educational - Network security professionals seek content that provides them with information, helping them solve problems, overcome challenges, and answer questions. While some regional-specific details and examples are important and necessary depending on the content asset, avoid including U.S.-centric examples only whenever possible.
  • Knowledgeable - When we write something, we research the subject to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues and ensure we have corroborating data to back up any claims that we make.
  • Positive - Our glass is half full rather than half empty. Rather than dwelling on what can go wrong, we are focused on providing answers and solutions to challenges and problems.
  • Avoid gatekeeping - Avoid language that is exclusionary or encourages ā€œgatekeeping.ā€ We write for an international audience of developers from a wide range of backgrounds, races, ethnicities, cultures, and experience levels. Use the Open Gates checklist to help ensure you’re not excluding others.

Tone

Cybersecurity is a serious undertaking and the repercussions of a data breach, operational outage, or compliance violation are grave. Our tone needs to reflect this reality and does not assume a glib or casual tone.

We always consider context and audience and craft a tone that reflects both. This also factors in the audienceā€™s state of mind. Are they unaware they have a problem? Are they already seeking a solution? Are they skeptical and difficult to persuade to change their mind and behaviors? Are you addressing a C-suite executive or technical engineer or specialist who manages the actual security technologies?

Depending on the answer to these and other questions, language tone and the type of content used needs to be adjusted accordingly.

  • We are engaging. We create content that is educates or challenges our audience with new information or a different perspective. Content is substantive and simply not a regurgitation of data points and details found in other contentā€”whether generated by Fortinet or third party. We also write in a way that tells a narrative with a sequential flow where the intersections in our argument provide smooth transitions from one point to the next.
  • We are authentic. Authenticity is more than simply another word for honesty but rather conveys integrity and full transparency to certain set of principles. Our content tone must always remain faithful to our brand proposition and brand attributes, representing our commitment to help customers protect themselves in the most effective and efficient manner possible. We also write to specific personas, humanizing our brand messaging to ensure it relates to the targeted audience.
  • We are optimistic. Rather than focusing on what can go wrong, and certainly with cybersecurity there are plenty of negative repercussions, we focus on what can go right when broad, integrated, and automated security technologies and practices are used. Fortinet believes in a cyber world where customers embrace digital transformation with confidence and are excited about the future.
  • We are astute. Fortinet understands cybersecurity as well, if not better, than any other organization. This means we accurately assess trends and problems and provide ideas and propose solutions that turn these into advantages for customers, partners, and us. We are the smart ā€œguysā€ and ā€œgalsā€ on the block but convey this knowledge without smugness or condescention.
  • We are assuring. Cyber threats can be unsettling. Their increasing volume, velocity, and sophistication, coupled with well-publicized data breaches, operational outages, and compliance violations caused by them, can paralyze organizations and inhibit business performance. Our brand tone must assure customers that they can protect themselves against advanced threats while ensuring that business performance does not suffer.