Tone and Voice

The tone and voice is an important aspect of Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn. Thus, we will review both in this section.

Voice

Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn is dedicated to the customers. Our brand displays authenticity and kindness, always. At Poppin Joe's, we follow the golden rule: treat others the way we wanted to be treated! Poppin Joe's Kettle Korn builds trust with our customers through our clarity and hard work.

Tone

Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn always seeks to build trust with our customers. We always seek to be honest with our customers about our practices and never promise to do more than we can. Moreover, Poppin Joe's always seeks to be kind to everyone. Thus, we own up to our mistakes and rectify what we can. We also seek to laugh! Appropriate opportunities to share humor are welcome.

Example:
Don't:
I would be more than happy to package 1,000 units within the next few hours!
Do:
We are honored you would choose us for your event. Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn seeks to give quality products to our customers. So unfortunately, we are unable to fulfill the order on short notice. We would be happy to work with you in the future with ample notice.

How to Refer to Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn

Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn is a team effort. That's why we use plural pronouns when talking about the brand (blog is exempt).

Example: How can we help you today?

Example: Our products are made fresh!

Saying the full name can be a mouth full, so Poppin Joe's is equally sufficient on social media platforms and blog posts, unless on the website or referring directly to the product. Think of Poppin Joe's as an adjective!

Example: The Poppin Joe's tent is set up at today's market. Come say Hi to us!

Example: Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn is restocked! Online orders are now open.

Refer to the Logo section in Design Elements for proper logo usage.

Point of View/Tense

The point of view for both the website and social media is first-person. The Poppin Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn team is behind the wheel! So plural pronouns are used on social media and the website (see examples above). Second person is used when referring to customers. However, the blog is written by Nancy. Nancy uses first-person in the blog with singular pronouns.

We aim to mostly use present tense on all platforms. Future and past tense are used to refer to future or past actions and events. We steer clear of "ing" words. Acceptable use of "ing" words are gerund phrases such as:

I walk to school, playing music on my phone.
Popping the kettle corn, Joe adds the seasoning.

Best Practices

All Content Platforms

Our goal with all of our content is to write with respect and truth. Respect starts with empathy. Customers' lives do not revolve around our brand. Our goal is to bring joy to their day, so be considerate! Do not take every opportunity to market our products. We are people first before our brand. Aim to be honest about our products and services, avoiding exaggerations.

DISABILITY

If a person has a disability that isn't pertinent to the content, don't mention it. If it pertains to the content, then do not use the disability as an adjective.

Do: Person with disability

Don't: Disabled person

Do not use words like:

“handicapped”
"crippled”
“victim”
“unfortunate"
“special needs"

These words denote negative images of those with disabilities.

AGE

Age is a number, period! So avoid talking about at it. Do not use words like

old man/old woman
Elderly
young man/ young woman
senile

Gender

We strive to use gender-inclusive language! Avoid gendered generic language such as:

Policeman
mankind
etc.

Instead, use words that include everyone such as:

Police officer
humankind
etc.

More inclusive language samples can be found in the AP Stylebook.

Social Media Posts

We have a few guidelines to follow for social media! Firstly, all content is subject to circulation on all social media platforms. Character length for all platforms is available in image guidelines.

Posting Schedule:

Facebook: 3 times a week

Instagram: 1 time a week.

Twitter (X): 3 times a week

Content Focus:

Facebook: News about products, events/farmer's markets, marketing, and news mentions
Instagram: News about products, events/farmer's markets, and marketing
Twitter (X): News about products, events/farmer's markets, marketing, and news mentions

Stories on all platforms are posted on once daily. Interactions with the audience is key such as:

Polls on the favorite kettle corn flavor
Shout outs to customers with photos of the customers visiting site locations
etc.

Blog Posts

The minimum length of blog posts is 500 words, but no more than 2,000 words. Blog posts are Nancy's personal takes on events, products, and fun competitions. Blog posts are posted bi-weekly. Avoid marketing language:

Don't want to miss out/ Can't miss this.
Act now before time runs out.
etc.

Talk about the products casually. Products may be linked. Other companies may be mentioned on posts, unless it is a competing brand.

Example: Joe gave the Grinch a bag of the Apple Cinnamon Gourmet Kettle Korn.

Website

Our website is focused on the product (excluding the media page, which links the blog and outside news). The product descriptions and content on the website are the main focus. The website aims to produce clear and concise descriptions with a kind demeanor - see example below.

No overexaggerated claims
Avoid wordiness
Mostly use active voice

Grammar and Mechanics

We follow the The Associated Press Stylebook for a majority of grammar and mechanics choices. However, there are few things we do distinctly! Follow these guidelines to maintain consistency across our platforms.

Numbers

Do not spell out a number unless the number begins a sentence.

Examples:

One hundred bags of kettle corn.
The market had over 80 vendors.

TIME

Use AM or PM:

3 PM
5:30 AM

Hyphenate:  

5:30 AM– 3 PM

Mention time zones:

Eastern time
Central time
Mountain time
Pacific time

Date

Use the format (Month, day, year). Refer to the days of the week with the month and day).

National Popcorn Day is January 19, 2024!
This Sunday, January 19th, is National Popcorn Day!