Voice & Tone
The specific vocabulary you use will vary, but you should always ensure that the Ole Miss voice is driven by our brand voice.
Our voice and tone is a complement to our visual expression.
It’s the words we choose, the story we tell, and the emotional connection that we create. This section is a guide for communicators as they get comfortable with this exciting new way to tell our story.
Headline Constructions
Use this template as a way to express our actions and impact in unison.
This category of constructions is useful when we’re speaking in broad terms, especially to prospective students, about the potential of an Ole Miss education.
- Your legacy starts here.
- Lead your legacy.
- Ole Miss, Your Legacy.
- A legacy you want to be a part of.
- Improving ___________ , empowering _____________ .
- Improving our state, empowering our students.
- Creating access, building legacies.
- Educating the brightest, employing the best.
How we craft our message
Let these examples serve as inspiration for how we communicate our academic offer, our statewide support, and our dedication to the community. Consider using this language as a starting point as you’re getting comfortable with this voice, or as a gut check to read after you’ve written something.
This content should feel:
Intelligent, Dedicated
Headline ideas:
Where leaders build their legacies.
Define your life.
Copy sample:
Learning at the University of Mississippi is a life-changing experience. Our education extends beyond the classroom, allowing you to carve your own path toward meaningful career opportunities. That means working in the communities we serve, discovering alongside our top researchers, and leading by example every step of the way. And when you graduate, you become part of a network that’s dedicated to seeing you succeed. Are you ready to live your legacy?
This content should feel:
Enduring, Spirited, Forward-Looking
Headline ideas:
Advancing Mississippi. Inspiring our peers.
Defined by the success of our state.
Copy sample:
Advancing Mississippi is at the core of everything we do. We value what our state has to offer and take pride in investing in the people who keep us moving forward. That’s why when it comes to economic development, we ask: How many jobs can we create? How much growth will this provide? And how much will this benefit our state – not just our university? Because putting Mississippi first is in our DNA.
This content should feel:
Warm, Dynamic
Headline ideas:
Defined by our spirit.
Growing toward something bigger
Copy sample:
From the moment you step onto campus, you can feel the vibrancy of those who live, work and learn at the University of Mississippi. We are a community united in spirit and mission – meaning we work together to create an environment where everyone can feel safe, supported and capable of reaching their full potential. So come, visit our campus and start to see how your legacy can unfold at Ole Miss.
Writing for Digital
People don’t interact with digital content like they do with a print piece. With print, readers expect more of a linear journey. The web is a different world, with multiple tabs open, varying screen sizes, and an endless sea of information at your fingertips. Our website is the front door to the university.
- People go online either to find information quickly or to dive into a particular subject. In both cases, we must get them to the right info as rapidly and efficiently as possible.
- Ask yourself: What do they want to know? What are they trying to do?
- Keep in mind: A current student navigates our site much differently than a prospective student. Know when it’s time to keep the message high-level, and when to tailor it for a specific audience.
- Use headlines to describe what the page is about, engagingly and compellingly.
- Rather than just labeling the content, take the opportunity to add some context and let the brand voice shine.
- Avoid jargon. Use the vernacular that your target audience uses, so that the content feels welcoming and approachable.
- Pace out the content so that it’s digestible, even if the user is scrolling quickly down the page. This also makes information easier to find on the first try, and when the user returns to the site.
- People typically scan longer blocks of copy for keywords, and sometimes they skip the intro text. But a good intro copy does set the scene for the story that follows. So when you do use intro text, keep it to one or two lines.
- Our goal is to keep the user in the web experience. If they want to read on to find out more, make sure to give them an option to do so.
- Be direct about where you’re taking the user. Give them a clear idea of what’s about to happen when they click. That way, there are no surprises.
- Dial up the voice on the call-to-action buttons to draw attention and engage the user. Just don’t go so far that they distract from the message itself.
- Examples: Tell us your story. Visit our campus.
- Less than 20 percent of web content actually gets read. That doesn’t mean the rest is unimportant. But the more straightforward we are, the more text the user is likely to get through.
- Front-load the main points or key words in the paragraph structure for stronger search engine results.
- Try to stick to one main idea per paragraph.