Social media refers to all websites and applications that allow users to create and share information or participate in social networking. Currently, websites facilitating a network of a society are called social media platforms.  Social networking is based on network theory, which illustrates how nodes on the internet can be connected.  There is often confusion on what a social network is and what social media is.  A social network is a two-way nature communication platform, while social media is a real-time platform to broadcast the nature of communication by input and interaction.

Tone is the manner and attitude in which a message is delivered to evoke a specific response from followers. Tone articulates or implies an author’s emotional state. Tone is not just what a brand or leader says but how a leader says it. The leader’s voice is the personality and tones are how a leader conveys a message to his or her followers. If the tone is the leader/author’s attitude toward a subject, then the mood is how followers should feel as readers, or the emotion evoked by the leader/author.

Social media tone refers to a leader’s use of words, or mood, he or she conveys in a tweet.  The tone may show more: a social media actor’s indifference, objectivity, impartiality, or ambivalence, which can be both positive and negative.

Tone is a significant variable for all social media users. The quality of voice or tone that expresses the speaker's feelings in a post influences the number of replies or comments the post gets. This is proof of engagement with the target audience depending on voice or tone used.

According to Dr. Ravi Singh’s research, social media tone is associated with social media engagement. There is evidence that tone is significant in terms of its association with engagement within Twitter by looking at the number of likes, retweets, and replies.  Specifically, tone is associated with engagement, evidenced by the increase of both retweets and replies in Donald Trump’s Social Media Leader Persona.