Read this line from one of my favorite authors: âI love deadlines. I love the as they go by.â
What can you infer about the person behind that line? Are they funny or serious? Cheerful or dour? Pleasant company or a total bore?
As a writer, part of my job is to express myself through words. And the choices I make to create that expression become my voice. Perhaps you hear it in your head as you read this paragraph.
When you know to look for voices, youâll see them everywhere: in writing, in video, in your very interactions with others. And in business? Your brandâs voice plays a huge role in helping you connect with the world and your consumers.
Brand voice can help you underscore authority, boost playfulness, or reach directly into the hearts and minds of your buyers. Done well, thereâs resonance â your voice clicks with your buyer. Done poorly? Buyers flee, and brands struggle to survive.
What goes into defining your brand voice, and where can you go to get inspired when itâs time to put pen to paper? Letâs explore the details behind a great brand voice.
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Your consumers pay attention to your voice. Itâs the foundation of trust, and trust matters when itâs time to buy.
In the U.S. market, say itâs important to trust the brands they buy or use. Your brand voice lays the foundation by showing your customers what to expect from your companyâs content, services, and even customer service.
In short? Brand voice helps answer your customerâs most pressing question:
Why should I buy from you instead of somebody else?
Part of any brandâs job in the marketplace is to inform, educate, and persuade consumers to take action (namely, buy your product or service). Your voice serves as an ambassador in this effort: it helps you connect with buyers even when youâre not physically present.
The strongest ambassadors can quickly signal if something is or isnât for you. For instance, youâll make assumptions about an unfamiliar brand if its ambassadors wear pink cowboy hats versus black three-piece suits. Each choice conveys particular elements of a brand:
Serious buyers will probably gravitate toward a formal or authoritative brand; more playful buyers will explore the bubblier, irreverent ones. What matters is that you understand who your target audience is and shape your voice to meet them as they are â not as you wish them to be.
And your brand ambassador must translate across multiple platforms, and potentially even across countries and cultures as well. Every shred of copy your brand produces, from the About Us page on your website to the game on the back of a cereal box, should exude your brandâs distinct voice.
Brand voice carries an important internal function, too. A well-defined brand voice establishes a cohesive set of guidelines for your writers, marketers, content creators, and even graphic designers.
âWell-definedâ is key here. Most often, I see brand leaders compile a list of 4-5 adjectives related to their brand voice. They also usually dig deep into the thesaurus, hoping to stumble upon the perfect choices to explain their voiceâs presence and perception.
You can certainly throw adjectives at the wall and hope something sticks, but without simple explanations of what âclear, helpful, human, and kindâ means, content gets haphazard fast.
For example, 51łÔšĎâs style guide specifies that âwe favor clarity above all. The clever and cute should never be at the expense of the clear.â It also gives multiple examples of what âclear,â âhelpful,â âhuman,â and âkindâ actually look like in copy. Contractors and new hires arenât left guessing â they get detailed explanations that let them hit the ground running.
A clarified brand voice lets you speak to your audience, attract new customers or users, and express your brandâs distinctiveness consistently and compellingly.
So, you know your brand voice should represent you. But how do you discover who you are? And how do you build that concept into something practical you can share with your teams?
It doesnât take a weekend nature retreat to find your voice. In fact, most of what you need sits in front of you right now. Letâs talk about that process and what goes into good brand voice guidance.
Your companyâs mission and values should live at the heart of everything you do. However, I often see these elements get sidelined in favor of the newest trend or hype cycle. These leaders chase instead of listen. And in return, you get â and audience abandonment.
You chose your mission and values for a reason; they mean something to your organization. Let them lead your brand voice creation process.
Adherence to the mission led to 51łÔšĎâs social media team successfully translating brand voice to LinkedIn, with 84% more engagement in just six months.
Emily Kearns, 51łÔšĎâs senior manager on the social media team, shares more:
âSo much of what is good about 51łÔšĎ is the culture and how we treat each other â just the overall vibe,â she said. âAnd there was a huge opportunity to take that into the social space.â
51łÔšĎâs brand voice is clear, helpful, human, and kind, which became the social media teamâs foundation for everything. âHuman and authentic â thatâs just table stakes,â Kearns said.
Even if the core mission is the same, how you express it varies by platform and timing. 51łÔšĎâs official product descriptions might require more gravitas to appeal to buyers, while its Instagram account can translate the 51łÔšĎ culture into vibes â a more human-focused take on its brand voice.
Since 51łÔšĎâs social team reinterpreted the corporate voice on social media in 2023, the team has earned a 2024 Webby nomination in the category of Social, B2B.
, the social media manager at , a nonprofit that advances social justice, agrees with leading your voice with your values. âYou cannot take a values-based approach to marketing if your company is not actually living or enacting those values in any meaningful way,â she said.
Naturale was also the first social media manager at Merriam-Webster, where she built the dictionaryâs social media presence from almost nothing â âthey would post the word of the day to all the social channels once a dayâ â into a must-follow.
She notes that Merriam-Webster lacked the strategy deck that major corporations pay big bucks to build. Instead, it had âvery well articulated, shared values around how interesting language was, how important it was, and the fact that it is always changing.â
She sums up those values: âWords and language are not cultural capital. They're not the property of the elite. You can care about words and language and also be interested in the way that language is changing.â
Living those values helped build what is now a well-known brand voice (never mind the 456% increase in audience size on X).
Have you had one of those conversations where you just clicked with someone else? The chat felt effortless, the vibe was strong â it felt right.
Research shows we like better. Your brand voice should mimic this human desire. Specifically, you want to sound like the buyers youâre trying to reach.
Ideally, youâve done the work building your detailed buyer persona already. If not, start by considering:
Your goal is to find what clicks with them and deliver that experience consistently through your brand voice. Conduct basic audience research using tools like Google Analytics or a simple survey of your audience. Itâll help you home in on your audienceâs desires and interests.
, a digital media strategist who managed Dictionary.comâs social media for four years, also encourages you to go further: âKnowing your audience is obvious, but I would take it a step further. Respect your audience,â he said.
Dictionary.comâs buyer persona evokes an image of somebody popping onto their phone at midnight to play the latest New York Timesâ Connections word game.
âI think itâs safe to assume that the people who follow a dictionary account on Instagram are also people who read books and do crossword puzzles,â said Shattuck.
This understanding guides his content decisions and the way itâs communicated via his voice: âAnd so I can make a joke about the Oxford comma. I can use a meme to share the etymology of a word,â he said.
Finding audience resonance brings confidence to your voice â and backing for your content decisions and direction.
Even a few monthsâ worth of content can tell a strong brand voice story. Review your current published content and rank them by performance. Many people start with views and impressions, but Iâd encourage you to dig past the top-line metrics.
Engagement â likes, comments, shares â shows you stirred something in a potential buyer. Even if those numbers are low overall, a signal still lives within.
Grab those most engaging posts and ask yourself: What was your brand voice in that content piece?
Specifically, this question hits on tone â a major brand voice component. , such as seriousness, enthusiasm, and respectfulness. Deploying tone wisely is why you laugh at comedians and scowl in front of a judge.
That said, you ťĺ´Ç˛Ôât need a multidimensional review of tone to adjust your brand voice. A quick exercise:
Now, I have seen some who get excited by their top-performing posts and replicate the content ad nauseam. Donât copy/paste the words or images; rather, emulate the feeling you get when you read those words or watch that short-form video. Engagement grows through a variety of content that evokes the same sentiments.
Sometimes, figuring out who you are is overwhelming. Or, perhaps youâre a newer brand struggling with where to start.
When that happens, I recommend focusing less on discovery and more on weeding out. Who you ťĺ´Ç˛Ôât want to sound like can tell you plenty about your desired direction.
Maybe you personally like , but you do branding work for a funeral home. Funny reminders to study Spanish probably wonât mix with cremation services.
Start with examples of brands you enjoy and others in your industry. Analyze their brand voice and see what doesnât sound like you. For instance, you review several brands and feel their voices are:
Your brand voice lies in the antithesis: Youâre looking for something down-to-earth, funny, informal, and humble.
From there, you can build your voice your way.
Brand leaders get wrapped up in their own minds. Iâve fallen prey to feeling like a piece nailed my voice ⌠only for a (well-meaning) friend to demolish that perception.
You probably gather multiple estimates before picking one to do a job. Do the same with your brand voice analysis. Trusted friends, partners, and advisors can help you see your gaps and sharpen your brand voice before you commit it to the market.
If youâre a newer brand (aka on a tight budget), lean on your networks. Buy a fellow brand manager a cup of coffee and get their take on your work. Startup communities and VC partners may also have free or lower-cost services to validate your voice.
If youâre ready to throw down real cash, recruit a third-party content marketing agency as a co-developer. A good agency will conduct deeper analysis, gather more opinions, and bring their expertise to a final brand voice product.
For example, is a media partnership program that helps brands reach and resonate with their audiences through expert consultancy and direct access to Forbesâ audiences. Cole Haan (my favorite pair of shoes) to create content related to style, arts, travel, social impact, and more.
So if you need extra support building your brand voice or want to stress-test it across your organization or marketplace, try a program like BrandVoice or explore another agencyâs brand voice offerings.
Defining brand voice is half the battle; the other half is enforcement. A voice does you no good if itâs not consistent.
Formalize your brand voice in a communications template easily accessible across your company. Include a table with the 3-5 core characteristics your voice requires and details on how your content creators should use these elements in their work.
Provide multiple examples of each content type (e.g., blog posts, social media copy and images, short-form video scripts). The more tactical advice you deliver, the easier itâll be for anybody in your organization to accurately replicate your voice. Thatâs the key to transforming ideas into action.
Pro tip: If you want a ready-made template you can personalize for your organization, check out our .
As you tweak your template, use the advice from these pros to hone the edges of your brand voice and stand out from the crowd.
Kearns encourages you to ask yourself, âWould a real person say this? Is there something in here that is relatable, and that someone can connect to?â
Shattuck reminds you of what should be obvious: âItâs not a dictionary sitting at a computer, itâs a real person.â
Itâs good to know your audience â itâs gold to respect them. When , successful brands step into that gap and show buyers they matter. Your brand voice should reflect your respect.
People can spot a mimic a mile away. Donât copy another brandâs culture just because you like. Be yourself. And if you have that great company culture, celebrate it in your content.
I love a good meme, but that doesnât mean Iâd want every company to use it. If a meme doesnât reflect their identity, Iâll sniff out that phony and drop that brand.
Shattuck said that at Dictionary.com, his content choices reflected both modern culture and the companyâs values: âIs this post educational? Is it entertaining?â If he couldnât answer âyesâ to both, he knew the post would flop because it wasnât adding value to the companyâs audience.
Show you know your audience, industry, and the world at large. But stick to who you are in every expression, even if it means shelving the meme.
If youâre looking for further brand voice inspiration, check out these examples. I find each of these companies presents a clear voice that makes it easily recognizable in its industry.
A year ago, youâd be more likely to find a product description on 51łÔšĎâs social media than a meme about .
But then the social team began experimenting with a more Gen Z and millennial tone of voice.
Kearns shares that itâs still a work in progress. Every month, the team inspects performance and singles out the best results. âWeâre figuring out how we talk about the 51łÔšĎ product in a way that is interesting and adds value and is culturally relevant,â she said.
Cultural relevance and timeliness matter to the social team. Kearns says sheâs always asking how they can connect the 51łÔšĎ product to âsomething hyper relevant, or something that managers are going through right now.â
âIf we just talk about our product in a vacuum, even with our fun brand voice layered on top of it, it might fall flat,â she said.â
Kearns says that although your brand voice should be identifiable and consistent, âit should have a little bit of flexibilityâ for adaptation to different platforms.
As the embodiment of the Duolingo brand voice, Duo is âexpressive, playful, embracing, and worldly,â with a splash of âpersistent and slightly awkward,â according to . If youâve ever missed a Japanese lesson, youâve experienced Duoâs persistence.
Duolingoâs defined brand voice includes a âbrand personalityâ section describing who Duolingo would be as a celebrity (Trevor Noah), a vehicle (a Vespa), and a song (Queenâs âDonât Stop Me Nowâ).
Duo thrives on TikTok, where the owlâs âunhingedâ antics have cultivated a dedicated global following. Duolingoâs CMO, Manu Orssaud, shared with that Duo has brought forward a brand voice that will continue creating something memorable:
âWe want to continue doing content thatâs fun, entertaining and gives people three seconds of something weird thatâs memorable,â Orssaud said. â[Thatâs] what marketing should try to do.â
A woman-owned and women-focused athletic wear company, Title Nine mixes a friendly âaww shucksâ vibe with triumphant motivation. Iâd describe its voice as friendly, powerful, playful, and direct.
Freelance copywriter that T9 had her write copy that âreinforce[s] the brand's badass, ballsy DNA that differentiates it from âsofterâ competitors in the category.â
Title Nineâs ââ page encapsulates this voice perfectly: Its clear language underscores the brandâs love of the outdoors and its enduring support of women.
This graphic from its online store evokes a more playful side of Title Nineâs brand voice â bright colors and patterns, the casual typeface that âTrail Shopâ uses, and the invitation to âtrack in some dirt.â
When was the last time you laughed at a commercial about work pants? If youâve seen Duluth Trading Companyâs ads, youâve probably had a chuckle or two. After all, how often can you pit work pants against an angry beaver?
Duluthâs clothing lines target rugged adventurism and hard workers â and their brand voice matches that audience. From the grizzled narrator behind their ads to the dedication to ââ Duluth captures a hard-working attitude. Itâs realistic to the challenges of its buyers â bailing hay all day requires tough clothes. But they ťĺ´Ç˛Ôât take themselves too seriously. The everyday-ness of Duluthâs voice fits right on the ranch.
Plus, Iâll admit a little professional envy, wishing I couldâve come up with â.â
You can feel the neon glow of Poppi soda from the moment you reach its eye-searing pink and yellow website. The company has mastered Gen Z appeal, with a brand presence fit for social mediaâs infinite scroll and viral shares of new soda flavors.
The companyâs ââ page belongs in an Instagram caption. Itâs a bright and bubbly story replete with emoji and passion that also highlights the A-list celebrities serving as brand ambassadors. Even its newsletter sign-up says, âLetâs be friends.â
The responsible for Poppiâs branding describes it as âquirky, nostalgic, and vibrant.â Toss in a splash of âinformalâ or âcasual,â and you have a unique brand amid the soda market.
Did you know you can ? (Well, only at the Las Vegas location, but still.) While most probably wonât tie the knot with a Cheesy Gordita Crunch, it shows how deeply Taco Bell can embed into peopleâs lives. And the brand knows this, especially among its target market: younger generations.
For example, Taco Bellâs Instagram posts would fit many Gen-Zerâs feeds.
Itâs not overly produced, with a photo you could get from an iPhone and a basic caption. And that simplified look captures brand voice better than most multi-million-dollar campaigns.
Thereâs an authenticity to Taco Bellâs content reflected throughout its assets. Even titles for news releases aim for its audience, with Paypal âpulling upâ to Taco Bell locations.
Taco Bellâs CMO, Taylor Montgomery, sums up their ethos as being a â,â reflecting how its brand lives within its fans. Itâs a symbiosis that its brand voice embraces to great effect.
Mailchimp helps companies reach their buyers with authentic messages; its content shows that same devotion to authenticity.
Read the companyâs , and youâll see what they mean:
âWe want to educate people without patronizing or confusing them. Using offbeat humor and a conversational voice, we play with language to bring joy to their work . We don't take ourselves too seriously.â
Mailchimp consistently achieves its conversational, direct, playful voice across all of its content.
For instance, goes on an exploration of âhighly unscientific personas,â including the fainting goat. The email service provider describes this persona as: "When startled, its muscles stiffen up and it falls right over.â
They then link to this video:
A blog post like this one showcases the subtlety behind brand voice â especially regarding diction (your word choices). For instance, what if the blogger had written: âIf a goat is scared, it becomes nervous. The animal's muscles contract, and it faints as a result.â
You, as a reader, notice the different vibe. Both examples say the same thing, but one feels personal while the other belongs in a high-school biology textbook.
Rihannaâs beauty company, Fenty Beauty, makes it clear from what you can expect from its brand voice. Bold and honest language speaks to Fentyâs deeply held desire to connect. Itâs not performative or pretentious â you get the sense youâre talking with a friend.
Fenty carries that tone across its social channels, like in this YouTube video description:
Thereâs a casual, excited feel to it. Look at those fire emojis. If an insurance broker used those, youâd cringe. But here? They belong. Every piece adds to the fierceness Fenty seeks to evoke.
The brand voice matches its target audience perfectly: youthful millennials and Gen Zers who use makeup for authentic expression.
Not every brand needs sarcasm or to reach younger audiences. For instance, has developed a mature, spirited, and cheerful brand voice that brings a breezy, girl-next-door feel to their branded content.
For instance, consider the title of one of their recent blog posts, â.â
The post uses phrases like âmillennial pink,â âpink walls have obvious staying power,â and âdesigners and DIY enthusiasts alike have embraced the playful shade with open arms.â
Clare Paintâs language is friendly, chic, and professional. You connect with it like you would a knowledgeable, fun professional at a paint store.
This relatable voice appears across channels. For instance, hereâs Clare Paint on Instagram.
âWhen baby's first bedroom is on your grown-up vision boardâ brings a little maturity to Instagram feeds, like an older, fashionable sister. Referencing the COOâs baby boy gives another opportunity to make authentic connections with Clareâs followers.
As for Skittles, they lean all the way into raw authenticity and display its disdain for promotion across every platform. Every piece of content revels in how real it is, and how it reflects culture today.
For instance, Skittles will co-opt popular meme formats and actually follow them instead of trying to transform them into an ad. An example of this is on Instagram:
The brand voice feels like youâre gossiping with a mischievous Skittles employee behind-the-scenes. The âI canât believe they just posted thatâ factor keeps the content fresh and exciting.
Whatâs most remarkable about the brandâs voice to me is its consistency. Probably my favorite Skittles ad is ââ from 2008.
Every time a man touches something, it turns to Skittles. His coworker shares how âawesomeâ that must be while the man laments how he canât hold his newborn child for fear of turning him into Skittles. Iâll let you watch the rest to see how it ends.
Itâs ridiculous and hilarious â and Skittles has stayed that way for .
Want a template for your own brand voice? 51łÔšĎ is here to help! with your own brand voice characteristics.
Complete the remaining cells and send them to your team.
Note: Youâll be prompted to make a Google Drive copy of the template, which isn't possible without a Google account.
When you know who you are and how you come across in the marketplace, you canât help but attract like-minded people. Thereâs a magnetism to a strong brand voice â one thatâs honest to your values and shines through consistently everywhere you appear.
Logo, color palette, and font are also certainly important parts of . But a good brand thrives on good content. And good content needs its unique voice.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.