The Complete Guide to Building Your Brand Voice
Learn how to build a unique, consistent, and relatable brand voice step by step. This simple guide will help you connect with your audience and stand out with authentic and clear communication.
If you want your brand to be recognizable, memorable, and authentic, you need to develop your brand voice. This guide will walk you through how to build it step by step, in a simple, clear, and practical way.
Key Takeaways
- Brand voice is your brand’s personality - it shapes how your brand sounds and feels across all platforms.
- Start by understanding your brand deeply - mission, values, and your audience are the foundation for your tone and messaging.
- Your audience determines your tone - tailor your style to the way your customers communicate and where they spend time.
- Consistency is key - use the same voice across websites, emails, social media, and support to build trust and recognition.
- Create clear guidelines - document brand traits, tones, and Do/Don’t examples so your whole team stays aligned.
- Your brand voice should evolve - track audience reactions, test different tones, and update your voice as needed.
What is brand voice?
Brand voice is the style and tone your brand uses to communicate with your audience. It's the "person" behind your messages. It can be friendly, serious, fun, inspirational - depending on what your brand stands for.
For example, think about how Nike communicates: powerful, motivational, direct. Duolingo: humorous, relaxed, sometimes even cheeky. Both companies have a strong brand voice because they know exactly how they want their audience to see them.
If your brand voice isn't clear, your messages can sound confusing and disconnected. People won’t understand what your brand is about, and that can push them away.
Step 1: Get to know your brand from the inside
Before writing any messages, you need to answer a few simple questions:
- What is my mission?
- What values does my brand support?
- Who am I talking to?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you won’t know how your brand should speak. For example, if your goal is to help small businesses grow, your tone should be friendly, positive, and supportive.
This is the time to be honest with yourself or your team - no sugarcoating.
Step 2: Understand your audience
Your brand voice should speak the language of your audience. That means you need to know:
- Who are your customers?
- How do they communicate?
- Which platforms do they use?
If you're talking to younger people who use TikTok, be relaxed, short, and fun. If you're addressing IT professionals, use a more serious and clear style.
When you know who you're talking to, it’s easier to know how to talk to them. That way, your brand voice feels natural and convincing.
Step 3: Review your existing content
If you already have a website, blog, email campaigns, or social media, do a quick review:
- Do all your texts sound the same?
- Do they have a similar writing style?
- Are there parts that clearly show what your brand stands for?
This review helps you see what’s already working and what needs improving. If you don’t have content yet, feel free to skip this step and move on.
Step 4: Define your brand's personality
Imagine your brand is a person. How would you describe them?
- Cheerful and talkative?
- Serious and professional?
- Creative and unconventional?
Write down 3 to 5 traits that best describe your brand personality. Based on that, you can create a voice chart - a table with guidelines:
| Trait | How it sounds in writing | How it should NOT sound |
|---|---|---|
| Friendly | "Hey! Glad you’re here!" | "Dear customer..." |
| Professional | "You can count on us." | "We’re not exactly sure..." |
| Casual | "No worries, we’ve got this." | "You must follow all rules" |
This chart will be the base for your brand voice guidelines document.
Step 5: Create your brand voice guidelines
It’s time to write everything down. Here’s what your guidelines should include:
- A short description of your brand personality (a few sentences)
- Primary tones you use (e.g. friendly, inspirational)
- Secondary tones for specific situations (e.g. serious for customer support)
- Do & Don’t examples
For example:
Do: “Write like you’re talking to a friend”
Don’t: “Use complicated words and formal language”
The goal is that anyone on your team can read this document and create content that “sounds like your brand.”
Step 6: Use your brand voice everywhere
Once you know how your brand speaks, apply it everywhere:
- On your website (headlines, descriptions, contact forms)
- In emails (newsletters, confirmations, onboarding)
- On social media (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter)
- In ads
- In customer support (chat, email, FAQ)
It’s important your tone is consistent. Don’t be fun on Instagram and too serious in emails.
Step 7: Test, adjust, and grow
Brand voice changes over time. It grows with you and your followers.
- Watch how your audience reacts (comments, engagement, messages)
- Ask for feedback
- Try different tones (A/B testing)
If you notice your audience has changed or your style doesn’t fit anymore, feel free to change your writing rules.
Conclusion
Once you define your brand voice, it will be much easier to create content, stand out from the crowd, and build an emotional connection with your audience.
Your brand voice doesn’t have to be perfect. But it should be real and consistent.
To finish, here’s a challenge for you:
Write your "About Us" page using everything you’ve learned here.
