Even if you鈥檙e brand new to brand voice, you already know exactly what it is. I promise.
Think of a few of your favorite brands, and consider why they鈥檙e favs. The product or service probably has a lot to do with it, but that鈥檚 only part of the story 鈥 a brand鈥檚 voice or personality is also a major factor in consumer loyalty.
Think about the overall vibe of your favorite brand 鈥 is it friendly? Authoritative? Funny? That鈥檚 brand voice at work.
A well-defined brand voice can underscore your authority, play up your playfulness, or simply bring the directness and relatability that consumers look for in brands. A poorly defined voice, or one that changes frequently, undermines your brand and alienates customers or clients.
So let鈥檚 talk about how to start from scratch by looking at the elements that form a brand鈥檚 voice, plus 10 examples to inspire you.
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Your company鈥檚 voice should resonate with your audience and build trust with them. In the U.S. market, say it鈥檚 important to trust the brands they buy or use.
Your brand voice shows your customers what to expect from your company鈥檚 content, services, and even customer service.
Brand voice is a little bit like a brand ambassador.
You鈥檒l make certain assumptions about an unfamiliar brand if its ambassadors are clad in pink cowboy hats or in black three-piece suits. And you鈥檒l know immediately whether you鈥檙e the target audience.
A brand鈥檚 voice is usually defined by four or so adjectives that immediately convey whether you鈥檙e a pink cowboy hat kind of brand (bubbly, playful, youthful, irreverent) or a black three-piece suit kind of brand (somber, formal, authoritative, exclusive).
Every bit of copy that your brand produces, whether it鈥檚 the About Us page on your website or the game on the back of a cereal box, should exude your brand鈥檚 distinct voice.
Put some thought into those four(ish) adjectives 鈥 we鈥檒l show you how 鈥 because your brand voice has to translate across multiple platforms, and potentially even across countries and cultures.
It has 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.
鈥淲ell-defined鈥 is key here 鈥 you can throw a bunch of adjectives at the wall and hope something sticks, but without a solid explanation of what 鈥渃lear, helpful, human, and kind鈥 means, you鈥檙e in danger of muddied or inconsistent content.
探花精选鈥檚 style guide, for instance, specifies that 鈥渨e favor clarity above all. The clever and cute should never be at the expense of the clear.鈥 It also gives multiple examples of what 鈥渃lear,鈥 鈥渉elpful,鈥 鈥渉uman,鈥 and 鈥渒ind鈥 actually look like in our copy 鈥 a godsend for contractors and new hires.
Once you鈥檝e nailed down your brand鈥檚 voice, you鈥檒l find it easier to speak directly to your audience, attract new customers or users, and express your brand鈥檚 distinctiveness.
Bring your customers into the conversation so they feel connected to your brand. If a potential customer feels like you鈥榬e talking directly to them, then you鈥檙e doing brand voice right.
Your own values, and your company鈥檚 mission, are critical as you embark on your brand voice journey.
It鈥檚 how 探花精选鈥檚 social media team translated the brand voice to LinkedIn 鈥 and got 84% more engagement in just six months.
I asked Emily Kearns, 探花精选鈥檚 Senior Manager, Social Media, to tell me more.
鈥淪o much of what is good about 探花精选 is the culture and how we treat each other 鈥 just the overall vibe,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd there was a huge opportunity to take that into the social space.鈥
探花精选鈥檚 brand voice is clear, helpful, human, and kind, and Kearns says that the social media team used that as its foundation. 鈥淗uman and authentic 鈥 that鈥檚 just table stakes,鈥 she says.
But there are different ways to express clarity, helpfulness, humanness, and kindness. Where our official product descriptions might require a little more gravitas, our Instagram account can translate the 探花精选 culture into ~vibes~.
Since it began reinterpreting 探花精选鈥檚 corporate voice on social media in 2023, our 探花精选 social 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 that values are foundational to your brand voice. 鈥淵ou cannot take a values-based approach to marketing if your company is not actually living or enacting those values in any meaningful way.鈥
Naturale was also the first social media manager at Merriam-Webster, where she developed the dictionary鈥檚 social media presence from practically nothing 鈥 鈥渢hey would post the word of the day to all the social channels once a day鈥 鈥 into a must-follow.
She says that Merriam-Webster didn鈥檛 have the kind of strategy deck that a big corporation would have sunk a lot of money into. What it did have was 鈥渧ery well articulated, shared values around how interesting language was, how important it was, and the fact that it is always changing.鈥
She sums those values up: 鈥淲ords 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.鈥
From those values, she built what is now a well-known brand voice (never mind the 456% increase in Twitter audience she ushered in).
Your buyer persona should answer a few vital questions: Who are you trying to reach? What do they need from your brand? What can your brand offer them that no one else can?
Audience research can help you identify other types of content that are reliably appealing to your audience.
Tools like Google Analytics, or even a simple survey of your audience, can help you determine or confirm other sites that your readers frequent.
, a digital media strategist who managed Dictionary.com鈥檚 social media for four years, tells me, 鈥淜nowing your audience is obvious, but I would take it a step further. Respect your audience.鈥
Dictionary.com鈥檚 buyer persona 鈥 or its target users 鈥 likely paints a picture of somebody who does the New York Times鈥 Connections word game as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 safe to assume that the people who follow a dictionary account on Instagram are also people who read books and do crossword puzzles,鈥 as Shattuck puts it.
鈥淎nd so I can make a joke about the Oxford comma. I can use a meme to share the etymology of a word.鈥
If your voice doesn't resonate with your audience, keep experimenting.
If you've already been publishing content for a few months or even years, take a look at your top-performing pieces to find out what鈥檚 resonating with your audience.
How would you describe your brand voice in that content? It might be assured and authoritative, with deep topical knowledge backed up by original research. It could be playful and irreverent, using memes and pop-culture references to connect with your audience.
Make a list of adjectives that describe your voice in your top-performing pieces, and highlight the common elements. From there, you can start to make strategic decisions about which elements should be replicated across your brand.
It鈥檚 also helpful to research the content formats that perform the best in your industry and geographic location. (Pro tip: It鈥檚 probably short-form video.)
If you get stuck trying to define your brand voice, try defining what you 诲辞苍鈥檛 want it to be.
For instance, perhaps your team brainstorms the following statements:
Our brand voice is not pretentious.
Our brand voice is not too serious.
Our brand voice is not grandiose.
Our brand voice is not unfriendly.
Once you've taken a look at these statements, you can begin forming the antithesis. For example, the above list might yield a brand voice that鈥檚 down to earth, funny, informal, and humble.
is a media partnership program that helps brands reach and resonate with their audiences through expert consultancy and direct access to Forbes audiences.
Take a look at how to create content related to style, arts, travel, social impact, and more. Each piece uses a unique voice to target the intended audience for that category.
If you're struggling to create a unique brand voice or you 诲辞苍鈥檛 know how to adapt your vision to the different areas of your business, consider using a program like BrandVoice or a third-party content marketing agency. This will help you take your brand鈥檚 game to the next level.
Once you鈥榲e created your brand voice, you鈥檒l want to ensure your entire company can use that voice in all marketing materials.
If your company only uses internal writers, consider creating a training course for new staff so they can learn how to write for your brand. If you work with external guest contributors, you'll want to make public-facing guidelines to ensure all your writing captures the appropriate voice.
Use a table to formalize your process. Write down three to five core characteristics you鈥榲e determined are important for your brand鈥檚 voice and how your writers can use these traits in their writing.
This step is important for translating ideas into action 鈥 how can your writers create a 鈥渉umble, authentic voice鈥 in their writing?
Give some examples or tactical advice to make it easy for your brand voice to come through in all of your content, regardless of byline.
To explore what a template could look like in practice, take a look at the brand voice template below.
Although social media is just one component of a brand鈥檚 voice, it鈥檚 often the most public and the most prolific. So I asked the social media pros I talked to for this article for their top tips on crafting a brand voice.
Kearns says to ask yourself, 鈥淲ould a real person say this? Is there something in here that is relatable, and that someone can connect to?鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a dictionary sitting at a computer,鈥 Shattuck tells me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real person.鈥
It bears repeating: Don鈥檛 just know your audience. Respect them.
You won鈥檛 win authenticity points if you鈥檙e trying to mimic another brand鈥檚 culture. Conversely, if you have a great company culture 鈥 channel it and celebrate it in your social accounts.
This doesn鈥檛 mean you should meme-ify everything 鈥 but it does mean that memes are fair game if you stay on-brand.
Shattuck said that at Dictionary.com, he always asked himself, 鈥淚s this post educational? Is it entertaining?鈥 If he couldn鈥檛 answer 鈥測es鈥 to both,, he knew the post wouldn鈥檛 do well because it wasn鈥檛 adding any value.
Before you start crafting your unique voice, turn to role models who have perfected their tone. Here are 10 examples to get you started.
You can see other distinct brand voices in the video below.
A year ago, you鈥檇 be more likely to find a product description on 探花精选鈥檚 social media than a meme about .
But then the social team began experimenting with a more Gen Z and millennial tone of voice.
It鈥檚 still a work in progress, Kearns tells me, and every month the team takes a close look at what performs well and what doesn鈥檛. 鈥淲e鈥檙e figuring out how we talk about the 探花精选 product in a way that is interesting and adds value and is culturally relevant.鈥
Cultural relevance and timeliness are major considerations for the social team. Kearns says she鈥檚 always asking herself how they can connect the 探花精选 product to 鈥渟omething hyper relevant, or something that managers are going through right now.鈥
鈥淚f we just talk about our product in a vacuum, even with our fun brand voice layered on top of it, it might fall flat.鈥
Kearns says that although your brand voice should be identifiable and consistent, 鈥渋t should have a little bit of flexibility鈥 so you can adapt it to different platforms.
Duo the owl is the face that launched a thousand memes.
The feathery embodiment of the Duolingo brand voice, Duo is 鈥渆xpressive, playful, embracing, and worldly.鈥 That鈥檚 according to , which also notes that Duo is both 鈥減ersistent鈥 and 鈥渟lightly awkward.鈥
Duolingo鈥檚 defined brand voice includes a 鈥渂rand personality鈥 section that describes who Duolingo would be as a celebrity (Trevor Noah), a vehicle (a Vespa), and a song (Queen鈥檚 鈥淒on鈥檛 Stop Me Now鈥).
Duolingo鈥檚 Senior Global Social Media Manager, Zaria Parvez, told , 鈥淒ream big, but iterate small.鈥
If you鈥檝e spent any time on the clock app, you鈥檙e familiar with Duo鈥檚 occasionally unhinged antics 鈥 which all started with Parvez asking to take over Duolingo鈥檚 then-dormant TikTok account.
A woman-owned and women-focused athleticwear company, Title Nine combines a friendly 鈥渁ww shucks鈥 vibe with a triumphant fist pump.
Freelance copywriter that T9 brought her in to write copy that 鈥渞einforce[s] the brand's badass, ballsy DNA that differentiates it from 鈥榮ofter鈥 competitors in the category.鈥
Title Nine鈥檚 鈥淲ho We Are鈥 page encapsulates this voice perfectly: It鈥檚 written in clear, simple language that underscores the brand鈥檚 love of the outdoors and its enduring support of women.
This graphic from its online store brings out a more playful side of Title Nine鈥檚 brand voice, evident in the bright colors and patterns, the casual typeface that 鈥淭rail Shop鈥 uses, and the invitation to 鈥渢rack in some dirt.鈥
Title Nine doesn鈥檛 have a publicly accessible brand guide, but I鈥檇 describe its voice as friendly, powerful, playful, and direct.
True story: A customer service rep at Capital One once had to read me a list of recent credit card charges so I could confirm whether they were mine or a fraud.
Poor dude was clearly mortified at having to read 鈥淲ho Gives a Crap鈥 out loud, saying, 鈥淭his is the company name, I am just reading this off a list, it is not me saying this.鈥
So he鈥檚 maybe not 奥骋补颁鈥檚 target audience, which is considerably more relaxed on the topic of toilet paper.
奥骋补颁鈥檚 tells a tale of toilet jokes and changing the world. Successfully combining something so ridiculous with a very real and very serious global problem is no easy task, but the ability to walk that line nicely sums up the brand鈥檚 voice.
鈥淢aking a difference in the world鈥 can be a hard value to channel in a brand voice, since the brand (and the people behind it) have to demonstrably live up to the promise of effecting change.
Who Gives a Crap gives a lot of specific details that indicate that lack of access to a toilet is an issue that the founders genuinely care about. The product descriptions do the same. Take this one for a special poetry edition TP (I am not making this up):
鈥淐reate an ode in the commode鈥 is pretty hard to beat for terrible poetry. The product description ends with, 鈥淎nd since we donate 50% of profits, you鈥檙e not just building ballads, you鈥檙e doing good, too!鈥 鈥 a reminder of the brand鈥檚 promise in a goofy, casual tone.
奥骋补颁鈥檚 brand voice might be described as cheeky (pun absolutely intended), lighthearted but rooted in a cause that鈥檚 deeply serious, informal, and conversational.
Poppi soda blares its voice from the moment you land on its eye-searing bright pink and yellow website. Known for having a Gen Z-friendly voice, DrinkPoppi.com looks more like a neon Instagram feed than a website for flavored sparkling water.
Its 鈥淎bout Us鈥 page brags about 鈥渘ew besties鈥 like Billie Eilish and Post Malone, and even its newsletter sign-up says, 鈥淟et鈥檚 be friends.鈥
The responsible for Poppi鈥檚 branding describes 鈥渢he world of Poppi鈥 as 鈥渜uirky, nostalgic, and vibrant.鈥 I鈥檇 add to that 鈥渋nformal鈥 or 鈥渃asual.鈥
Whether you鈥榬e watching a TV ad, driving past a billboard, or scrolling Spotify鈥檚 social accounts, you'll see a consistent voice. The brand鈥檚 tone is consistently funny, edgy, direct, and concise.
For instance, take a look at this video, which is part of a Spotify advertisement campaign from 2019, 鈥淟et the Song Play.鈥
As you can see, Spotify doesn鈥榯 take itself too seriously. The ad makes fun of people who get so emotionally invested in a song that they won鈥檛 resume their plans until the song ends.
You鈥榣l see a similar brand voice play out on Spotify鈥檚 social channels. On its , for instance, the brand often posts tweets related to new music in a casual, friendly manner.
If Spotify鈥榮 brand were a person, she would be witty, sarcastic, and up-to-date on today鈥檚 pop culture references. You鈥榣l see that personality play out across all of Spotify鈥檚 communication channels.
When exploring Mailchimp's brand voice, turn to the company鈥檚 Content Style Guide.
In the Style Guide, Mailchimp writes, 鈥淲e 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.鈥 We don't take ourselves too seriously.鈥
Even in the Style Guide, you can hear Mailchimp's brand voice shine through. The company consistently achieves a conversational, direct, playful voice in all its content.
For instance, in , the brand writes about various 鈥渉ighly unscientific personas鈥, including the fainting goat. The email service provider describes this persona by saying, "when startled, its muscles stiffen up and it falls right over.鈥
They then link out to this hilarious video.
As you can see from this example, you can evoke brand voice in subtle yet effective ways. If the blogger had instead written, 鈥淚f a goat is scared, it becomes nervous. The animal's muscles contract and it faints as a result鈥, the writer would've evoked a voice more aligned with a scientific journal than Mailchimp.
The for Rihanna's beauty company reads, "Before she was BadGalRiRi: music, fashion and beauty icon, Robyn Rihanna Fenty was a little girl in Barbados transfixed by her mother鈥檚 lipstick.
The first time she experienced makeup for herself, she never looked back. Makeup became her weapon of choice for self-expression."
It鈥榮 clear, even just through this short snippet, that Fenty Beauty鈥檚 voice is bold, direct, and poetic. Language like 鈥渢ransfixed by her mother's lipstick鈥 and 鈥渉er weapon of choice for self-expression鈥 reinforce this voice. However, the tone is also undeniably casual 鈥 the way you might talk to your best friend.
You'll see this voice play out across all Fenty social channels, including :
The first statement, 鈥淭he blur is REAL!鈥 鈥 along with phrases like 鈥淣o-makeup makeup look鈥, and the shortening of the word 鈥渃ombination鈥 鈥 all evoke a sense of friendliness.
The brand voice matches its target audience perfectly: youthful millennials and Gen-Zers who care about makeup as an opportunity for authentic expression.
Clare, an online paint site, has created a mature, spirited, and cheerful brand voice to evoke a breezy, girl-next-door feel to their branded content.
For instance, consider the title of one of their recent blog posts,
The post uses phrases like 鈥渕illennial pink鈥, 鈥減ink walls have obvious staying power鈥, and 鈥渄esigners and DIY enthusiasts alike have embraced the playful shade with open arms.鈥
The brand鈥檚 language is friendly, chic, and professional, relating to its readers while simultaneously demonstrating the brand's home decor expertise.
This voice is clear across channels. Take a look at this Instagram post, for instance.
鈥淲hen baby's first bedroom is on your grown-up vision board鈥 makes the brand feel like a good-natured older (and more fashionable) sister. The reference to the COO鈥榮 baby boy is another opportunity to make authentic connections with Clare鈥檚 followers.
Skittles often posts hilarious social media posts that strip away any promotional, phony language so you're left with something much more real.
Take this tweet, which reads: 鈥淰ote Skittles for Best Brand on Twitter so we can keep our jobs!鈥
The brand voice, which is clever and original, does a good job of making prospects and customers feel like they鈥榬e chatting with a mischievous employee behind-the-scenes. The 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe they just posted that鈥 factor keeps the content fresh and exciting.
Plus, the brand does a good job making pop culture references, like this Mean Girls reference, to highlight the brand's youthfulness.
Skittles鈥 use of absurdity and humor plays into their iconic commercials. In one 2022 ad, the company pokes fun at targeted ads.
While two people watch a youtube video, they comment that their ads are so targeted that it feels as if Skittles is listening in on their conversation. Then, a man with a boom mike drops through the floor.
Skittles expertly keeps the same tone across media, showing their brand鈥檚 commitment to their voice.
Looking to make a template for your own brand voice? 探花精选 is here to help! with your own brand voice characteristics.
Fill out the remaining cells, and send them along to your team.
It鈥榮 important to note, you鈥檒l be prompted to make a Google Drive copy of the template, which isn't possible without a Google account.
And there you have it! You're well on your way toward building a strong, compelling brand voice for your own business.
Logo, color palette, and font are all important aspects of . But beyond that, a good brand starts with good content. And good content can鈥檛 exist without a strong voice.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.