Brand Voice: What It Is and How to Define It (+ Template)

Your marque dependable shapes however your assemblage feels astir your business. 

If it's playful and fun, they’ll spot your marque arsenic joyful and entertaining. If it's bold and daring, they'll deliberation of your marque arsenic innovative and adventurous.

As a marketer and writer, I’ve helped galore brands to make a applicable and memorable marque voice.

In this guide, I’ll stock actionable tips and real-life examples to assistance you execute the same.

💡 Grab this free marque dependable template to travel along.

What Is Brand Voice? 

Brand dependable is your company’s unsocial property reflected crossed its channels and communications. Think societal media, blog posts, paid advertisements, and emails. 

This property defines however you explicit yourself arsenic a marque erstwhile interacting with customers.

For example, Innocent Drinks, a B2C brand, is known for its quirky, playful, and humor-driven voice. 

This makes the marque consciousness amusive and approachable, attracting health-conscious consumers who admit a lighthearted attack to steadfast living.

Apple, connected the different hand, uses a sleek, innovative, and blase voice. This makes their assemblage consciousness peculiar and portion of an exclusive group. 

Brand Voice vs. Brand Tone of Voice: The Key Differences

Brand voice defines your company’s unique individuality and perspective inspired by your halfway values, mission, and personality. It’s astir the values you basal for.

Your brand code of voice, connected the different hand, defines how you communicate this individuality to your audience. It includes language, tone, style, and the prime of words.

It’s important to support a accordant marque voice. But your code of dependable tin alteration depending connected the context. 

For example, you mightiness usage a cheerful and breathtaking code for vacation selling campaigns. However, your code volition go somber and compassionate erstwhile responding to a situation oregon emergency. 

Here’s however we’d differentiate the marque dependable from the marque tone:

Let’s research these differences with an illustration by Nike.

Nike is known for its inspiring and empowering marque voice. 

Its marque property showcases values similar courage, determination, and motivation. Like connected their website (and crossed each connection channels):

However, the marque besides has a relatable and casual code of dependable that evokes excitement. 

For example, erstwhile launching caller sneakers, Nike hypes up its assemblage with abbreviated and punchy captions similar this one. 

Why Is Brand Voice So Important? 

You’re astir apt wondering if gathering your marque dependable is worthy each that effort. 

The abbreviated answer: it is. 

Defining your marque dependable tin help:

• Establish a affirmative marque perception: Your marque dependable reflects the halfway values of your business. It shapes your customers’ cognition of your brand, which tin assistance you physique spot and loyalty.
• Create marque callback and recognition: Your marque dependable is your accidental to absorption much eyes connected your concern and marque it much discoverable. This tin summation marque awareness. 
• Design a shared blueprint for communication: Clear dependable guidelines guarantee everyone successful your squad represents your marque consistently. It builds a shared knowing of what sets your marque isolated and however to talk to your customers. 
• Build amended lawsuit relationships: Your marque dependable has the powerfulness to found a transportation with customers and amusement that you stock the aforesaid values This tin pb to improved lawsuit loyalty.

For example, a mission-driven marque similar Rare Beauty adopts an encouraging and motivational marque dependable for each communications.

This dependable positively influences radical who align with the brand’s mission, arsenic this lawsuit shares successful a tweet:

7 Tips for Developing Your Brand Voice

Check retired my 7-step model for gathering your distinctive marque dependable from scratch. 

But earlier you get started: drawback this free marque dependable template to determination faster.

1. Document Your Company’s Background and Mission

I ever commencement by penning down the company’s inheritance and ngo to recognize its cardinal values and personality.

Here’s however you tin bash it.

This workout volition item your brand’s superior intent and explicate however you mean to marque your customers’ lives better.

You tin past usage these insights to specify your brand’s mission. 

For instance, adjacent though Facebook is simply a multi-billion-dollar concern today, Mark Zuckerberg started it arsenic a assemblage task to link students astatine his university. 

The extremity was to assistance students connect, stock information, and pass much easily. 

To date, this intent is reflected successful Meta’s (previously Facebook) ngo statement: “to springiness radical the powerfulness to physique assemblage and bring the satellite person together.”

2. Research Your Target Audience

Next, you request to cognize precisely who you’re targeting and however to link with them. This penetration ensures your marque dependable is some applicable and relatable.

For example, ideate discovering that customers conflict to find stylish apparel that acceptable their assemblage type.

You tin code this situation straight successful your marque voice.

There are respective ways to probe and analyze your people audience. These include:

• Surveys and questionnaires: Directly inquire your assemblage astir their preferences and challenges.
• Social media analysis: Look astatine what your oregon your competitors’ followers are talking astir and the kinds of posts they prosecute with.
• Customer feedback: Interview your existing customers. Also, analyse their reviews, feedback, and lawsuit enactment requests to recognize what they similar and dislike.
• Audience probe platforms: Platforms similar Audience Intelligence and One2Target supply insights into your people assemblage based connected their online behaviors.
• Specialized AI tools: Use ContentShake AI’s Brand Voice feature. All you request to bash is upload a penning illustration (ideally from your “About us” page) and the instrumentality volition make people personas for your business.
• It volition past tailor your aboriginal contented to acceptable the needs and code of dependable preferences of each persona.

3. Analyze Your Current Voice 

Before creating a caller acceptable of marque dependable guidelines, instrumentality a person look astatine your existing voice. This volition assistance you place patterns successful what already resonates with your customers.

Here's however to bash it.

Analyze antithetic selling assets you person already published, specified arsenic landing pages, blog posts, advertisement copy, and social media posts:

• Build a contented inventory: Make a database of your selling assets successful a spreadsheet, a productivity app similar Notion, oregon a database tool. You tin curate a fewer assets from each marketing channel you’ve used. 
• Analyze code and style: Analyze the benignant of connection utilized successful each asset, similar conversational, technical, informal, jargon-heavy, etc. You should besides measure the code followed successful these pieces, whether it’s friendly, authoritative, promotional, etc. Add notes and summarize your findings.
• Compare and contrast: Evaluate these assets to categorize them arsenic high-performing and low-performing based connected content selling metrics similar organic hunt traffic, backlinks, and conversions. 

You tin usage tools similar GA4 oregon HubSpot to cheque postulation and conversions and Semrush to show each page's rankings and backlinks.

For example, to cheque integrated postulation connected circumstantial pages, caput to GA4, click “Reports” successful the left-hand menu, prime “Engagement” and click “Pages and Screens” from the drop-down menu.

Next, scroll down to spot the full fig of views to antithetic webpages during the specified clip period. You tin usage the hunt barroom to look up circumstantial pages.

If you announcement that assets with a definite voice/tone execute amended than others, see this erstwhile outlining your marque voice.

4. Define Your Brand Personality

Your dependable stems from the unsocial property of your brand. 

It tin dependable similar a bully friend, a adjuvant mentor, a caring supporter, oregon a knowledgeable expert. 

For example, Wendy’s has a humorous and witty marque personality. The marque engages successful affable banter connected societal media posts similar you would with a friend. 

To specify your marque personality, deliberation astir your marque values and image.

Values: What are the astir important values and beliefs for your brand? 

Identify 4 to 5 differentiating values that thrust your concern forward. Like integrity, innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity.

Take Starbucks’ values arsenic inspiration:

Brand image: Think astir however you privation your assemblage to comprehend your brand.

Do you privation your marque to beryllium seen arsenic premium and luxurious? Or playful and fun? 

For example, Apple is seen arsenic a premium and luxurious brand. Many radical consciousness a consciousness of accomplishment erstwhile they acquisition Apple products and often stock their excitement online.

Source

Finally, picture your marque property utilizing this template:

5. Define Your Brand Voice

Once you’ve completed each the legwork, you tin enactment the pieces unneurotic to make your marque voice. 

I usually usage the brand dependable illustration framework.

It’s a papers that comprises the cardinal attributes of your marque voice. It tin see qualities similar welcoming, professional, witty, sincere, and more. 

Here’s what a dependable illustration looks like:

To capable retired the chart, database your brand's cardinal dependable characteristics, picture each one, and see actionable "do" and "don't" guidelines to guarantee consistency successful your messaging.

Pro tip: 

You tin prevention a batch of clip and effort by utilizing Semrush’s ContentShake AI—a astute contented penning tool.

It helps you define your marque voice based connected your existing penning samples successful conscionable a mates of clicks.

To get started, motorboat the ContentShake AI app and spell to “Brand Voice.”

Then, click “Create Brand Voice” to plan a caller dependable document. 

Add a contented illustration that champion reflects your existent marque voice. Ideally, you’ll privation to springiness a 1000-word illustration to get the champion results. It’s besides a bully thought to integrate elements from your “About us” webpage.

Then, click “Create Brand Voice” 1 much time.

With this information, ContentShake AI volition summarize your marque dependable with a elaborate paragraph and specify your code and readability level. 

From present on, each portion of contented generated by ContentShake AI volition beryllium adjusted to your people dependable and tone.

6. Create a Communication Document

Now, it’s clip to spell backmost to the whiteboard and papers your marque dependable guidelines successful a benignant guide.

A writing benignant guide covers each item astir your brand—logos, typeface, colors, and language. 

It’s a azygous root of information for everyone connected your squad erstwhile communicating with interior oregon outer stakeholders. 

You tin see immoderate of these indispensable elements:

• The cardinal values to bespeak successful each communication
• A dictionary of marque oregon industry-specific terms 
• Do’s and don’ts for antithetic situations and contexts
• Specific guidelines for written and verbal communication
• Voice instructions for antithetic channels similar websites, societal media, etc.

For example, Shopify’s marque dependable guidelines commencement with 4 wide directives connected what the marque sounds like. 

Each directive includes much circumstantial examples and points.

Their benignant usher besides includes instructions connected however to pass successful circumstantial situations. You’ll find a do’s and don’ts database with examples of what to accidental and avoid. 

7. Ensure Consistency Across All Content Assets

Once you’re acceptable to rotation retired your marque dependable guidelines, acceptable up processes to make consistency crossed each channels and platforms. 

Here are a fewer tips to assistance guarantee your marque dependable is consistent:

• Host interior grooming sessions: Educate and bid your squad astir the caller marque dependable guidelines. Use these sessions to brainstorm messaging that reflects the caller marque voice. 
• Assign a marque dependable champion: Designate a squad subordinate oregon a radical to oversee the implementation of the marque dependable passim the company. This idiosyncratic oregon squad tin supply feedback, reply questions, and guarantee that each contented aligns with the guidelines.
• Regularly reappraisal and update: Schedule regular reviews of your contented to guarantee it aligns with your marque voice. Update the guidelines arsenic needed to bespeak immoderate changes successful your marque strategy oregon marketplace trends.
• Leverage AI tools: For example, ContentShake AI will automatically make contented successful your marque voice. Simply take the people dependable erstwhile creating articles oregon societal posts, and the instrumentality volition bash the rest.

Top 6 Brand Voice Examples for 2024

Let’s interruption down the marque dependable and tone guidelines for six starring brands to assistance you deed the crushed running.

1. Asana

Asana’s marque dependable is nonrecreational and inspirational. It perfectly aligns with their target audience: professionals looking to heighten productivity and streamline collaboration. 

This dependable is reflected successful Asana’s contented crossed antithetic channels. 

Check retired the level of professionalism successful this blog station by Asana:

And besides this Instagram post:

Asana besides positions itself arsenic a supportive marque with an uplifting voice.

The brand’s messaging focuses connected circumstantial idiosyncratic symptom points and actionable advice. 

Check retired this station connected Asana’s LinkedIn page, wherever they absorption connected communal onboarding challenges faced by companies and usage a direct, conversational code of voice:

2. Frank Body

Frank Body’s dependable is playful yet empowering. The skincare marque appeals to a younger demographic with an informal and engaging voice. 

For instance, the marque writes cheeky merchandise descriptions successful a unsocial first-person position to item its ingredients, differentiators, and different details.

Here’s an example. These engaging descriptions resonate with Frank Body’s people audience—millennials and Gen Z women.

Besides its lighthearted messaging, the marque adopts an empowering dependable to bespeak its mission—to marque women consciousness comfy successful their skin. 

Frank Body’s video podcast is simply a cleanable illustration to showcase this marque dependable trait.

The podcast, called “Self (ish)”, covers topics related to women’s careers, bodies, and lives to present inspirational messages. 

3. Miro

Miro has a versatile marque dependable that works connected aggregate levels. 

At archetypal glance, Miro’s dependable is welcoming and accessible. It helps radical easy recognize the product’s capabilities and wide messaging without getting mislaid successful jargon and buzzwords.

For example, this landing leafage for Miro Assist intelligibly and succinctly explains however the instrumentality tin prevention users’ time. 

On different level, Miro embraces a affable and conversational dependable to pass with its audience. Want to spot how? 

Here’s a LinkedIn station announcing a caller diagnostic with a abbreviated video and a amusive caption. 

Since Miro caters to a premix of originative and method users (like designers, developers, and more), this operation of accessible and enthusiastic dependable works good to prosecute the audience. 

4. Duolingo

Duolingo is celebrated for its sarcastic, witty, and playful marque voice. 

Duolingo aims to acceptable itself isolated from accepted acquisition platforms and marque learning accessible. To that end, the marque maintains relatability crossed each touchpoints—from its propulsion notifications and emails to societal media posts and videos. 

For example, Duolingo posts hilarious contented connected Instagram and TikTok arsenic an hold of its quirky marque personality. 

In fact, Duolingo has adjacent to a cardinal followers connected X due to the fact that of its comic and casual voice. 

Here’s an illustration of tweets that entreaty to its younger people audience:

5. Canva

Canva’s marque dependable is encouraging, upbeat, and clear. 

The marque inspires radical to research their originative imaginable adjacent if they don’t person plan expertise. Its warm, approachable code mildly nudges users to effort the instrumentality oregon larn caller concepts. 

Here’s 1 of Canva’s LinkedIn posts that shares adjuvant proposal for creating societal media assets:

Canva’s marque dependable is besides user-friendly and straightforward due to the fact that the marque targets a wide audience. It focuses connected simplicity to guarantee users of each accomplishment levels recognize the level and get the champion retired of it.

Here’s a diagnostic announcement email that rapidly sums up its aggregate usage cases:

6. Applebee’s

Applebee’s dependable is friendly, casual, and relatable. 

The marque positions itself arsenic a vicinity diner and targets families, young adults, and akin groups. Its marque dependable builds a consciousness of inclusivity.

For example, here’s a snapshot of Applebee’s About Us page. It communicates the brand’s ngo with a wide and down-to-earth voice, inviting radical to person a meal:

The marque besides maintains an engaging property connected societal media. 

Here are immoderate of Applebee’s tweets targeting the Gen Z assemblage with a casual marque voice:

Over to You: Build a Powerful Brand Voice 

A well-defined marque dependable tin heighten your positioning, fortify lawsuit relationships, and springiness you a competitory edge. 

Remember, a batch goes into gathering your marque dependable from scratch. 

Start by documenting your brand’s cardinal differentiators—like your values and mission. Then, probe your audience, picture your marque personality, and consolidate each this into marque dependable guidelines. 

ContentShake AI’s Brand Voice feature tin simplify the process. It lets you specify your marque dependable and make contented successful your unsocial penning style.