Creating a unique tone of voice for your brand is just as important as creating a recognisable visual identity. Your voice helps you capture the essence of who you are and translate that into consistent, authentic communication that speaks to your audience in a way that feels right.
But once you've found that voice, how do you ensure everyone else gets it too? That's where tone of voice guidelines come in. Think of them as your brand's cheat sheet for speaking human — without sounding like every other brand in the world.
Ready to dive in? Here are five simple steps to help you nail it:
1. Define your brand's personality
The first step to creating killer tone of voice guidelines is understanding who you are as a brand. We've found it helps to think of your brand as a person. If your brand walked into a room, would they be the life of the party, the calm listener, or the intellectual one in the corner with a cup of herbal tea? In other words, are they funny, serious, professional, friendly, quirky, or sophisticated?
Try choosing three to five personality traits. Any more, and you might end up with a "jack-of-all-trades" voice that tries to be everything but resonates with no one.
2. Know your audience
A unique tone of voice only works if it's appealing to the right people. Think about who your audience is. What are their pain points? What type of language do they use? Understanding your audience's preferences is key to making sure your voice doesn't come across as insincere or overly formal.
For example, if your brand is aimed at Gen Z, a formal tone filled with industry jargon might come off as stuffy and out of touch. Conversely, if your audience consists of finance executives, a casual, meme-filled tone might not give them the confidence to trust your expertise.
Give your audience a name and identity — like "Sarah, the small-business owner" or "Jake, the tech enthusiast." This will help you visualise who you're talking to and adjust your voice accordingly.
3. Create a TOV spectrum
With all good branding, it's important to strike the balance between conformity and creativity. It's easy to fall into the trap of writing overly rigid tone guidelines — but people don't talk the same way in every situation, and neither should your brand. Creating a tone of voice spectrum gives you the flexibility to adjust how you sound based on the context while staying true to your brand's personality.
For example, imagine your brand personality is "confident, warm, and knowledgeable." You might want to dial-up the formality and authority in a whitepaper but relax into a more conversational tone in a social media post. The trick is to create guidelines that give your team room to adapt without straying from the core personality.
Our top tip would be to use real-life examples in your guidelines to show how your tone should shift across different types of content. This way, team members have something concrete to work with.
4. List your dos and don'ts
You've defined your brand personality, you know your audience, and you've set a TOV spectrum — now it's time to get into the nitty-gritty: dos and don'ts. These are the specific rules that keep everyone on the same page, and they're essential for translating abstract personality traits into practical writing advice.
Here are some examples:
- Do: Use contractions to keep the tone friendly (e.g., "we're" instead of "we are").
- Don't: Use jargon or overly technical terms.
- Do: Keep sentences short and to the point.
- Don't: Use cliches or buzzwords.
Dos and don'ts are the backbone of tone of voice guidelines because they turn abstract (but important) brand values into actionable steps — and, crucially, they help everyone from your marketing team to your customer service reps understand how to sound like your brand. However, at the risk of repeating ourselves, don't stray into straitjacket territory by creating a laundry list of restrictive rules. Keep it to a handful of examples and give space for your team's creativity to flourish.
5. Keep it short, sweet, and up-to-date
Tone of voice guidelines should be concise and easy to reference. Remember, no one wants to read a 30-page novel on how to write a tweet. Aim for clarity and brevity, making sure your guidelines are simple enough for a new team member to pick up and use right away.
And just as your branding is never finished, your tone of voice guidelines aren't set in stone. As your brand evolves, your tone might, too. Regularly review and update your guidelines to make sure they're still relevant. And don't be afraid to adjust based on feedback. If certain aspects of your tone just aren't resonating with your audience, tweak it.
We hope you found some useful guidance in this piece. But if your brand needs more support — with writing guidelines or developing your broader identity — you know where we are!
