Ever feel like you're shouting into the void when you try to connect with your customers? If you feel like no matter what you do your writing is falling flat, then grab your notebook. Today, we're going to dive into the world of brand voice and tone (your secret weapon for cutting through the noise and making future customers fall in love with you!).

What Exactly Is Brand Voice and Tone?

Brand voice and tone are the core of how your business communicates. Your brand voice is what you say, the message you're putting out there. Your tone? That's how you say it. Together, they create the personality that should come through in every piece of content you produce. Get it right and you'll connect with your audience on a whole new level. They'll feel like they know you, and more importantly, they'll want to engage with you (and buy from you).

In a world where everyone's vying for attention, your unique voice and tone are more important than ever. In this post, we’re going to share:

• Why consistency is so important in your brand voice and tone
• What is the difference between brand voice and tone?
• How to develop a strong brand voice
• Examples of strong brand voices “in the wild”
• How to use Enji’s brand voice generator to make your job easier

Why Consistency is Key in Brand Messaging

Consistency in brand messaging isn't just nice to have—it’s one of the most important things your business needs if you want people to trust you (and buy from you). Here's why:

• It makes your brand recognizable
• It builds trust with your audience
• It reinforces your brand identity and values (extra important when marketing to Gen Z)
• It helps your brand stick in people's minds
• It makes you the go-to choice when customers need what you offer

Our friend and incredibly talented copywriter Kayla Hollatz agrees with us. Here’s what she had to say:

Most businesses don't prioritize brand voice development because it feels like an easy project to push off for another day. It's more of a discovery process than a deliverable, so it often gets pushed to the bottom of a to-do list. However, your brand voice anchors each piece of content and copy. Everything you write will tap into your brand voice, so building confidence in your voice will make marketing feel simpler and more delightful.

Consistency in your messaging only becomes more important as you scale and grow. When you add team members and expand your reach, you'll need to have a clearer understanding of your brand voice so other collaborators can emulate it. It's never too early to define your brand voice. 

Brand Voice vs. Brand Tone: What’s the Difference?

We’re going to dive deeper below, but we love how Kayla put it here: “Your brand tone is an essential element in communicating through your brand voice. If your brand voice is what you say, your tone is how you say it. It puts your brand voice into action and points to your brand's personality!”:

Brand Voice

Your brand voice is like your brand’s personality. It’s consistent across all your communications and reflects your core values and mission. Think of it as the “who” behind your message. Your brand voice should stay consistent, whether you’re writing a blog post, writing an Instagram caption, or sending out an email newsletter.

Brand Tone

Brand tone is where you get to flex those social skills. It’s how you adjust your voice to fit different situations or audiences—like how you might speak differently to your grandma compared to your best friend.

Your tone can shift depending on:

• The platform you’re using (Threads vs. hosting a webinar)
• The purpose of your message (To inform? To entertain? To apologize?)

While your voice stays consistent, your tone adapts. It’s the “how” of your message.

Developing Your Brand Voice

If you’re thinking, “this sounds nice, but how TF do I know or create my brand voice?”, we have some advice for you. 

Get to Know Yourself (and Your Brand)

We know this sounds cheesy, but we wouldn’t ask you to do it if we didn’t think it mattered. Before diving into your brand voice, you need to make sure that you really understand your brand’s core identity. Here are some key questions:

• What are your core values?
• If your brand was a person, how would you describe them?
• What makes you different from your competitors?
• What’s the driving force behind your brand?

Get to Know Your Audience

The next step? Your brand voice needs to resonate with your audience. We’re big fans of actually getting to know our customers (compared to guessing what their coffee order might be). Check out this guide to customer research for small business owners if you want to dive deeper into this step.

Create a Brand Voice Chart

Now that we have the basics, to clearly define your brand voice, create a simple chart with the following columns:

• Trait: Describe the personality trait (e.g., "Friendly").
• Description: Explain what this trait looks like in action (e.g., "We’re the neighbor you can always count on for a cup of sugar").
• Do’s: List what to do to embody this trait (e.g., "Use casual language, share personal anecdotes").
• Don’ts: Identify what to avoid (e.g., "Don’t use jargon, avoid being overly formal").

Test It Out

Once you have your brand voice down, put it to the test. Write a few pieces of content and ask yourself:

• Does it feel natural?
• Does it resonate with your customers?

Want To Explore This Even More? 

‍Kayla shared some simple brand voice exercises for you to try as you dig deeper into creating your own brand voice and tone. You can also take her Brand Voice Style quiz to take this one step further!

Here are the exercises to try:

• Create a brand dictionary of the words you love and the words you want to avoid using. Share this list with your team!
• Record yourself talking about your brand and listen back to hear how you describe what you do. You can also use a dictation tool to create a live written transcript as you talk through your ideas. 
• Look back through your old content (which can include blog posts, social media posts, newsletters, and beyond). Determine which sounds like the most accurate representation of your brand voice, and then explore why.

Examples of Strong Brand Voices

Let’s look at some brands that nail their voice:

1. Dollar Shave Club:

• Voice: Cheeky, straightforward, masculine talk
• Why it Works: By using a no-nonsense, masculine tone, they cut through the typical marketing fluff and speak directly to their audience in a way that feels authentic and relatable. Their humor (often laced with a bit of irreverence) grabs attention and keeps their messaging memorable.

2. Wendy’s (on social media):

• Voice: Sassy, quick-witted, pop-culture savvy
• Why it Works: Their sassy and quick-witted tone, especially on social media, resonates with a younger audience who appreciate humor and relatability. By engaging in playful banter and clever roasts, Wendy's creates a strong, memorable presence that sets it apart from competitors. 

3. Nike: 

• Voice: Motivational, bold, and empowering.
• Why it Works: Nike's brand voice resonates with its audience by tapping into their desire for achievement and excellence. It builds an emotional connection, making customers feel like they are part of something bigger

Enji’s Brand Voice Generator: Your Secret Weapon

Did we mention that we can help you with this? We’ve got a Brand Voice Generator and AI copywriter tool right on our platform. It’s like having a marketing team in your pocket, ready to help you craft the perfect message in your unique brand voice.

Here’s How It Works:

1. You input some basic info about your brand and target audience.
2. Our AI analyzes it and generates a custom brand voice profile.
3. You can then use this profile with our AI copywriter to create on-brand content for any platform.

Pretty cool, right? Here’s a quick video so you can see this in action!

‍

‍

Ready to Find Your Voice?

Alright, you’ve made it this far! And now you know what you need to create a killer brand voice and adjust your tone like a pro. But why stop here?

If you’re ready to take your brand communications to the next level, we’re offering a free trial of our marketing software, including access to the Brand Voice Generator and AI copywriter. You have absolutely nothing to lose so sign up for your free trial today!

A big thank you to Kayla Hollatz for helping contribute to this article! Kayla Hollatz is a trusted website copywriter for creative entrepreneurs and their favorite SaaS tools. Kayla is also the creator of the WireFramework Method™, a leading website wireframing strategy framework. With a focus on conversion strategy, SEO, storytelling, and brand voice development, she joyfully collaborates with clients for the long term by creating copy with a "strategy first, words second” approach.

‍