Finding Your Voice
Why Brand Voice Is Essential to a Complete Branding Package
When businesses think about branding, they often focus on the visual elements: the logo, the color palette, the website design. While these are important, there’s another piece of the branding puzzle that’s just as essential—yet often overlooked: your brand voice.
Have you ever received a message — text, email, DM, etc. — and thought, “This doesn’t sound like so-and-so.”?
That’s because each of us has our own brand voice without even knowing it.
Brand voice is the consistent expression of your organization’s personality through words — how you sound in writing, in speech, and across every customer touchpoint. It's more than just copy; it's the tone, rhythm, and vocabulary that defines how your brand communicates. Whether it's playful and informal, polished and professional, or bold and provocative, your brand voice sets the tone for how customers perceive you.
Why Brand Voice Matters
A clear brand voice builds trust and recognition. Just like a friend you recognize by their way of speaking, customers come to know and connect with a brand by the way it communicates. A strong, consistent voice helps distinguish your business in a crowded market, reinforces your values, and deepens your relationship with your audience.
Think about the difference between reading a message from a legal firm versus a lifestyle brand. The former likely uses precise, measured language; the latter might lean into warmth, wit, or storytelling. Both are strategic — and both rely on voice to convey credibility, relatability, or inspiration.
Voice Brings Strategy to Life
A well-developed brand strategy includes your mission, vision, and positioning — but it’s the voice that often brings those ideas to life. The voice shapes your website copy, product descriptions, email newsletters, social media posts, packaging language, and even customer service scripts. When done right, every word reinforces your identity and makes your message feel authentic and intentional.
Consistency Is Key
Customers engage with brands across multiple platforms — Instagram, email, web, signage, even voice assistants. A consistent voice across these channels builds brand cohesion and reinforces your identity. Without consistency, your message can feel fragmented or insincere, undermining trust and recognition.
Developing Your Brand Voice
Your brand voice should align with your brand’s values, audience, and market positioning. Start by asking:
What are three words that describe our personality?
How do we want people to feel when they engage with us?
What kinds of words or phrases should we always use — or avoid?
Once defined, your brand voice should be documented in your brand guidelines alongside your visual standards, with examples of tone, preferred vocabulary, and do’s and don’ts for different platforms.
Voice Is an Investment
Ultimately, brand voice isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s a strategic asset that shapes perception, builds loyalty, and sets the stage for meaningful connection. When your visuals and your voice work together seamlessly, you don’t just look like your brand—you sound like it too.
And that’s when people start to listen.
