Finding and documenting your brand voice

Brand voice is the thing that makes a reader go "oh, that's them" without seeing your logo. Most small businesses don't have one because they've never deliberately chosen one. The payoff for choosing, writing it down, and sticking with it is huge.

The four-axis framework

Voice is multidimensional. Pick a position on each of these four spectrums:

Formal ↔ Casual

Do you sound like a lawyer in a firm or a friend at a coffee shop? Most small businesses over-index formal because it "feels professional." Usually casual wins — unless you're selling to enterprise B2B.

Serious ↔ Playful

Can you joke around, use emoji, call out absurdity? Playful doesn't mean unprofessional — plenty of law firms are playful. Serious doesn't mean dry either.

Humble ↔ Bold

Are you soft-spoken ("here are some thoughts if they're useful") or confident ("here's what actually works")? Boldness attracts followers faster but also picks up critics. Humility compounds trust slowly.

Technical ↔ Plainspoken

Do you use industry jargon or translate everything? Technical voice signals expertise to insiders. Plainspoken opens your market.

A concrete example

Imagine two accounting firms. Firm A positions as "Formal / Serious / Humble / Technical":

"The IRS updated the Section 174 regulations this week. Our team has reviewed the changes and recommends clients reach out for a compliance assessment."

Firm B positions as "Casual / Playful / Bold / Plainspoken":

"The IRS changed Section 174 again. Half of you are unknowingly about to pay 30% more taxes. Takes us 20 minutes to check. DM 'Section 174' and we'll tell you which half you're in."

Both are correct — they're just targeted at different customers. The same information, two radically different voices, two radically different audiences.

Documenting voice

One page. That's the doc. Structure:

• The four-axis position: one word on each spectrum
• Three words that describe us: e.g., "direct, friendly, data-driven"
• Three words we never are: e.g., "corporate, preachy, hypey"
• Three phrases we use: signature turns of phrase
• Three phrases we avoid: "at the end of the day," "game-changer," etc.
• Two example posts: one good, one bad-that-misses-voice

Stress-testing voice

Write a post. Ask: "Could this have been posted by any of my five closest competitors without changing anything?" If yes, your voice isn't distinctive enough. If a reader can't tell it's yours without seeing the handle, you haven't landed on a voice yet.