Brand voice vs. tone

This article was written by Oli West, founder of CopyStyleGuide.com. Oli is a senior copywriter and has been writing for startups for over a decade.

You’ll often hear brand ‘voice’ and ‘tone’ thrown around as if they’re the same thing.

They’re not.

And getting this wrong can have a big impact on your brand’s credibility - but not in a good way. It’s easy to confuse your customers (and yourselves) by mixing up these two important elements of brand communication.

So let’s sort this out once and for all. Because when you nail both your brand voice and tone, you’ll connect with your audience in a way that feels both authentic and purposeful.

What is brand voice?

Think of your brand voice as your startup’s personality.

It’s the consistent way your company expresses its values, beliefs and character across every single piece of communication.

Your brand voice doesn’t change. Whether you’re writing a social post, drafting an email or updating your product copy, that underlying personality should always shine through.

Here’s what I mean...

Take Apple. Their brand voice is confident, aspirational and polished. Whether they’re announcing a new iPhone or writing support documentation, you can feel that powerful personality coming through.

Or consider Mailchimp. Their brand voice is friendly, approachable and a bit quirky. This personality shows up everywhere - even when you send that email campaign (ever experienced their iconic “high five” success message?)

Your brand voice is your startup's DNA. It's what makes you sound like you, not like everyone else in your industry.

What is brand tone?

Tone is how you adapt your voice for different situations.

Think about how you talk to your best friend compared to how you speak during a job interview. Your personality doesn’t change (at least, it shouldn’t), but your tone absolutely does. The same principle applies to your brand.

Here’s a quick example...

Imagine your business has a friendly, conversational brand voice. Here’s how your tone might shift:

  • Social media post about a new feature: “Just dropped something pretty cool - check out our new dashboard! 🚀”

  • Email about a security issue: “We’re writing to let you know about an important security update that affects your account.”

See that? Same friendly voice, but the tone shifted from casual and excited to serious and reassuring. The underlying personality stayed consistent, but the expression changed to match the context.

Why voice and tone matters

When you confuse voice and tone, your brand can start to sound a little
 confused.

I’ve worked with businesses that sound playful and irreverent on social media, then switch to formal corporate-speak on their website. The result? Customers feel confused and aren’t not sure who they’re actually dealing with. Most importantly, they’re less likely to trust them.

But when you get both right? That’s the sweet spot.

Your customers can recognise your brand immediately, even without seeing your logo. They can develop emotional connections because your communication feels consistent and authentic. And that consistency builds the kind of trust that turns prospects into customers and customers into advocates.

What’s tone of voice then?

Okay, so here’s where things get interesting. Most people (myself included) use the phrase ‘tone of voice’ to describe the overall way a brand communicates.

When I talk about tone of voice on this site, I’m usually referring to that complete communication style - the combination of both voice and tone that makes up your brand’s personality and how it adapts to different situations.

It’s become the standard term across the industry. When someone asks “What’s your tone of voice?” they’re really asking about your entire communication approach - both the consistent personality (voice) and how you adapt it (tone).

I wouldn’t get too hung up on the terminology. Whether you call it ‘tone of voice,’ ‘brand voice’ or ‘communication style,’ what matters is understanding that you need both elements:

  • A consistent underlying personality (your voice)

  • The ability to adapt your expression for different contexts (your tone)

Throughout this site, I use ‘tone of voice’ as the umbrella term because that’s what most people search for and understand. But now you know there are actually two components working together to create that overall communication style!

And speaking of different components, research shows that tone of voice can be broken down into four key dimensions:

These combinations create 16 distinct tone of voice profiles that can help you identify and articulate your brand’s communication style.

Identify your tone of voice in 5 minutes!

1. Take the tone of voice test to identify your startup’s TOV.

2. Get your personalised copy style guide.

3. Connect more effectively with your customers.

How to define your brand voice

Time to get practical
 here’s how to nail down your brand voice:

  1. Start with your values and personality traits. What does your business stand for? If your company were a person, how would you describe them? Write down 5-7 adjectives that capture your brand’s essence.

  2. Research your audience deeply. Who are you talking to? What matters to them? How do they communicate with each other? Your voice needs to resonate with these people, so understand them inside and out.

  3. Analyse your best content. Look at your top-performing posts, emails or pages. What patterns do you notice? What tone and style seemed to connect most? There are usually clues hiding in your existing content.

  4. Distil it down. Summarise your brand voice in 3-4 key descriptors. Maybe you’re ‘honest, approachable and confident’ or ‘bold, innovative and inclusive.’ Keep it simple and memorable.

I actually created a whole system for this - the 16 tone of voice profiles I mentioned earlier. It’s based on four key dimensions and can help you identify your voice quickly. You can check out the free tone of voice test if you want a structured approach.

How to define your brand tone

Once you’ve nailed your voice, it’s time to master your tone. Here’s how:

  1. Think about different contexts. Your tone should shift based on:

    1. Channel: LinkedIn posts vs. Instagram stories vs. customer support emails, etc.

    2. Situation: Product launches vs. apologies vs. routine updates, etc.

    3. Audience: New prospects vs. loyal customers vs. industry peers, etc.

  2. Create a tone matrix. I recommend building a simple chart that shows how you’ll adapt your voice in different situations. For example, if your voice is ‘friendly and professional,’ your tone might be ‘enthusiastic’ for product announcements but ‘reassuring’ for support messages.

  3. Practice flexibility within boundaries. Your tone can be more or less formal, serious or enthusiastic - but it shouldn’t contradict your core voice. A playful brand can be serious when needed, but it shouldn’t suddenly become stuffy or corporate.

How to stay consistent

Here’s how to keep everything consistent across your team:

  • Document everything. Create a copy style guide that describes your voice, tone and specific do’s and don’ts. Make it accessible to everyone who creates content for your business.

  • Include real examples. This is the most effective way of communicating guidelines, in my experience. So don’t just say “be friendly.” Show what friendly looks like in different contexts. Give your team actual phrases they can reference when necessary.

  • Review and evolve. Your brand voice might evolve as your business grows and your audience changes. So schedule regular reviews to make sure your guidelines still fit.

Crucially, make sure everyone on your team understands this stuff. Because it’s not just for your marketing team. Your developers writing error messages, your customer support team responding to tickets, even your CEO’s investor updates - everyone needs to understand and use your brand voice and tone.

Real-world examples

There are a few brands that get voice and tone spot on:

  • Monzo has a transparent, human voice that stays consistent whether they’re explaining complex banking concepts or announcing new features. But their tone shifts from educational (in help articles) to celebratory (in product announcements) to empathetic (when addressing customer concerns).

  • Oatly maintains their irreverent, playful voice across everything, but adapts their tone brilliantly. They can be cheeky on social media, a bit more informative on product packaging and passionate when discussing sustainability - all while sounding distinctly like Oatly.

  • Disney keeps its magical, family-friendly voice consistent across all its touch points, but adapts its tone masterfully. They’re inspiring and aspirational in their park marketing (“Where dreams come true”), warm and welcoming in customer service interactions and exciting yet reassuring when announcing new attractions. You always know you’re dealing with Disney.

Notice how each brand sounds like themselves, no matter the context? That’s what happens when you get voice and tone right.

Time to audit your own brand!

Here’s my challenge for you
 take a look at your company’s recent communications.

  • Do you sound like the same company across different channels and contexts?

  • Can people recognise your brand voice even without seeing your logo?

If not, don’t panic. Most businesses (particularly startups) struggle with this initially. The key is to start with your voice - get that foundation solid - then practice adapting your tone for different situations.

Your customers feel more comfortable knowing who they’re interacting with. So give them that consistency, and you’ll build the kind of trust that actually moves the needle for your business.

Want help figuring out your startup's tone of voice? I’ve created a quick test that can identify your voice profile in about 5 minutes, plus give you a personalised style guide. Take my free tone of voice test to get started - it might just result in the clarity your brand communication needs.

An image of Oli West, the founder of CopyStyleGuide.com

Hi, I’m Oli West

For over 10 years, I've written copy for some of the UK's most successful startups and small businesses. I’ve led content teams and have developed multiple brand guidelines.

Countless times I’ve grappled and dealt with the common thread that unites all new companies: the challenge of building trust with a new audience.

A consistent writing style can help build trust, but many businesses don’t have a style guide in place.

I created CopyStyleGuide.com to help.

Read the full story or book a demo with me.

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