Brand Voice Guidelines

Brand Voice & Guidelines

Develop, document, and maintain consistent brand voice across all channels.

Install

git clone https://github.com/thatrebeccarae/claude-marketing.git && cp -r claude-marketing/skills/brand-voice-guidelines ~/.claude/skills/

Voice vs Tone

Voice = who you are (consistent). Tone = how you adapt to context (variable).

• Voice is your brand personality — it does not change
• Tone shifts based on situation: celebration vs crisis, social vs support, blog vs legal

Voice Development Process

Step 1: Audit Existing Content

Analyze 10-20 pieces of existing content across channels:

• What adjectives describe the writing?
• What is consistent? What is inconsistent?
• How does your audience describe you?

Step 2: Define Voice Attributes

Choose 3-5 attributes that define your brand voice. Each attribute sits on a spectrum:

Step 3: Brand Personality Archetypes

Step 4: Create Tone Matrix

Define how voice adapts across contexts:

Step 5: Messaging Framework

## Brand Promise
[One sentence: what you promise your customers]

## Value Propositions (3-5)
1. [VP 1]: [Proof point]
2. [VP 2]: [Proof point]
3. [VP 3]: [Proof point]

## Tagline Options
- [Tagline 1]
- [Tagline 2]
- [Tagline 3]

## Elevator Pitch (30 seconds)
[2-3 sentences that explain what you do, who you serve, and why it matters]

## Boilerplate (for press/about)
[Standard paragraph used in press releases, about pages, speaker bios]

Writing Style Guide

Grammar & Mechanics

Vocabulary

Voice Consistency Audit

Audit Checklist

• [ ] Sample 3 pages per channel (website, email, social, support)
• [ ] Score each on voice attributes (1-5 per attribute)
• [ ] Identify outliers (pages that do not sound like the brand)
• [ ] Check for forbidden vocabulary
• [ ] Verify tone matches context (support should not sound like marketing)
• [ ] Test with the "read it aloud" check — does it sound like one person?

Deliverable: Brand Voice Document

Document Structure

# [Brand] Voice Guide

## Who We Are (1 paragraph)
## Our Voice Attributes (3-5 with Do/Don't examples)
## Tone Matrix (context-specific adjustments)
## Messaging Framework (promise, VPs, tagline, elevator pitch)
## Writing Style Guide (grammar, vocabulary, formatting)
## Channel-Specific Guidelines (website, email, social, support)
## Examples (before/after rewrites for each voice attribute)

Integration with Other Skills

• content-creator — Brand voice analyzer script validates consistency
• seo-content-writer — Apply voice guidelines while optimizing for SEO
• copywriting-frameworks — Use frameworks within your established voice
• social-media-strategy — Platform-specific tone adaptations
• email-composer — Maintain voice in professional communications

Brand Voice & Guidelines — Examples

Example 1: Develop Voice from Scratch

Prompt

Develop brand voice guidelines for our fintech startup. We help small businesses manage cash flow. Our audience is non-technical small business owners who are frustrated with complex financial tools.

What the skill does

1. Recommends archetype blend: Caregiver (supportive) + Sage (knowledgeable) with Everyperson (relatable) 2. Defines 4 voice attributes: Approachable (not corporate), Confident (not arrogant), Clear (not oversimplified), Empathetic (not patronizing) 3. Creates tone matrix for 6 contexts (marketing, support, onboarding, error messages, social, email) 4. Builds messaging framework: brand promise, 3 value propositions with proof points, elevator pitch, tagline options 5. Writes vocabulary guide: forbidden jargon list, preferred alternatives 6. Produces complete Brand Voice Document with before/after examples

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Example 2: Voice Consistency Audit

Prompt

Audit our brand voice across website, email, and social. Our blog sounds casual and fun, but our product pages sound corporate. Help us fix the inconsistency.

What the skill does

1. Samples 3 pages per channel, scores on 4 voice attributes (1-5 each) 2. Identifies gap: blog averages 4.5/5 on "Approachable" but product pages average 2/5 3. Finds root cause: product pages were written by a different team using formal templates 4. Rewrites 3 product page sections to match the blog voice 5. Creates a voice checklist for the product team to self-audit future pages

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Example 3: Tone Adaptation for Crisis

Prompt

We had a data breach. Help us write communications in our brand voice but adapted for crisis — we usually sound playful and casual.

What the skill does

1. References tone matrix: Crisis context = high confidence, high formality, zero humor, very high empathy 2. Shows how to keep brand voice (honest, direct) while shifting tone (serious, accountable) 3. Writes 3 communications: customer email, social post, press statement 4. Each maintains brand identity (still sounds like the brand) while being appropriately serious 5. Provides anti-examples: what NOT to say in a crisis with their brand voice

Brand Voice Guidelines Reference

Reference data, benchmarks, and platform-specific details for the Brand Voice Guidelines skill.

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