I used to get asked all the time: “Why does our brand voice feel...forgettable?” It’s a polite way of saying “generic.” I’ve seen teams pour hours into tone of voice documents, only for social posts to end up sounding like a bland corporate echo of every other brand in their category. The problem isn’t always a lack of creativity — it’s a lack of constraints that make creativity repeatable and recognisable.
Why brand voice becomes generic
There are three common traps that push brands toward a neutral, forgettable voice:
- Vague guidance: Tone documents that say “be friendly” or “sound human” without concrete examples or guardrails.
- Over-reliance on approvals: When legal, comms, and product all sign off, teams self-censor into the lowest-common-denominator language.
- No format-specific thinking: A voice that lives only in a PDF won’t translate to a 15-second TikTok, a witty X reply, or an Instagram carousel.
Those traps lead to copy that’s safe and forgettable — sentences that could be tweeted by any brand. The antidote is not more adjectives in a style guide, it’s a simple, repeatable framework that turns personality into shareable social output.
A simple, practical framework to make your voice shareable
I use a compact four-part framework that I teach teams when I help them move from “sounds like everyone” to “sounds like us.” Think of it as the PSAR framework: Persona, Signature, Anchors, Rituals. Each step forces a decision that keeps your voice consistent and helps content stand out on social.
Persona — Define the actual human being
Don’t describe the voice. Describe the person speaking.
- Age range, attitude, cultural references: Are they a pragmatic 34-year-old product manager who drinks cold brew and hates buzzwords? Or a playful 26-year-old coder who quotes sci-fi and loves memes?
- Emotional default: Optimistic, wry, brutally honest? Pick one. The default emotion is what shows up when you can’t spend time crafting each post.
- Permission to break rules: Decide what this person would never say. That constraint is as useful as what they would say.
Example: Instead of “friendly and informative,” write “She’s a 33-year-old marketing director who uses plain English, calls out BS, and drops one pop-culture reference per week.” Now, anyone writing a tweet knows whether to use contractions, sarcasm, or long-form explanation.
Signature — Small, repeatable habits that become recognisable
Signatures are tiny, repeatable elements that phone home the personality. The trick is to keep them small so they can be used consistently without feeling gimmicky.
- Lexical signature: A few words or phrases you use often. Mint does “smart money,” Duolingo uses playful urgency and emojis, Wendy’s uses biting snark. Choose 4–6 lexical anchors.
- Punctuation signature: Do you favour ellipses, em dashes, sentence fragments, or short punchlines? Consistent use of punctuation shapes rhythm and identity.
- Emoji policy: Which emojis are on-brand? Are they decorative or sentence-level punctuation?
Example signatures: “Great question.” as a conversational bridge; “Here’s the thing:” as a framing device; a ???? emoji for reposts. Use them enough and followers notice.
Anchors — Content formats that carry the voice
Voice needs a home. Anchors are your go-to content formats where the voice can play at scale. They’re reproducible, measurable, and shareable.
- Quick wins: 30–45 second explainer videos, 3-slide carousels, and single-image one-liners for X.
- Community-first formats: Reply series, “ask me anything” templates, and comment-forward posts designed to spark replies.
- Repeatable hooks: A Q&A template, “Myth vs. Fact” posts, or “Fail → Fix → Result” case studies.
When a voice is embedded in a format, it’s easier to be consistent. You’re not reinventing tone every time — you’re applying the same personality to proven structures.
Rituals — Rules for posting, replying and escalating
Rituals are the operating manual: how quickly to reply, what to escalate to legal, how to handle praise or complaint. These stop teams from defaulting to corporate-speak when under pressure.
- Response time: “Reply to all organic comments within 2 hours during business hours.”
- Escalation threshold: “If a customer mentions health or safety, escalate immediately.”
- Empowerment rules: “Community managers can issue refunds up to £50 without approval.”
Rituals make it safe to act in voice — and fast. Fast, on-brand responses feel human and are far more shareable than delayed, perfected statements.
How to operationalise the framework
Here’s a practical workflow I use with teams:
- Workshop (2 hours): Build a one-paragraph persona + vote on 6 lexical signatures.
- Create 3 anchor templates: one image post, one short video, one reply format. Make Figma templates and copy blocks.
- Run a 2-week experiment: Post using the new templates and measure engagement and saves vs baseline.
- Review & iterate weekly: Keep the rituals but tweak lexical signatures based on what performs and what feels forced.
Small experiments lower the risk. You don’t need to overhaul everything at once — apply the persona and signature to one format and learn.
Quick checklist to spot “generic” vs “shareable” copy
| Generic | Shareable |
|---|---|
| Uses corporate euphemisms (“solutions”, “synergy”) | Uses specific sensory language or a tiny surprising detail |
| Apologises or hedges with every statement | Makes a clear claim and backs it with one simple fact or example |
| Tries to sound like competitors | Chooses one consistent emotional angle and commits to it |
| Every post is a standalone broadcast | Posts are parts of threads, series or reply chains |
Examples from the wild
Look at brands that have mastered this. Wendy’s tweets are snarky and short because they have a well-defined persona and signature snappiness. Duolingo built a recognizable personality (and some controversy) by leaning into playful urgency and consistent emoji use. Glossier leverages small, detailed observations about skincare — their copy shows sensory detail and choice phrases repeatedly, which builds familiarity.
Those brands didn’t get there by asking “How do we sound professional?” They asked “Who is speaking, what would they say about this, and what habits will make us instantly recognisable?”
First draft prompt you can give your team
Give your writers this prompt to get concrete results fast:
- “Write a 2-sentence reply to the comment: ‘Why is this product better than X?’ in the voice of a 34-year-old who is candid, slightly sarcastic, and uses one emoji. Use our lexical anchors: [anchor1], [anchor2]. Don’t mention policy; offer one specific benefit.”
That level of specificity turns vague guidance into actionable copy tasks.
What to avoid
- Don’t create rigid rules that ban all humour or emotion — you’ll end up with robotic posts.
- Don’t over-index on trend-chasing. A meme without a clear reason to be used by your persona feels opportunistic.
- Don’t treat voice as one-and-done. Revisit signatures quarterly and prune what feels forced.
I won’t pretend voice is easy. It takes practice, squabbles, and a few missteps. But if you choose a persona, pick tiny signatures, anchor your formats, and bake rituals into your process, you’ll stop sounding like everyone else — and you’ll create social posts people actually want to share.
