How to Define Your Brand Voice in 5 Steps (Even if You're Just Starting Out)

Most brands talk. The good ones speak. And the best ones — the ones you remember, follow, and buy from — they have a voice you'd recognise even with the logo blurred out.

If you've ever struggled to write a caption that sounds "like you", or you find your Instagram feels random and disconnected from your website tone, the issue isn't your copywriting. It's your brand voice. Or rather: the fact that it hasn't been defined yet.

Here are the five steps I use with my clients across Lisbon and Barcelona to define a brand voice that actually feels alive — and works across every platform.

Step 1: Listen to yourself first

Before you start writing strategy documents, record yourself talking about your brand. Pretend you're at a dinner party and someone just asked "so what do you do?". Speak for two minutes. Transcribe it.

What words came up? What metaphors did you use? Are you formal, warm, witty, blunt? That natural way of speaking is the seed of your brand voice. The mistake most brands make is trying to sound "professional" — and ending up sounding like everyone else.

Step 2: Define who you're talking to

Voice doesn't exist in a vacuum. The way you'd talk to a 22-year-old fashion student is different from how you'd talk to a 40-year-old hospitality founder. Both can be your audience — but you need to know which one is in the room.

Write down 3 things: their age range, their main daily worry, and the kind of brands they already follow. This shapes how warm, how technical, how playful you can be.

Step 3: Pick your voice traits — and the opposites

Most brand voice exercises ask you to list 5 adjectives (warm, witty, bold, modern...). That's not enough. For every trait, also write what you are NOT.

Example: "We're warm — but not soft. Bold — but not aggressive. Witty — but never sarcastic." The opposites are where the magic happens. They tell you what to cut.

Step 4: Create three voice rules

Don't write a 30-page brand voice manual. Write three rules. Three things you ALWAYS do, and three you NEVER do.

Example for a slow-fashion brand: ALWAYS use real customer language over industry jargon. NEVER use exclamation marks. ALWAYS lead with story before product. These three rules will eliminate 90% of "does this sound like us?" doubts.

Step 5: Test it on a real post, then iterate

Write three Instagram captions following your new rules. Have someone outside your team read them — without telling them which brand it's for. Can they describe the personality back to you?

If yes: you've found your voice. If they say "sounds generic" or describe a different vibe than you intended, go back to step 3 and sharpen the opposites.

Why this matters more than you think

Brand voice is the cheapest, most underused growth lever in social media. It costs you zero euros, no ad spend, no design budget — and yet a clear voice can double your engagement and triple your brand recall.

If you want help defining your brand voice from scratch, that's exactly what I do in my Branding & Strategy package.

Book a free Discovery Call here and let's talk about your brand.