# Marketing Brand Voice > Legacy fallback for brand governance and style policy work. Prefer copywriting and copy-editing for operational production tasks. Use when documenting or auditing voice rules, not as the default drafting workflow. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/marketing-brand-voice` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/marketing-brand-voice` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/marketing-brand-voice/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/marketing-brand-voice --- # Brand Voice Skill Frameworks for documenting, applying, and enforcing brand voice and style guidelines across marketing content. ## Brand Voice Documentation Framework A complete brand voice document should cover these areas. Use this framework to help users define their brand voice or to understand an existing brand voice configuration. ### 1. Brand Personality Define the brand as if it were a person. What are its defining traits? Example: "If our brand were a person, they would be a knowledgeable colleague who explains complex things simply, celebrates your wins genuinely, and never talks down to you." ### 2. Voice Attributes Select 3-5 attributes that define how the brand communicates. Each attribute should be defined with: - What it means in practice - What it does NOT mean (to prevent misinterpretation) - An example demonstrating the attribute ### 3. Audience Awareness - Who the brand is speaking to (primary and secondary audiences) - What the audience cares about - What level of expertise the audience has - How the audience expects to be addressed ### 4. Core Messaging Pillars - 3-5 key themes the brand consistently communicates - The hierarchy of these messages (which comes first) - How each pillar connects to audience needs ### 5. Tone Spectrum How the voice adapts across contexts while remaining recognizably the same brand. ### 6. Style Rules Specific grammar, formatting, and language rules. See the Style Guide Enforcement section below. ### 7. Terminology Preferred and avoided terms. See the Terminology Management section below. ## Voice Attributes ### Common Voice Attribute Pairs When defining brand voice, it helps to position attributes on a spectrum. Here are common attribute spectrums: | Spectrum | One End | Other End | | ---------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------------- | | Formality | Formal, institutional | Casual, conversational | | Authority | Expert, authoritative | Peer-level, collaborative | | Emotion | Warm, empathetic | Direct, matter-of-fact | | Complexity | Technical, precise | Simple, accessible | | Energy | Bold, energetic | Calm, measured | | Humor | Playful, witty | Serious, earnest | | Innovation | Cutting-edge, forward-looking | Established, proven | ### Defining an Attribute For each chosen attribute, document it in this format: **[Attribute name]** - **We are**: [what this means in practice] - **We are not**: [common misinterpretation to avoid] - **This sounds like**: [example sentence demonstrating the attribute] - **This does NOT sound like**: [example sentence violating the attribute] Example: **Approachable** - **We are**: friendly, clear, jargon-free, welcoming to beginners and experts alike - **We are not**: dumbed-down, overly casual, or lacking substance - **This sounds like**: "Here's how to get started — it takes about five minutes." - **This does NOT sound like**: "Yo! This is super easy, even a noob can do it lol." ## Tone Adaptation Across Channels and Contexts The brand voice stays consistent, but tone adapts to context. Tone is the emotional inflection applied to the voice. ### Tone by Channel | Channel | Tone Adaptation | Example | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Blog | Informative, conversational, educational | "Let's walk through how this works and why it matters for your team." | | Social media (LinkedIn) | Professional, thought-provoking, concise | "Three things we learned from running 50 campaigns this quarter." | | Social media (Twitter/X) | Punchy, direct, sometimes witty | "Your landing page has 3 seconds. Make them count." | | Email marketing | Personal, helpful, action-oriented | "We put together something we think you'll find useful." | | Sales collateral | Confident, benefit-driven, specific | "Teams using our platform reduce reporting time by 40%." | | Support/Help docs | Clear, patient, step-by-step | "If you see this error, here's how to fix it." | | Press release | Formal, factual, newsworthy | "The company today announced the launch of..." | | Error messages | Empathetic, helpful, blame-free | "Something went wrong on our end. We're looking into it." | ### Tone by Situation | Situation | Tone Adaptation | | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | Product launch | Excited, confident, forward-looking | | Apology/Crisis | Sincere, direct, accountable | | Celebration/Success | Genuine, appreciative, collaborative | | Educational/Instructional | Patient, clear, expert | | Sales/Direct response | Urgency-driven, benefit-focused, clear | ## Style Guide Enforcement ### Common Style Rule Categories When reviewing content, check for consistency in these categories: 1. **Punctuation**: - Use of the Oxford comma - Use of em-dashes vs. en-dashes - Punctuation inside or outside quotation marks - Use of exclamation points (e.g., "max one per piece") 2. **Capitalization**: - Headline case vs. sentence case for subheadings - Capitalization of job titles - Capitalization of product features or specific brand terms 3. **Formatting**: - Use of bold for emphasis - List formatting (bullets vs. numbers) - Date and time formats - Number formatting (e.g., spelling out one through nine) 4. **Perspective**: - Use of first person ("we", "us") - Addressing the reader directly ("you") - Use of third person ("the company", "users") ## Terminology Management ### Preferred Terms Words that align with brand voice and category positioning. ### Avoided Terms Words that are off-brand, overly technical, or used by competitors. ### "Forbidden" Words Specific terms that should never be used (e.g., "cheap", "best-in-class"). ### Pronunciation and Spelling Guidelines for brand-specific names or technical terms. --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/frumu-ai) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.