Building a consistent brand voice across accounts

Brand voice is what makes a viewer recognise the account with the logo hidden. It comes from repeated small choices, not from tone-of-voice documents.

Write a two-line voice guide

"Friendly, slightly dry. Short sentences. No exclamation marks except in replies." A voice guide that fits on a Post-it gets used; a 20-page document does not.

Copy your own past posts

The fastest way to keep voice consistent is to reread the last three captions before writing the fourth. Voice drifts by imitation of whatever you read last — including other accounts.

Keep a personal glossary

Every brand has its own two dozen preferred words and half-dozen banned ones. Writing them down — even a bullet list in a note — protects voice more reliably than any style guide.

Voice includes what you don't post

Not participating in a trend, not chasing every current-affair topic, not commenting on competitor content — these silences are as much part of a brand voice as the posts themselves.

Test the recognition threshold

Show a friend three captions with the brand hidden. If they can tell which one is yours, the voice is landing. If they cannot, it is not distinct enough yet.

For repurposing across platforms without losing voice, see repurposing one video into five formats.