How to implement tone of voice
September 2025
Too often, tone of voice guidelines are built, signed off, and never looked at again. A polished PDF isn’t enough. If you want a brand voice that lives and breathes across everything you do, implementation is the hard part — and where most businesses fall short.
Here’s how to fix that.
Start with why it matters.
If teams don’t understand the value of tone, they won’t stick to it. Start by making the business case: clarity, consistency and brand distinctiveness. Show how tone affects performance — from engagement rates to trust and recall.
Make it practical, not abstract.
A list of adjectives and dos or don’ts won’t get you far. Make your guidelines useful with real examples: before-and-afters, reworked headlines, and snippets of copy tailored for different platforms.
The goal is to give teams something they can use, not interpret.
Tailor for different teams.
Not every team needs the full tone bible. Editors and copywriters might. Paid media and product teams need a lighter version with relevant context.
Adapt the guidance to the formats and workflows each team actually uses, and embed it where they work.
Train, then reinforce.
Training is crucial, but so is follow-through. Run collaborative workshops, not just presentations. Create feedback loops where content gets reviewed and improved.
Most importantly, show what good looks like with every project. Over time, it becomes second nature.
Tone of voice only works when it’s embedded.
At Brave Bison, we help brands move from guidelines to action — making sure every team speaks with one voice, across every touchpoint.
