Start with the audience
Write down who the client is talking to and what they care about in a few sentences. Every tone choice follows from this, so be specific. "Busy owners of small clinics" is better than "small businesses".
Describe the tone in three words
Pick three words such as warm, direct and practical, and add a line on what each means for this client. Then add two or three example posts the client approved. Examples teach more than adjectives.
List words to use and words to avoid
- Terms the client uses for its own products and services.
- Phrases that are on brand.
- Words the client dislikes or that sound off for the audience.
- Claims the client must never make, for legal or practical reasons.
Cover the formats
Note which platforms the client uses and how the voice shifts between them. A professional network may suit longer, plain posts, while a short-form platform may suit lighter and shorter ones.
Keep it alive
Review the guide every quarter and after any big change in the client's business. A guide nobody updates stops being used.
Where Impret fits
In Impret you can add brand guides and product documents as PDFs once, along with the client website, and the saved context grounds future drafts for that brand. Each brand workspace keeps its own tone, audience and positioning.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a brand voice guide be?
One page is enough for most social clients. If nobody reads it, it is too long.
Who writes the guide, the agency or the client?
Write the first draft yourself from the client's site and past posts, then ask the client to correct it. That is faster than starting from a blank form.
Can AI use a brand voice guide?
Yes. Giving a tool the guide, plus a few approved examples, usually produces drafts that need far less rewriting.