The Secret to Great Marketing? Stop Trying to Sound Like a Brand

Most brand content sounds like a committee wrote it.

Every sentence has been polished, filtered and tested until it is safe enough to say nothing at all. The result is a tone that feels robotic, predictable and forgettable.

But the brands people actually remember do not sound like brands. They sound like people.

They use humour, they show personality, they make mistakes, and they sound confident enough to just be themselves.

People do not trust polish

Over the last few years, audiences have become suspicious of anything that feels too polished. They want to know who is behind the post, who is writing the email or who is replying to their comment.

The rise of TikTok, Threads and LinkedIn creators has changed expectations completely. Even on corporate accounts, people are craving connection.

That is why brands such as Aldi, Innocent and Duolingo are thriving. They sound like someone you could chat to. They reply with wit, they do not overthink their tone and because they sound human, they earn trust faster than the brands that try to sound perfect.

Authenticity is not a tone of voice

A lot of companies treat authenticity as a tone choice. But real authenticity is a reflection of culture, confidence and consistency.

If your internal team does not understand what your brand believes, they will default to generic language. If they are scared to get it wrong, they will write safe copy that never gets remembered.

The real goal is not to sound authentic, it is to be authentic. And that begins inside your business.

Create a persona for your brand voice

Here is a simple trick we use when helping brands sound more human.

Just as you might build a customer persona to understand who you are talking to, build an internal persona that represents your brand's voice.

Give this persona a name, a background, a way of speaking and even a few personality quirks. Perhaps they are a confident strategist who likes plain language. Perhaps they are a warm, funny expert who explains things simply.

Before writing anything, such as a blog post, a caption or a newsletter, imagine you are that person. Ask yourself if they would really say it like that, if they would use that word and if they would care about that topic.

It helps people in your team step into character. It gives consistency without forcing conformity. And it keeps your tone grounded in something real rather than a list of banned words and buzz phrases.

Brands that sound like people

Aldi does this brilliantly. Every post feels like it is written by a cheeky, confident challenger who is happy to poke fun at the big supermarkets.

Innocent has been doing it for years. Their tone is not about being funny, it is about being warm, curious and gently self-aware.

Even business-to-business brands can do this well. Monzo’s voice feels like a trusted friend who is great with money. It is friendly but never silly.

Each of these brands has built a clear identity that guides everything they say. They have stopped trying to sound like a brand and started sounding like themselves.

Sound real, not right

The best content does not read like it has been approved by a brand book. It reads like it was written by someone who knows what they are talking about and cares about sharing it.

That is what people respond to.

So the next time you are writing something for your brand, forget the idea of getting the tone right. Instead, focus on making it sound real. Imagine your internal persona sitting across from your audience, having a conversation.

Because great marketing is not about sounding perfect. It is about sounding like someone worth listening to.

Until next time, thanks for reading.