Why your brand sounds different on every channel, and how to fix it

Open your website. Now open your Instagram, your LinkedIn page and the last email you sent customers. Do they sound like the same company?

For a lot of growing businesses, they don't. The website's a bit stiff. Instagram sounds like an excited friend. LinkedIn reads like a press release. And the ads? They sound like a different brand altogether.

Nobody's doing a bad job here. It just happens when different people write for different channels and nothing's written down. The good news? The fix is smaller than you'd think.

Why it happens

• Lots of writers, lots of habits. The founder wrote the website. A freelancer does social. Sales write their own emails. Everyone brings their own style.
• Each channel pulls you its own way. LinkedIn nudges you towards formal. Instagram nudges you towards casual. With nothing to anchor you, the channel wins.
• Nobody wrote it down. In a young company, the voice lives in the founder's head. When the team grows, it doesn't come along.
• Jargon creeps in. When people aren't sure how to sound, they try to sound "professional". That usually means borrowing corporate phrases like "end-to-end solutions" and "best-in-class". Those phrases sound like everyone, so you end up sounding like no one.

Why should you care? People trust what feels familiar. Meet a warm, chatty brand on Instagram, then land on a stiff website full of buzzwords, and a tiny seed of doubt gets planted. Sounding consistent makes you easy to recognise, and that's a big part of having a brand at all.

Voice and tone: two different things

Your voice is who you are. It stays the same everywhere. Your tone is how you adjust that voice to fit the moment.

Think about a good family doctor. Same person with good news or bad, they just talk a bit differently each time. Say your voice is "warm, direct and plain-spoken". On Instagram, your tone can be lighter. In an email about a failed payment, it should be calmer and more careful. Either way, you still sound warm, direct and plain.

Mixed messages usually come from treating each channel as a brand-new voice, when all it needed was a change of tone.

Write a simple voice guide

You don't need a thick brand book that sits unopened in a shared folder. A page or two that people actually use is worth far more.

1. A few voice traits, each with a partner

Pick three or four traits, and pair each one with a second word that keeps it in check:

• Confident and modest
• Friendly and respectful
• Expert and easy to follow

The second word shows your writers where the line is, so confident never tips into bragging.

2. A short tone note for each channel

One line each is plenty:

• Website: clear and reassuring. Answer the questions a new visitor has.
• Instagram: lighter and more playful, and still recognisably you.
• LinkedIn: thoughtful. Share what you've learned along the way, as well as what you've launched.
• Email: personal, like one person writing to another.
• Ads: short and specific. One idea at a time.

3. Word lists

Keep two short lists: words you use and words you avoid. A skincare brand might go for "gentle" and "fragrance-free" and steer clear of "miracle" and "flawless". A money app talking to everyday customers might say "your savings" instead of "your portfolio allocation". They also settle little debates early, like "customers" or "members".

4. The small stuff

Decide on spelling (Indian and British English, or American), dates, numbers, headings, emoji and exclamation marks. Readers notice when these change from page to page. Then add a few before-and-after rewrites, like the ones below. Nothing teaches voice faster.

Plain language holds it all together

At Markiva Solutions, we're no fans of corporate jargon, and here's why. Jargon changes depending on who's writing that day. Plain, everyday words sound the same whoever writes them.

Here's a quick test. Would you say this sentence out loud to a customer sitting across the table? If not, rewrite it.

Jargon to drop, and what to say instead:

• "Utilise" → "use"
• "Empower" → "help" or "let"
• "Solutions" → name the actual thing, like "accounting software" or "skincare for sensitive skin"
• "End-to-end" → say what's included, like "we handle it from sign-up to support"
• "Best-in-class" → say what makes it good, then prove it
• "Cutting-edge" or "innovative" → describe the new thing it does
• "Touch base" → "catch up" or "give you a call"
• "Reach out" → "get in touch" or "email us"
• "Going forward" → "from now on", or just delete it

A few before-and-after rewrites

Made-up examples for made-up companies. You might recognise the "before" versions, though.

A website headline for an accounting tool

Before: "We provide innovative, end-to-end financial solutions that empower businesses to optimise their processes."

After: "Send invoices, track payments and file your GST returns in one place. Built for small businesses who'd rather not think about accounting."

An Instagram caption for a skincare brand

Before: "OMG!!! Our NEW serum is literally EVERYTHING!!! Grab yours NOW before it's gone!!!"

After: "Our new serum's here. It's light, fragrance-free and made for skin that reacts to everything. Link in bio if you'd like to try it."

The tone's lighter than the website. The voice is the same.

A LinkedIn post for a delivery company

Before: "We are thrilled to announce a strategic partnership that will drive value and deliver best-in-class outcomes for all stakeholders."

After: "We've teamed up with a regional courier, so customers in smaller towns can get next-day delivery too. Here's why we did it and what changes for you."

A failed-payment email

Before: "Your transaction could not be processed. Please rectify the issue at your earliest convenience."

After: "Your payment didn't go through this time. Don't worry, it's usually just an expired card. You can update your details here, and we'll keep your order saved for you."

Who should own it

If everyone owns your brand voice, nobody does. Give it to one person, usually the founder or whoever looks after marketing. Their job:

• Keep the guide up to date
• Check new pieces against it, especially from new writers
• Share it with everyone who writes for you, including freelancers, agencies and any partner specialists running your ads or SEO
• Settle little debates quickly, before they drag on

Look at the guide again every six months, or when there's a big change, like a new product or a new market.

Where to start this week

Pull together a handful of recent pieces: a web page, some social posts, a newsletter, an ad and a sales email. Read them side by side, and mark the lines that sound most and least like you. That's the first draft of your voice guide, right there.

You don't need to use the same words everywhere. You just need to sound like the same people, wherever your customers find you.

Want a hand?

We've written for brands as different as Audi, Finology and GAYA Skincare, and each one needed its own voice. If your channels have drifted apart, we can help you put together a simple voice guide and rewrite your key pages in plain words your customers will enjoy reading. Just email us at hello@markivasolutions.com and tell us a bit about your brand.