How do you align release notes with your brand voice and tone?

I just gave a talk about company brand voice and tone and having consistent voice and tone in all aspects of communication is huge. For release notes, these are often communications many people view to gather info and see what's new, and it's important to share them (and other documentation/communications) in a way that is consistent across teams and publications. Voice and tone helps build trust and understanding between a company and the people it communicates with.

Branding of any documentation published by an organisation, is a sign of quality. In that the organisation is directly associating itself with the document being published. To maintain quality the same branding look, feel, format and tone needs to be carried across all similar documents (and in certain cases, e.g. logo position, default font typeface and size, etc.). Defining a suite of standard document templates and styles can help here. Getting a consistent tone to the documentation is slightly more challenging. Particularly if you have a number of technical authors. So, some rules on the level and approach to write certain documents, e.g. installation/ user guides, may also be required.

Ensuring that release notes align with a brand’s voice and tone is essential for maintaining consistency across all company communications. Since release notes are a key touch point for users seeking updates and new information, they must reflect the same quality as other branded documents. To achieve this, I follow strict brand guidelines to ensure that the tone, format, and style of the release notes are consistent with the company’s overall communications. Utilizing standardized document templates and styles helps maintain visual and structural uniformity. This approach guarantees that every release note not only delivers critical information but also strengthens the brand’s identity and builds a deeper connection with the audience.

Yes! All of this! Having values and examples to follow for communications helps all employees whenever they are building or writing shareable content. This information helps teams work freely and more quickly when building content while still maintaining consistency.

"Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room," said Jeff Bezos. To align your release notes with your brand voice and tone, start by adopting the same style used in other customer communications. In my experience, if your brand is friendly and conversational, keep the language simple and approachable in your release notes. For a more technical or formal brand, use precise and professional language. A common mistake is treating release notes as purely functional—bring in elements of your brand personality to engage users. Consistency with your brand voice ensures your release notes reflect your company's identity.

To test and improve your release notes, you should follow the below practices: 1. Self-reviews as per the checklist, if available. 2. Peer reviews to look for the style, grammar, and other similar errors. 3. Technical reviews or functional reviews to check the technical accuracy of your content.