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Words matter. How you communicate can mean the difference between someone walking away with a bad taste in their mouth about your business and sealing the deal with a big new client. And when your first impression is made on the internet, words matter that much more.
How do you approach creating content that has long term value and maximum impact on the reader? Keep reading.
Trafficking In Emotional Currency
The key is to create an emotional connection between the words and the reader (your potential customer or client). Focusing on building emotional currency is the most important thing you can do as a business because, as Harvard Business Review put it, "on a lifetime value basis, emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as highly satisfied customers. These emotionally connected customers buy more of your products and services, visit you more often, exhibit less price sensitivity, pay more attention to your communications, follow your advice, and recommend you more – everything you hope their experience with you will cause them to do."
A lot of online marketing courses out there will promise you a 6-figure income and growth hacking strategies, but they can't teach you how to market from the heart. Mainly because most of these so-called experts are trying to teach you how to go after quick wins, when the true value is in building long term relationships. And just like any relationship you build IRL, that takes time, patience, and trust.
If you're struggling to find the right words to connect with your audience, it might be time to tune out the experts and tap into what's in your heart. What do you stand for? What makes you better than your competitors? What is it about you and your business that is so incredibly, inescapably human that people will automatically relate to it? This is where your story begins.
Place More Stock In Passion and Purpose
You can’t afford to create content that is "just okay," mediocre, or blah. When you put content out there that lacks passion, personality, and purpose you’re throwing away opportunities for growth.
I've worked with clients who have settled for hum-drum content for a variety of reasons. They hired someone inexperienced to keep costs down. Or they decided to focus on writing for SEO instead of for an actual human customer. Or sometimes they tell me that they love to write and thought they could do it themselves, but realized how challenging it was during the process.
While my first suggestion for combatting content that falls flat is to hire an expert, I understand that that is not always an option for small businesses. If you're interested in trying to craft content that is passionate and purpose-driven, here's what I would recommend:
Start by figuring out who you are and what you want to say. All good copy, whether on websites, in blog posts, or in marketing materials, stems from good brand messaging. Write down what you do, what you want to stand for (your mission statement) and what makes you stand out from the competition.
Determine who you are talking to through the content you are going to create. Developing personas for your target audience is as simple as identifying their age, gender, income level, and interests. In some cases, age and gender might not be important and you can instead build out a list of psychological and emotional needs that your target audience may have in order to better understand who you are talking to.
Map out where you want to talk to them before you start writing. From website copy to social media platforms to email marketing efforts, identify all the ways in which you want to communicate with your target audience before you start writing. Even if your tone might change slightly between mediums, make sure you are consistent with your messaging and are representing your brand in a uniform way across each.
Also, remember that just because you are a brand doesn't mean that you can't have personality. In fact, your brand voice should be top of mind throughout the process.
Utilize Your Data
The D-word doesn't have to be so scary, as long as you know what you're looking for. With tools like Google Analytics and metrics gathered from social media and email platforms, you can gain a ton of insight about what is landing with your audience and what is falling flat. The data will sometimes show you that something you thought would go viral turned out to be a big failure, but that in and of itself is a win.
Make sure you're tapping into all the data that you have access to in order to make better decisions about what type of content to feed your customers. The only way you'll truly fail is if you ignore the data and keep making the same mistakes. In content, as in business and in life, don't be afraid to take chances, try new things, and put yourself out there at every chance you get.