Inspired by Ann Handley, chief content officer of MarketingProfs and a prolific speaker and author, she has given some remarkable and practical suggestions to improve our writing fundamentally. In her talks, she has always reinforced on being a writer first, and a marketer second.
From Instagram stories (yes, copy matters there a lot) to announcing your new book release with a brilliant context on Facebook to opening your digital content shop’s primer video on LinkedIn – it’s a wordplay and a serious one!
So if you think ‘trending’ on the Web sounds a bit loud – and perhaps, if I may stretch to say pompous – you need more depth and immersion in how you communicate through your words. No underplay. No overplay. Just plain, simple, effective communication that speaks to the hearts of your consumers/ audience/ customers.
Your consumers want a dialogue. They need you to communicate with them, not talk at them. And so, while we see some emotionally resonating campaigns sweeping by us and moving us to take a certain call to action, we need more words that speak our language: in the most personalized and empathetic way.
We need more ideas (read: think, check). The economy we live in, the social circles we attend to, the colleagues we work with, the Netflix we occasionally binge-watch – yes, ideas shape our worlds, brands, businesses, and model behavior that is predicated on inspiration and creation.
Writing, which is a natural flow of ideas, then becomes more deliberate and gorgeous. Sometimes, we would see too much short-termism of marketing campaigns as they are not exhaustively thought-through and sharp. Reason? We need to understand the ‘cadence’ of how our consumers want to engage with us. Which, as a result, requires us to delve deeper into the undercurrents of what words click – better yet, mesh – with our audience.
Marketing then seems to find its way once we are consciously trying to understand the unconsciousness of what our audience experiences when they come across a brilliant campaign and the message it communicates. Yes, that depth helps us to give more meaning to what are marketing stands for. When marketing lingers in our minds, it’s a proof of its resonance and longevity.
So, let’s unpack the iterative formula but in the right order and rhythm: think through + write to see if gives an emotionally captivating message + apportion the words in the marketing puzzle to see if it works – and repeat.
Sounds basic? Maybe. Doable and effective? Yes. Definitely.
Go tunnel-like with your writing – and see how marketing transpires effectively.
