How to stop the block when it comes to content
Content is a funny thing. The description itself suggests that it exists and has meaning, yet in the comms world it often means that people are looking to create it in order to give their brands meaning.
Finding regular interesting and engaging content is a hard task. Ensuring it is on point professionally and yet not too salesy for your audience is a thin line.
At Antelope, we have been writing content for over 25 years and definitely weathered a few content droughts and occasionally the odd storm or two. When the content creator dries up we go back to a number of key simple principles…
1. What are the benefits our client’s brand, product or service offers to its audiences?
2. How do we tell those benefits to the audience in way to engage them?
3. Why should their customers really be bothered?
4. Is it the right time to tell them about it?
5. When did we last talk to them?
Tell me more…
To really write copy that brings your audience closer to your brand, you need to think like your customer, walk in their shoes and see their interaction with your brand through their eyes. Only then can you really explain to them how the product or service you are talking about can help them. This is where tailored messaging is key and your audience segmentation crucial. So, talk to the young parents about the crèche facilities at the museum you are promoting and how it supports the foundation stage of education. Tell the 15 and 16 year olds about how the museum’s archives can bring them real life experiences of the period they are studying in GCSE History and give the veteran serviceman the opportunity to share his experiences on the front line with a collaborative content post.
What’s the story?
Good content supports brand awareness, seeks to drive advocacy and ultimately aligns with sales. To do this you need to tell your audience a story not write a piece of sales collateral. Weave your key messages and points of difference into your storytelling, but find a story to engage them and then use that as a bridge to tell them about your company, brand or product.
Me? Bothered?
Give your audience a reason to care. This could be by telling them how you could improve their lives or through your purpose as an organisation. Showing your values and what you stand for allow your customers to align their values with yours, building brand advocacy and ambassadors.
Get your timing right
Like any communication, pick your timing. We all know how that responses to questions are often dependent on what else we are doing at that particular time, how we feel and what else is happening around us. Trying to have a serious conversation with your partner as they are on the way up to bed is never going to generate a positive response. Launching a brand new product the day of a general election is never going to get you headline news. Schedule ahead and be flexible in your communications.
When did we last talk?
Remember to talk regularly to your audience. Not being in touch for months then sending a friendly sales message into the ether is not going to produce the best results. Communication is part of a relationship and you need to build this over time. Likewise, one sided chatter – whether digitally through email or sending a mailer – without a response can be a sign that maybe it’s time to say Goodbye for now.
Getting your content relevant can be the difference between making a potential customer aware of your brand or turning them off for good. It’s worth weathering the storm to get it right.
Pix credit: Jo Szczepanska on Unsplash