The number of marketing messages people are exposed to on a daily basis can be pretty overwhelming. It’s constant. And many business teams find themselves under pressure to produce a regular flow of online content to promote their organisation. But what can make their words stand out from the crowd? To my mind, it’s ‘heart’.
This sounds overly sentimental, and I don’t really mean it to be so. Instead, what I mean is that businesses should aim to show personality. People don’t tend to buy from companies that seem staid or are just about selling services or products. Instead, people use companies that (a) solve a problem for them, and (b) make them feel a connection.
I firmly believe that it’s sometimes important to go outside of your comfort zone and actually talk about your reasons why. Explain why you do what you do, and what it means to you. Tell your audience a story and enable them to become supporters for what you do. You don’t have to be perfect, you just need to be you.
And that’s where it can mean something a little bit scary: telling them about yourself and who you are. When you’re creating content for your promotional materials, website and blogs, it’s important to connect with others. We do this by not necessarily being perfect, but instead explaining about your passion, your story and your company’s ethos.
For example, a big reason why I decided to go freelance was how different I felt after having my children. Prior to this, I worked as an in-house communications professional for charities for a number of years. Everything changed with the birth of my first child. I wanted to make him proud, and I also wanted to be there for him. I wanted a career that was fulfilling and inspiring and brought together all the strands of what I’d done previously.
As soon as I started opening up about that (and the difficulties of being a working parent too) on social media, I started forming more connections with people who felt the same. A bit of vulnerability can be important. People buy from people.
Those who are passionate about the story they’re telling tend to be the ones most capable of explaining it in the best way. When we’re talking about blogs, then quality is more important than quantity. Great blogs form connections and inspire conversations.
So, in summary, when you’re producing words for your website, promotional materials and blogs, think about your reasons why. Then work out how you can communicate that and share what you care about in an engaging way too.
Need help with your online content? Have a chat with me to see how I can help: [email protected]
