Once you’ve got all your numbers right and your content has been sufficiently #hashtagged you feel you’ve got it all in place. All the words, numbers and pictures are there. But that’s an encyclopedia. It’s not a bestseller.
B OOOO RING!
So obviously you are missing something. (Probably a good writer.) Or simply good writing. (My fellow writers will agree here.)
As far back in the sixties David Ogilvy said, you cannot bore your consumer into buying.
Well, you cannot bore your consumer into reading for sure.
So now the challenge is manifold – talking to the right audience in the right medium but also to make it interesting. That’s where most marketers trip, fall and injure the bridge of their nose.
There is content. And there are content writers. And these qualified little beings spend hours goggle-eyed in front of their screens trying to make sense of a barrage of information – words and statistics that has been piled into their inbox and rearrange them into something interesting.
It’s like giving a handful of pebbles and a pinch of salt to someone and telling them they should now come up with a Michelin star dish.
Well, the best of content writers will do that. They can weave a story around the ‘pebbles’ or they can spice them up with a dash of lime (that they brought from home). Or they can sprinkle some crushed walnuts. Or bake instead of fry. Or boil instead of… Well, you get the drift.
Truth is most marketers do not value the importance of good content writing. They are complacent about the fact that what they offer (as a product) is so very interesting that people will come to them in droves like the fans to Salman Khan’s house on a Sunday evening.
Well, wake up. It’s not happening.
You must make your content interesting, engaging and yes, unique. And it’s never a good idea to get complacent about what you are offering especially if it is what your neighbours are offering. Because, like you, there are enough out there dishing out the same salted pebbles and the minute their recipe is better than yours, guess which dish is being consumed.
So how do you do it? Here are a few ways.
- Employ the right tone of voice basis your audience. Be a friend when required. A confidante when that’s necessary. Or simply be the one who can say things as it is.
- Be authoritative but not authoritarian. Speak from a place of knowledge but don’t be the old headmaster. Be the friend that knows. (Which means a lot of research, not just SEO)
- Be unique. Talk about a personal event. Talk about yourself as a person. Talk about something that happened to a friend. Make it human. Because human is unique. And human is relatable.
- And, of course, offer a solution. If you are defining a problem, don’t just talk about it. Talk about various solutions. Your product or service could be part of the list or not there at all.
- Effective content is about creating a relationship. It’s not necessarily about selling. (Psssst! The When Harry met Sally example remember? It’s in the earlier post. Link here.)
So, let me give it to you plain and simple, your content has to be interesting enough to be read. That is half the battle won. Better quality content does better. Don’t let complacency kill your content. Good is not good enough. In the words of a very popular global leader: Make it great again!
THIS IS PART 4 OF THE 5 PART SERIES ON CONTENT. THE CONCLUDING PIECE IS TOMORROW. MISSED THE EARLIER ONES? HERE
The link to #3 Consistency: Where were you yesterday?
Here’s the link to #2 Clarity: How clear is your vision?
And this is the link to #1 Content: Content with your content?
And if you want to know more about how we can help, simply write to vaishakhi@abacusyellow.com.
