Use Your Words
Is copywriting dead in this age of social media, photo-mania and mass distribution of amateur video? No. It’s not. A picture is still worth a thousand words, and what those thousand words are is open to vast interpretation. Great copy writing tells the story you want them to hear.
If you have spent time around a toddler and/or teenager, “use your words” is likely a phrase with which you are familiar. Squealy toddler tantrums or surly teenage stomping is a form of communication, but not the preferred mode most adults want to operate within.
In business, the same advice stands: Use your words. We are an increasingly visual society with an ever decreasing attention span. The words you use and how you use them are more vital than ever to provide clarity in your communications.
Humans have this need to understand things–to “get” the full story; however, rarely do we have all the facts. Human brains have a tendency to manufacture information, to “fill in the blanks” of what they don’t know about a story. In our world of ever-decreasing attention spans, we need to motivate people to go beyond just looking at the pictures to interpret your meaning.j
Writing must be concise and direct.
To create impactful messaging, it is imperative to think through that message, how to deliver it and to whom.
Do you want your advertisement to promote a specific product or do you need to build brand recognition and trust?
Are you speaking to current customers or trying to get new ones?
Who are your customers – age, gender, educational level, occupational status?
What do your customers value?
Who are you? What is your voice?
Upon reading your message, what do you want customers to think, feel or do?
Why are you the best solution for your customer’s problem?
It is one thing to know what you want. It is quite another to put the right words together to help achieve your goals. Effective written communication can and will inspire your audience to action. When your audience clearly understands what you are saying, they can relate. Using your words does that. It forms connections. It’s necessary to forming solid long-term relationships.
Do more than just being noticed with what I would call a “marketing tantrum”– making a bunch of noise about yourself, but not relaying why you want your audience’s attention. Use your words to bond with your audience and build your brand. When they know your brand story, the bond will go beyond that moment’s sale or promotion.