5 Tips On Writing Marketing Content That Drives Business Value

Writing marketing content that will be meaningful and impactful for a diverse audience is a huge task. Creating compelling marketing copy comes down to providing value for your fans. This doesn’t happen overnight. If you are thinking about getting into content marketing, these five tips provide a strategic starting point for newbies while providing deeper wisdom for the more experienced folk.


Tip #1: Start With The End In Mind
The first principle of successful marketing is to have a vision. This vision must go beyond selling products and services, instead focusing on what impact the brand intends to have on the world.
This does not need to be huge world-changing stuff. For example, if a company sells educational video games for young children, they may have a vision of offering the most fun educational games anywhere on the market. This could translate into writing marketing content that focuses on that goal, for example by writing funny content that also teaches the reader something interesting.
If this company, aiming to educate and entertain their audience (or their audience’s children), writes boring business-minded prose, they are bound to fail. By starting with the end in mind and having a vision, they are instead primed for a successful campaign.

Tip #2: Use One Person’s Voice For All Marketing Copy
Marketing copy is one of the few chances a business has to speak directly to its customers. As such, it’s critical to avoid marketing by committee. If ten different people need to approve the marketing copy before it goes public, there will be no hope for creating good content.
It takes courage to let one or two people define the personality of an entire brand’s marketing campaign. There’s a reason companies do it, and that’s because it works. Of course, it’s good to keep an eye on the marketing copy at first. This isn’t a radical idea with no oversight, it’s just a reminder to favor the “hands off” approach whenever possible.

Tip #3: Focus on Conversion
Likes and views are great, but a business can’t survive just by being popular. Measure the success of marketing materials based on how well they convert new prospects into paying customers.
Start with the willingness to experiment and explore. Like tip #2 said, let someone’s personality dictate the initial tone of the writings. As time goes by and there’s enough data to analyze, it’s time to get statistical and explore the specific actions that the business can take to improve conversion. In the end, if a campaign gets enough people to convert to paying customers, it works. End of story.

Tip #4: Ask Questions
People these days expect to be included in the conversation. When a brand markets to them by telling them what to do, they may react with annoyance. Rather than taking on a voice of authority, try speaking to potential customers as equals. Ask them about their opinion. Rather than saying, “Our soda is the best and you better believe it!”, go with a softer approach like “What do you think of our amazing new soda?”
Asking questions feels awkward at first. Your brand’s fanbase may not be used to this, and it will take a few tries before they start to respond. Remember that nobody notices the questions that don’t get answered, they only see the conversations that come from the successful attempts.

Tip #5: Once They Respond, Keep Talking!
It’s not enough to ask the question and walk away. Even if it isn’t the same person who writes the marketing copy, somebody should be assigned to keep an eye on the social media platforms and respond to everybody who comments.
It’s a noisy world, and everybody wants to be acknowledged. Something as simple as a “thank you” from the brand account can be the difference between a fan tuning out or tuning way in and buying your product.

Conclusion
Writing marketing content is a long-term process that will be different for each brand. Listen to your customers. Reach out to them with relevant content, and let one person define your brand’s marketing image. Remember that no matter what happens, the failed ads will usually fade away unnoticed, so don’t be afraid to try some bold ideas. In the end, a brand should use its marketing copy to connect with potential customers and turn them into members of the family.
[martech]

May 12, 2017