Well, that sounds crazy.
Ads on TV are honest? Junk mail? Popups on my computer screen?
Pretty much.
That’s one of the roles of the Federal Trade Commission in the USA. To make sure advertisers don’t lie about their products or services. And they’re pretty strict about it too.
Most western countries have equivalent organizations.
As marketers we’re not allowed to spread lies.
If your brand or business is going to be conversational, it needs a voice.
But what kind of voice? What should it sound like? What kind of vocabulary should you use?
Companies find their voices in all kinds of different ways.
Sometimes it’s the voice of the founder.
For a long time, the voice of Apple was the voice of Steve Jobs. And the voice of the Virgin group of companies is Richard Branson, more or less.
Other times companies can borrow the voices of brand ambassadors or through celebrity endorsements. Those borrowed voices are intended to match the character of the company or brand.
If you’ve ever listened to advice on losing weight, you’re probably familiar with the term “empty calories”.
It simply means the food you’re eating – like a candy bar – is full of calories, but has negligible nutritional value.
The same can happen in writing.
Lots of words, negligible meaning.
And perhaps surprisingly, some of the biggest offenders are digital ad agencies.
You’d think marketing professionals would know better. But apparently not.
Here’s an example of what I mean…
Whether you’re a freelancer, a consultant, coach or some other kind of solo professional, you have a personal brand.
Your personal brand determines how your clients, prospects and peers see you. What they think of you.
Your brand is a jigsaw of different influences – how you appear online, what you say, what it’s like to work with you, and what you do.
Most solo professionals take a pretty casual approach to personal branding. Their brand, such as it is, is largely accidental.
But smart individuals take a more deliberate approach.
Let’s take a look at what that might involve…
When the web arrived in our lives, way back in the mid 1990s, it heralded a wave of disruptions, one after another.
The web changed how we look for and find information, how we connect with others, how we shop… and a great deal more.
Over time, the web has also profoundly changed the way companies do business.
It was and continues to be massively disruptive to multiple industries. When did you last go to a physical store and buy a music CD? Or rent a movie on a VHS cassette?
Industries have been changed almost beyond recognition – like the taxi business.
And now we have a new wave of disruptions coming our way.
The focus of most of my posts is on writing sales copy that is less pushy and adversarial… and more open and conversational.
In this post I’m going to focus not on sales copy, but on web content.
Because content can go either way as well.
Content can be flat editorial that is broadcast AT an audience of passive readers.
Or content can be more engaging and conversational in its approach and tone.
If you want your own content to be more inclusive, engaging and conversational, here are 4 things you might want to think about.