As I wrote in a previous post, the Internet was conversational before the web as we know it even existed.
Since then many writers, myself included, have worked hard to persuade companies and organizations that writing for the web should, above all else, be conversational in tone.
Have we been successful in turning the tide against old-school promotional copywriting, and boring, stiff corporate writing?
I’d say our success rate has been spotty at best.
But maybe that’s all about to change, with a nudge coming from a very unlikely source. That nudge is coming from AI-powered chatbots, which are now able to fool most people into thinking they’re real people.
Enjoy the irony of that for a moment… as chatbots surpass many human writers in their ability to communicate conversationally. (Yes, it’s really happening.)
If the idea of chatbots being better at writing conversationally makes you a tad uncomfortable, maybe it’s time to up your own game.
And just in case your clients or your boss are a little slow on the uptake, feel free to share these three powerful reasons to get more conversational across all digital marketing channels.
Reason #1. Deeper engagement with your prospects and customers drives more sales.
According to the folks at the Temkin Group, a customer experience research and consulting company, “Customer engagement is highly correlated to customer loyalty.”
And as numerous other researchers have noted, increased customer loyalty translates into more sales, more upsells and more money being spent.
Gallup, through their daily tracking of the U.S. economy, takes engagement one step further and makes the point that loyal consumers are more likely to buy, and keep buying, if they feel an emotional connection with the company they’re engaging with.
How can you create a connection that is both engaging and emotional?
Certainly not through high-pressure sales copy. Or through formal business writing.
But you can engage your readers, viewers and listeners at an emotional level with natural, everyday, conversational language.
Reason #2. Conversational voice search will get you ahead with the search engines.
I won’t go into too much detail on this, as I’ve written a separate post on this topic.
Suffice it to say, we’re fast approaching the time when over half of all search queries will no longer be typed, but will be spoken. People are searching online simply by talking to Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant or Microsoft’s Cortana with their phones. Or across the room to one of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices.
And guess what…when people speak search queries out loud, they use conversational language. They don’t use the abbreviated search terms that are typically used with typed search.
In other words, if you want to be ahead of the game when it comes to the new world of SEO, you need to write and optimize your site pages in conversational language.
Reason #3. Get a lot more traction on social media by joining the conversation.
More and more activity online is taking place through social media and texting apps… mostly through mobile devices.
This is where business online is having to go, whether it wants to or not.
Think about how you interact through social media yourself, and how you write when using your favorite texting app.
I’m betting you don’t use a lot of sales copy, or formal business language. But you probably are being conversational, albeit in a rather abbreviated form.
By definition, social media is conversational. Companies and organizations need to find a conversational voice for themselves. They need to find a way of talking and writing that fits their brands, but is also authentic, natural and engaging on a one-to-one level.
If they get the language right they’ll achieve deeper levels of engagement, touch more people emotionally and generate more likes and shares across all their social media channels.
Summing up…
The best way to write for the web has always been to use natural, everyday conversational language.
Now, more than ever before, a company’s future success may depend in large part on how well it communicates with its prospects and customers in an authentic, conversational way.
Your opportunity, as a writer, it to get ahead of the curve so you’re ready to help your clients when they’re ready to make their move.
Conversational Copywriting is the future of selling online. You can build your expertise now, or try catching up later. Find out about the course here…
The number one rule of copywriting is that people don’t like to be sold. And yet, so much of the marketing and sales copy I read is in your face, high pressure, and one-way buy now or else. I’ve grown weary reading it. The idea of engaging your prospects and current customers in a real, two-way conversation is both refreshing and energizing. Talking to your customers instead of talking at your customers. What a concept!
Stephen, as you’re already a professional storyteller, I would expect you to love the conversational approach. After all, the sharing of stories is all about engaging an audience at an emotional level, an often leads naturally to conversation. Anyway, I appreciate your enthusiasm and support!