Brand: the power of the Word.
Words or ‘copy’ are often overlooked in brand and marketing.
It’s a question of perspective: as customers, we’re all conditioned to believe that ‘words are just words right?’ And ‘talk is cheap’? or ‘he or she’s all talk?’ We don’t need words, we need action right!? Wrong.
In marketing it’s the other way around – your words are vital to compel meaningful action – especially online which is where most customers ‘live’ these days.
Ask any digital marketer and they agree that the challenge with online is that we have 2 or 3 seconds to grab the attention and maybe a few more seconds to offer something more substantial in the website copy for the critical, weary but interested visitor.
Tailoring your words to resonate with your customer is another insight to successful, more effective branding.
The power of words is arguably the most common oversight and undervalued aspect in a businesses’ marketing toolkit. Why? There are a number of factors but I’ve found it’s mainly due to a massive misunderstanding of the ‘art’ of copywriting and what it can do for many businesses’ sales performance and to power many businesses sole marketing asset: the website.
The thing is, the vast majority of people are literate these days and can put a sentence together with little difficulty (with the help of a spellchecker or ‘Grammarly’ – have you seen those online ads?) As a result we encounter that old, familiar, misguided mindset: ‘I can do that, so why pay someone else to do that for me?’. While its understandable, it’s a blind spot for most businesses as they miss a crucial part of the ‘brand blueprint for growth’.
Don’t believe me? Try sitting down and writing your own website copy from scratch. The penny will drop in about 30 seconds that it’s much harder than it looks. Crafting compelling copy is an art and its a science . Its also a wise investment that can pay for itself over and over many times if done correctly – but like most things in business, it does require time, concentration, understanding, effort and insight. It’ll be one of the best investments you can make to increase your online conversions and help you create engaging content and messages for your brand.
The recipe for success? Identify your ‘brand voice’, know your ideal customer, and find the ‘right’ copywriter for your brand who understands you, your customer, your industry and your customers’ challenges (oh yes, ask for samples!). It also helps if they can ‘speak for you’ using subtle nuances that reflect you like tone, manner, personality and purpose. A good copywriter will ask or get a good sense of this when or if you meet, but a great copywriter will deliver much more if given the guidelines and the brand direction.
Your words are one of the most powerful tools you have to persuade, engage, resonate and attract your desired customer as well as expressing and amplifying your own thoughts. It applies in the real world as much as it does in the online world.
A recent client was pleased to take ownership of a well-designed website.
It looked engaging, dynamic and had the ‘wow’ factor but its no good having a good looking website if no one can find it? Nor is it a good thing when someone does eventually find that website and the copy or words fail to resonate with the viewer? A website is meant to convert, not just look good. Everything – the imagery, layout, look and feel, the calls to action all needs to be aligned, ‘in sync’ and speaking the same ‘language’ for a consistent message. The copy is the critical element that speaks to the customer directly, that taps their pain, the pleasure and the solution. The copy is what ‘sells’ or ‘converts’. Its the glue that ties all other brand elements together.
When it comes to your brand, marketing or any sales collateral you‘ve invested in – such as your website, sales documents, presentations or even client facing documents like estimates and invoices – these are all brand touch points and it’s crucial that all ‘copy’ used in these touch points resonate with your customer to ensure you’re successfully serving and connecting with your customers.
The power of the word can make or break your landing page offer, your lead gen tool or your opt-in form. It all comes back to psychology and your customer and their expectations and values.
The aim of any copywriting is to produce words that resonate with your desired customer so much so that when they read your website copy they cannot help but think that ‘this business knows me so well, knows my situation, knows what I’m thinking, feeling and going through that I just have to call them. They’re just so ‘in sync’ with me that they’re my choice among the multitude of other choices I have in the marketplace’.
That’s the goal of effective copy-writing.
Like a football team, an orchestra or any business structure, the copy is an integral part of the overall entity, but it needs to work with the other brand elements to help you stand out, connect and resonate with your ideal customer and compel them to take that necessary action.
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I hope you learned something new, insightful or useful from this blog.
As The Brand Entrepreneur, I believe in helping businesses build a ‘brand blueprint’ for business growth.
I do this through a series of workshops designed to help businesses realise and communicate their ‘Why?’. This helps you to resonate with ideal customers and make a small but significant impact in the world. Successful brands in the future care about customers, not branding. I believe that future is now. I’m passionate about creating brand stories & design assets that help brands get ‘in sync’ and connected to customers they care about.