My friend Lindsay is a huge fan of the color black. Ninety-eight percent of her wardrobe is made up of black clothing. She wears black combat boots. And she even asked me to design her business cards so they would look like the night sky.
So I was more than a little surprised when she showed up at the last conference we attended together with a light pink hairdryer. It’s not like it was the only hairdryer available, either. She actually chose the pretty pink option over her usual black, no-nonsense preference.
Her reason why?
Because the content the haircare company had created to promote the pink hairdryer was compelling.
Lindsay watched a video wherein a woman just like her had used the pink hairdryer to style her hair. The process looked simple. The promotion was professional. And the product was part of the company’s well-coordinated, cohesive line of pink haircare products.
We can follow the same example when we create new, compelling content.
Here’s how …
Simplify the message.
The easier our products are to understand, the more our customers will engage. While big words and fancy turns of phrase might seem professional and enticing, it means nothing to our customers if the message is vague or confusing.
There’s no need to strip out your unique voice and perspective, either. (In fact, including it often helps clients and customers relate!) As long as people can glance at our content and know what we’re offering to make their lives better, we’re on the right track
Even though our content should be simple, it doesn’t mean we should throw some stuff together at the last minute and hope for the best.
Engaging content looks and feels professional.
Accomplishing a certain level of professionalism may mean hiring a good copywriter or editor to look over your website and brochure copy, or it could mean hiring an excellent designer to bring your vision to life.
The quality of our marketing materials reflects the quality of our businesses. So be wise and spend some extra cash where it will make an impact to help your product stay at the forefront of your customers’ minds.
Another thing to consider when we create compelling content is to evaluate how well our new product fits within our existing brand.
Our content is more memorable when we have a solid focus.
It would be fun to have a dog-walking business that sells custom leashes and cute chew toys. It may also be fun to have a dog-walking business/stiletto shop—but it’ll probably be confusing to customers since dog walking and stilettos aren’t natural partners.
Next time you brainstorm content to promote your business, remember to simplify, be professional and tighten your focus!
What are some other strategies you’ve used to create compelling content as you promote your work? What worked best? What didn’t work?