As a copywriter and branding strategist, I’m often asked, “How can I create content that keeps introduces my brand AND makes a connection to create a tribe?
What’s the best way to create connections with content?
We keep hearing that the Internet is a cold medium. That’s true for some people but you can create warm content that draws people into your world. Whether you want “warm” or “warm and fuzzy” is up to you!
One way to think of this challenge is that we usually think of creating content in terms of words and we tend to think in black and white. Our brand will come alive when we think of creating a multimedia multicolored canvas instead.
The three techniques I use and recommend to my own clients are:
Story-telling
We’re hearing more about stories these days. Stories go back to the beginning of language (I suspect) and I believe the earliest cave paintings were created to tell stories. Now we’re using them for state-of-the-art 21st century marketing.
Stories keep listeners hooked because they want to hear how everything turned out. They allow you to promote yourself without bragging. Every online business owner should have a portfolio of 3 stories and an awareness of what makes this form work.
Metaphors
Metaphors are closely related to stories. When you’re trying to explain what you do, who you are or how you help people, it’s often useful to come up with a metaphor. For instance, I like to say that web development is like football, where the copywriter is the quarterback and the design team is the offensive line. (I say this a lot, so it’s probably not new to you.)
Word pictures
Copywriters use this subtle technique often. Instead of saying, “I organize your home so you can find everything,” you can say, “Imagine … you’ll never spend a minute or an hour looking for that document you need to sign right now.”
Invoke all 5 of your reader’s senses. Bring your reader into the scene.
Believe it or not, this tip ooften will be more effective when someone is reading than when someone is watching a video. The reason is that we have higher involvement in print media because we have to use our imagination. We can be more passive when we’re watching a movie.
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And please share you own content strategy tips below!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Something appropriate to the post. Could be a song, an inspirational clip, even a tv commercial.
Great idea, Steve! What type of content do you have in the video? You can use stories, metaphors … even act out some scenes!
Every now and then I’ll add a video to spice things up.