In the good old bad days before very smart but literal search engines copywriters could run riot.
Play with alliterations, metaphors and similes under the creativity banner, revel in guilty pleasures unique to the unofficial union of wordsmiths (sad but true).
We could lap up the ingenuity of the Cream of Manchester slogan, even though comparing a diary product to frothy hoppy beer is the antithesis of today’s fascinating SEO world.
Today, as writers our craft not only includes content creation (research and writing) but also embraces context consideration (publishing) and integration (how words complement keyword/SEO strategies and ultimately deliver buying customers).
Core copywriting disciplines, skills and experience remain but we have new triggers point:-
- thinking of words/copy in relation to search engines and keywords
- creating unique content for each media platform
- ensuring words/copy perform seamlessly across different media
- maintaining tone of voice, brand perception and the effectiveness of the key message.
The content has to be well written, accurate, relevant and entertaining AND look good on the page/screen. This means changing how we present copy.
- shorter paragraphs
- more bulleted or numbered lists (like this)
- focused relevant headers and sub headers
- conversion focused links within the content areas of the page (this applies to all hard and soft collateral).
The phenomenal growth of the www and online social media has changed the way we communicate personally and professionally. Research from HubSpot shows that companies with blogs get 55% more website traffic, and that number goes up exponentially in line with the number of times you post as long as the content is credible and relevant.
From our own personal experiences of the web, watching TV and films and reading newspapers and books we want content to be timely, accurate, relevant, considered, informative and fun. What it cannot ever be is boring, predictable or rehashed. It has to be original, innovative and created fresh for each media platform.
Traffic-attracting content can be driven by:-
- news stories
- blogging
- e-cards
- podcasts
- videos
- on-line demonstrations
- webinars
- tips and advice
- existing content evaluations
- content sharing share
- professional advice
- showing thought leadership
Whatever the format, your call-to-action is essential to collect information, start a dialogue and take the first steps to generating transactions.