Copywriting: The power of compelling content
Ask any copywriter and they’ll be happy to tell you: “content is king.” Sure, such an assessment might be the product of professional bias, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some truth behind it. Content is, at the very least, critical. It plays a central role in all of your marketing efforts—both digital and traditional. Compelling copy can mean the difference between a bored, unengaged user and a converted customer.
Good copywriting works synergistically with design to convey your message with maximum efficacy. It exists across channels like social media, email marketing, and SEM, leveraging each as components of a larger, cohesive narrative. Copywriting tells the story of your brand, connecting your audience with your brand purpose through the most articulate means of communication: words.
Powerful copywriting is nuanced. There’s no paint-by-numbers formula to telling a great brand story. There are, however, three primary features that all compelling content should include.
Distinctive Voice and Tone
At the most immediate level, your copywriting should reflect your unique brand personality. The voice of your content is the individualised style in which it’s conveyed. Is your brand youthful and exuberant or sophisticated and intelligent? The answer should be readily apparent in the voice that conveys its message. The tone of your copy is a more emotional attribute and is defined largely by your target audience. What tone works best to connect with those you’re trying to reach? Humorous and irreverent or professional and business-like? The goal is to decide where on the spectrum is most appropriate. You want your copy to stand out and be remembered, but there are risks involved with being too unconventional.
Conveyance of Value Propositions
If voice and tone are the form of your content, then value propositions are its substance. The objective of any piece of brand messaging—from website content to sales proposals—is to convey the beneficial offerings that only your business can provide. Whether its superior product quality or peerless service, customers should come away understanding precisely what it is that differentiates you from your competition.
Brand Story through Narrative
As humans we’re hardwired to appreciate narrative. We’ve been telling stories since time immemorial. From the time we painted the walls of caves to depict the drama of hunts and battles, the narrative arc has enthralled us. It stands to reason, then, that marketing messaging is most effective when it takes the form of a compelling story. There are many elements to a great story, but the two that are most essential are character and conflict. When it comes to your brand story, the character is your customer and the conflict is a unique challenge or need that only your service or product can resolve. When your customer is an integral part of your brand story, they can’t help but become invested in its outcome.
Compelling content is often the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to a large marketing initiative like a website redesign. The words that will carry your message are easy to take for granted. But copywriting is just as important an investment as development and design. Even the snazziest of websites, after all, is useless without messaging that compels its users to act. In this sense, the copywriters of the world have it right: content is, in fact, king.
