The all-time favorite question of kids everywhere is, “But, why?”

Every mom, dad, aunt, uncle, babysitter or neighbor who’s been inundated with “But, why?” will invariably answer (usually out of sheer frustration), “Because.”

But when it comes to branding, marketing and strategic communications, asking “But, why?” is not only important, it’s essential.

Talk to any of my clients, and you’ll quickly find that I like to ask questions. A lot of questions. (I consider it a badge of honor that in my former life as a corporate communicator, I got kicked off a strategic planning team for being “too enthusiastic” and “generating too many ideas” with my questions!)

For me, asking questions is absolutely necessary for me to do my job. I typically ask more questions than a lot of my clients expect, and certainly more than they have answers for.

I don’t expect them to know the answer to every question I ask. That’s part of what we work through together. It’s the thinking part of strategic communications.

We ask questions, explore various answers, and then come up with the best solution to the problem.

When it comes to marketing and communicating your business or product, become a bit childish by continually ask “But, why?” – and do so without settling for the pat answer, “Because.”

“Because” may get you a pretty brochure or a new web site, but, I promise it will never get you more sales leads, new customers or top-of-mind name awareness.

For that, dear readers, you must ask, “But, why?” until you can ask it no more.

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Are you guilty or innocent of complicating your message and thereby making it less clear? Let’s find out.

Do you favor big words over small ones? If you say “utilize” instead of “use,” you’re guilty.

Have you created your own language by turning a noun into a verb? Really now, if you say “bulletize,” give yourself another guilty.

You’re guilty again if you craft sentences that rival those of Charles Dickens. Learn to self-edit (delete words and condense phrases) and to chop sentences into two or more thoughts.

Are you driven by your organization’s lexicon, throwing buzzwords and acronyms into every (or even a single) sentence? Guilty again. Save the jargon for emails to your boss. Instead, talk to your customers about what matters most to them in a way they (or even your own grandmother) can understand.

Post your worst sentences here and I’ll give a few of them a before-and-after makeover.

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Today I’ll conclude my series on relevant content (though I’ll continue to address it as a general topic here). Let’s look at our final characteristic: Engaging.

First, let me say that there is no formula for creating engaging copy. That’s because what I find engaging, you might find silly or what you find engaging I might find distasteful.  I’ve said this dozens of times before and I’ll say it again … you gotta know your audience. And that means knowing who they are, what they like, how they talk and what inspires them. Only then can you create copy that’s engaging.

Of course, if you don’t know enough (or anything!) about your audience, ask! Talk to your customers, conduct focus groups, do surveys, meet with them face-to-face, monitor what they’re saying online and more. Do anything you can to confirm your audience assumptions. Remember, the more you know about your audience, the more you can speak directly to what is important to them. It’s job #1 to know your audience.

Now, let’s get back to engaging copy.

Engaging, says Merriam-Webster, means: “tending to draw favorable attention or interest.”

What draws attention and interest (in addition to other relevant content such as video, audio or graphics) is, of course, word choice.

Take, for example, Chipotle. They do a great job of engaging their customers through the use of quirky, not-so-usual words and phrases. On the other hand, PetSmart’s product-focused site contains very little verbiage, making it more engaging for someone who knows what they want and is ready to buy.

Engaging content — and therefore relevant content – is whatever draws your reader in and compels them to action. That action can be contacting you, bookmarking your site, buying something, signing up for a newsletter, etc.

So, how engaging is your copy? Does it draw favorable attention or interest? Take my 4-point quiz to find out.

1. When it comes to your audience, you:

A.  Never give them a thought
B.  Think of them only in a vague and general sense
C.  Take them into account when creating web copy but not as much as you could
D.  Use copy to talk with them like an old friend

2. When it comes to word choice, you:

A.  Love to show off and use big, expository language
B.  Prefer the “tried-and-true” language found in your marketing materials
C.  Try to include some words and phrases your audience will find familiar
D.  Pick words that are fresh, descriptive and easily recognizable

3. First-time visitors to your site would say your web site copy is:

A.  Fine or adequate
B.  Nice or pretty good
C.  Good or better than average
D.  So good they don’t see “copy” … they see a solution to their problem

4.  Your copy makes your site visitors:

A. Want to click away
B.  Experience a little frustration and confusion
C.  Get comfortable
D.  Feel inspired and connected

Score: A=1, B=2, C=3

If you scored 4-7, give yourself credit for brutal honesty; but realize you’re also missing the mark on leveraging the power of the web for your business or brand. It’s time to invest in a total copy makeover.

If you scored 8-10, you’re right where most people are, which means you have a tremendous opportunity to differentiate yourself from the pack. Breathe new life into your copy with a rewrite.
 
If you scored 11-12, you’ve got great copy. Give yourself an “attaboy” or “attagirl,” and then make a plan for your next copy move, including adding to and refreshing your copy.

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After a short spring break, I’m back today to continue my series on relevant content.

Let’s take a closer look at the second of my four characteristics of relevant content: timely.

There are plenty among us who subscribe to the belief that, when it comes to content, “once done, always done.” By this I mean they seem to think that creating content and posting it for all eternity is a good idea. I suspect that’s because they think of content as a one-time investment.

Wrong. I’m here to debunk that myth.

In order for content to be relevant (remember that relevant means meaningful, memorable and useful), it also must be fluid. It must change and grow and expand and shrink and live and breathe and … well, you get the idea. As I’ve said, people change and so should the content that’s geared toward those very same people.

Even content that’s relatively “static” — meaning the facts don’t really change – should still get a refresh now and then. Trust me, there’s more than one way to tell your “About Us” story.  A good writer can write it 15 or 100 different ways.

So, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that there is no need to keep content timely. What might that look like to a site visitor?

Well, a first-time visitor will likely not notice anything. But a repeat visitor, well, that’s a different animal altogether. They will notice same-old, same-old content. And because they look to you to be the expert in whatever field, industry or service you provide, you’ll look like a yam-head if you don’t. (And nobody wants that!)

By not refreshing your content, you’re essentially telling your site visitors that you know all there is to know and that there’s absolutely nothing new to know — or to share. That kind of thinking, I believe, is dangerous. It leads to your customers and potential customers thinking you’re out of touch or worse, not credible.

Blogs and social media are so popular, in part, because they provide fresh and TIMELY information. Not only do people want the latest and greatest news, product information, opinions and more, they EXPECT and DEMAND it.

Now it’s up to you to give it to them.

How, then, do you keep your content timely? Here’s my 3-step plan:

1. Dedicate resources. Everyone in the company ought to be charged with keeping up with trends and writing about them. Have an in-house or freelance writer/editor use their findings to create web copy, sales literature, marcom, etc.

2. Create a content strategy. Decide who does what, when, and why. How will you manage content, archive it and how often and when will you update it? All of this should be part of your content strategy.

3. Although this is an extension of my point above, I want to call it out special just in case you skip step #2. Conduct a yearly audit and refresh (minimum). Schedule time for your dedicated resource(s) to review content and revise it. Create a timeline and stick to it.

Remember, timely content is relevant content and it’s part of what will keep you relevant to your customers, readers, clients, whomever. It’s an opportunity to differentiate, to serve and to lead.

P.S. Here’s a link to a related post on making a commitment to your copy: http://www.janodaniel.com/blog/2009/01/old-new/.

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