Since the 1920’s, movies have inspired us and elicited the most powerful emotions in the human gamut of experience. They have horrified us; made us weep; overjoyed us, and allowed us to escape from the humdrum of everyday life. Movies, like any other art form, are subjective to the viewer and can be interpreted in any number of ways. Writing is much the same way. The truth of the matter, though, is that both art forms are eerily similar in how they evoke emotion and thought in the audience. Copywriting needs to follow this same form, except rather than a fictional movie or the great novels of the past, it needs to inform and persuade.
Yet, inspiration and comparisons can be drawn from books that have been adapted for the film format. An increasingly popular way of bringing literature to a mass audience, the two most recent quality examples of this specialized fusion of styles is The Hobbit and The Hunger Games. Both of these adaptations hail from franchises that are beloved all over the world, bringing in millions of dollars in worldwide ticket sales and enjoying massive popularity. With the latest trailers for the third Hobbit movie, “The Battle of Five Armies,” and the next installment of The Hunger Games, “Mockingjay pt. 1,” generating millions upon millions of views on YouTube, it is clear that these holiday blockbusters are shooting for the big ones.
Trailers are an excellent form of marketing, especially in the age of Internet news and entertainment (check out the YouTube leaderboards to see more awesome trailers that are huge hits), but this article is going to go over about the specific inspirations our writers can claim from different quotes in the previous two films from both franchises and how they are relevant to copywriting.
The Hobbit and Copywriting
One of the earliest exchanges between Gandalf, the moral center of The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings, and Bilbo, the film’s protagonist, is not only one of the most hilarious but also one of the best things to remember about copywriting.
The Wisdom of Gandalf
-Bilbo:Good morning.
-Gandalf:What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning. Or are you simply stating this is a morning to be good on?
-Bilbo:All of them at once, I suppose.
This exchange is really quite poignant. It should remind every writer out there that the real gift with the word is to say something familiar in an unfamiliar way. Text can mean more than one thing and this is something that should be kept in mind. Whether it is a detriment or a helpful asset is entirely up to the individual.
Gandalf continues to provide wise advice to our copywriters in the most memorable line of “An Unexpected Journey” when he is talking to Bilbo outside of the troll cave after he has been given Sting, his trademark blue-glowing sword.
Gandalf: […] true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.
This line rings remarkably throughout the world of Middle-Earth and sets the foundation for the pivotal riddle game against Gollum later in the film as well as the ultimate victory over Sauron at the end of The Lord of the Rings. But it is also quite palpable to many writers, as well. Over time, a writer can become too comfortable with the same routine day in and day out until it gets to the point that their quality begins to degrade and they can no longer keep contracts. This line is good for the writer in that it reminds them to take the chance and do something different, to break the traditional mold and take the calculated risk. Don’t just hack off an idea just because it looks weird. Stirring the pot is essential to a successful writing career. So do it every so often. You just might enjoy it.
The Terror of Smaug
The second Hobbit film, in contrast to the first, is far more action-oriented. With character development finished, it is time to throw them into a dangerous situation and see how it turns out. In the case of “The Desolation of Smaug,” it is Bilbo’s first encounter with the eponymous dragon in the great treasure horde of Erebor. Their exchange is packed with clever lines that test Bilbo’s ingenuity against a monstrous threat. Pieces of their word game can be taken to heart by copywriters as well. Take this set of lines, for example.
Bilbo: I am he who walks unseen.
Smaug:Impressive titles. What else do you claim to be?
Bilbo:Luck-Wearer. Ring-Winner.
Smaug:Lovely titles…
Bilbo:Barrel-Rider.
Smaug:Barrels! Now that is interesting!
This exchange should remind any writer of the power of titles. They can make or break a piece before a reader can even get to the content. The more intriguing a title is the better off your piece will be. This is even more important in the formation of meta titles, which is how people will see what the article is about and decide if they want to click it or not. Never ever underestimate the power of the headline.
But headlines alone are not enough. The content beyond carries equally as much weight. Never is this made clearer than in this exchange, again between Bilbo and Smaug.
Smaug:Do you think flattery will keep you alive?
Bilbo:No, no.
Smaug:No, indeed!
While content needs to be eloquent and proper, it also needs to be correct. Making claims that are not true will not only destroy the relationship between writer/agency and the client, but it could potentially harm them as well as reader’s look over the page, see all sorts of promises attached to it, and then expect the website to deliver. Genuineness is essential in copywriting. This is why research is important. Users of the Internet are just as powerful as old Smaug is and many times scarier if mislead. Don’t tempt the dragon to destroy Lake Town. Businesses can be rebuilt. Your reputation cannot.
The Hunger Games
In a franchise as riddled with young adult angst and anti-establishment messages, The Hunger Games can generate just as much inspiration and give as much advice as The Hobbit. The character of Peeta, in particular, is a most interesting subject when you are looking at this film for copywriting tips. One of the most relevant exchanges between him and Katniss is at the end of the first film as they are going back to District 12, victorious and yet unsure about where to go after their traumatizing experience.
Peeta Mellark: Creative Extraordinaire
Peeta:So what happens when we get back?
Katniss: I don’t know. I guess we try to forget.
Peeta: I don’t wanna forget.
This is the essence of good copywriting. Content needs to do more than stick a couple of keywords into the text and keep the marketing organic to the point of subtlety. It must be interesting. It must be engaging. It must send a message any reader can understand and give them a reason to use the website’s services. Indeed, if the material isn’t intriguing enough that regular people wouldn’t want to click on it, then Google will not want to click on it, either. That is something which much always be avoided.
But more can be taken from The Hunger Games than just that little bit. Peeta has more to his inspiration chops than meets the eye. In “Catching Fire,” which accounts for the rise of the revolution against President Snow, Peeta is talking to Katniss about his motivations now that they have been called back to compete again. He tells her:
Peeta:I just don’t want to be another piece in their game, you know? […] if I’m gonna die, I wanna still be me.
This line is particularly important to copywriters as individuals. Just like Gandalf encourages us to maintain our own individuality, so does Peeta. It is important for working writers to ensure that they not only enjoy their work, that they not only turn in their work on time, but also have fun with their work. Copywriters should not be afraid to occasionally break the mold and be themselves. Writing is a wonderful way to express that even if it’s for advertising copy.
Mind the Berries, Writers
Katniss: It must be a fragile system if it can be brought down by a few berries.
That is absolutely the case. Except berries, in this case, would be drive and deadlines. The best copywriters all have a drive to continue producing quality work that expands their portfolio and gives them more visibility on the Internet. They have to want to work rather than need to work. The desire is paramount; those without it are likely to struggle. Always remember, as a copywriter, that the odds are not necessarily in your favor all the time. You must be flexible, you must be driven, and you must be able to have fun as well. By adhering to those rules, you can gain inspiration without needing to beat yourself up and produce quality content—the black arrow for the Internet audience.
No matter your taste in films, you’ve probably heard of Quentin Tarantino. Born in Tennessee, he wrote, acted, produced, directed, even created the soundtracks, and edited more than 23 films. He won two Oscars, two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, over 100 more awards, and was nominated 97 times. His movies are jam packed with violence, non-linear storylines, and, of course, epic soundtracks. This star is a prime example of how using epic copywriting can boost your views, show people who you really are, and create a dedicated fan base.
Just what is this five-finger punch to the heart? Can only the Bride do it, or is this something you can learn and create some killer content ready to make audiences laugh, cry, or maybe squirm? Let’s take a look at what you can learn about copywriting from a Tarantino film.
Retro Is Always In – Use Something Familiar in Your Copywriting
Cue the seventies disco and begin imagining yourself walking down the streets of California in an awesome seventies suit and tie. In the nineties, this sure was a surprise because many people thought that the seventies were just a thing of the past. In fact, many kids and teenagers thought the seventies were oh-so-boring until Tarantino made seventies fashion and music an absolutely amazing plot piece in his most well known film Pulp Fiction. Just why was this successful? Tarantino used something that was still known, and familiar to audiences. He wasn’t trying to reach out to young audiences, but to those who were in their twenties and older, and he succeeded.
This is important to your copywriting because you want your audience to feel comfortable with your content. You will find that it is much easier if you utilize familiar items in your marketing pitches because people will be more likely to click on a link to something that sounds familiar than something they’ve never heard of before. You don’t have to go all retro-glam with some disco playing on your site. Just simply focus on utilizing a few popular memes, work in familiar aspects of your product, or just anything that you know audiences can and will connect with.
Details, Details, Details
The one consistent truth of any Tarantino film is that each time you watch it, you will find something new. The stories are incredibly intricate with several tie-ins and references. It is easy to lose sight of all of the details when watching, but they’re still there and they make each viewing enjoyable and just as exciting as the first view. This is because Tarantino pays extremely close attention to details.
This is one of the reasons his films take a while to be released because he works on them in script form to get every detail, and works further throughout filming and post-development. He wants to make sure audiences have the best experience, and no one can say that he doesn’t succeed at this. Just watch Kill Bill: Volume One a few times in a row and see what new things you notice in each viewing.
Many times, you might feel like you can just write rather generic blogs and web content, but this might be something that hinders you from making sales. Sure, people aren’t always keen on Tolkien-like detail, but people do want a bit more information that many companies give. However, the details for your copywriting shouldn’t only be focused on the words, but every aspect of your social media campaigns, your web layout, and any other details that could impact your content. In fact, user experience is a major part of how someone views your content. You can have the best content out there, but if your clients’ experience isn’t a great one, they will leave quickly.
Audiences Like To Be Shocked And Entertained
While Tarantino focuses on several familiar aspects of films and trends, he also shocks his audiences. This can be through simple story re-telling like Inglourious Basterds or by cutting an ear off in the best way possible such as the scene in Reservoir Dogs. In fact, that particular scene is one that makes everyone cringe; yet the surprising fact is that you never actually see it happen. He blends suspense perfectly with his amazingly written scripts, causing everyone who views his films to feel something no matter what it is. He understands that people don’t just want to be shocked though, he knows that they want to be entertained, which is why his films have some of the best soundtracks out there.
Now, when you start writing your content, you don’t have to go to the extreme of cutting off an ear; that would be a little much for your company! However, you can still do various things to shock and entertain your readers and clients. When you shock your clients, make sure it is with things that they will find enjoyable, not something that will overwhelm them. A simple way to shock and entertain is to offer freebies with a service, but not just any freebie.
You can give away something that is much bigger than a pen with a name on it, maybe an e-book or an extra product to try. This is likely to shock your clients, and it will bring some pretty great success into your business. In fact, you might find that your clients are more than willing to buy more items from you after receiving great freebies. Entertaining your clients is also important, but I discuss this in the next point.
Don’t Be A Square – Share Some Corny Jokes
One of the things that really helps set Tarantino apart from other similar directors is the fact that he loves corny jokes. There’s the obvious one that Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction says about the tomato needing to “ketchup.” He also does subtler jokes that are more one-liners, a look between actors, or making a cameo himself. Fans love this and it is something you will always hear about if someone describes the latest Tarantino flick they viewed.
This shows that using humor in various content situations is actually quite a great idea! People love humor, and we need more humor nowadays. You might be wary to use humor in your content, but it is very possible and a great idea if you use it correctly. It is a great way to break the ice, entertain, and bring clients in and it can also be a great way to convert visitors when they visit your site.
In The End, Own It, Be It, And You’ll Win It
Outside of all of these points, the thing that really sets Tarantino apart as an expert copywriter is that he owns his work strongly. His confidence helps to set various movies apart as being modern classics and, in the end, he wins at copywriting and film writing all at once. What will you take from Tarantino to apply in your copywriting campaigns?
You’re the king or queen of combating spam; you’ve worked hard to keep it off of your website and blog by following all of the white hat SEO tricks. You may have even hired SEO trained writers who truly know the ins and outs of avoiding spam and therefore avoiding a Google penalty. As time goes on, you might start seeing more engagement in the way of comments, and all the sudden spam comments start popping up everywhere. What are you supposed to do? Will they hurt your rankings? Will you be penalized? Take a deep breath; don’t panic. Let’s take a look at whether or not spam comments will cause a Google penalty and how you can avoid getting spam comments on your content, period.
Can Spam Comments Cause A Penalty?
This was a major question for several businesses as Google caught on and became a very big deal. Even in the early days, many sites had things in place to help prevent spam, but occasionally a comment or two would get through. Nowadays, comment spam can actually still have an impact on your rankings and traffic. In fact, some people have reported seeing a drop in traffic simply due to comment spam. This doesn’t seem very fair to people because you are working so hard to follow the rules; you can’t manage everyone else and what they write, or if the spambots make it through your barriers. The next question many people ask is how can Google penalize you for a spam comment in your content; let’s take a look at the reason.
How Can This Happen?
While it seems like Google is capable of some crazy stuff, the reality is, what is checking your site for spam is a computerized algorithm, not a human being. It is rare to have a person go through your site and give you penalties, so this means that the algorithm probably isn’t going to discern what is a comment and what is your content. When the algorithm sees a spam comment, chances are you will receive a penalty from Google, lose ranks, and see a drop in traffic.
Some people worry that what causes this is that a comment is considered too long by Google. Because of this, some sites have instituted a “no longer than three words” policy, but many are finding this to be very limiting to their clients. However, don’t worry, the length of the comment isn’t what will make the algorithm mark it as spam.
Should You Allow Comments?
Now that you know that a spam comment could cause a penalty, you’re probably wondering if you should allow comments at all. You still should have comments available for your customers because they are important to an online business and can help make it very successful. Just how important are comments? Here are two reasons:
1. They Promote Engagement. Commenting does something that is absolutely vital in Internet business; they promote a sense of community and involvement. You won’t be able to rely on face-to-face interactions with clients all the time, and if you are solely based online, face-to-face is just something that won’t happen. This makes blog and website comments important because your clients are able to interact with you. You learn from your clients, you can talk directly to them, and comments do create that feeling of community for everyone involved.
2. They Allow Customers To Voice Their Concerns Or Praise. In addition to promoting a feeling of community, you will also notice that this can be a perfect opportunity for your clients to voice their concerns or praise. Many times, you might find that you hear from your clients quicker through a blog comment than through a survey, especially if they interact well will your blog or find something that stands out to them. This helps to facilitate point one and create that great community feeling.
User-Generated Content And Google
You should also make sure that you have a policy in place for user-generated content. Many times, you might think that this won’t have much bearing on your content and ranks, but user-generated content, such as a wiki, can cause you a penalty if it is filled with grammatical and spelling errors. Consider approving all user-generated content before it goes live to ensure that it doesn’t look spammy or that it doesn’t have tons of typos.
How To Avoid Spammy Comments
In the end, yes you should allow blog comments. However, that opens up the scary door of what to do to avoid getting spam comments. You don’t want to be faced with a Google penalty, but you also want to allow your clients to comment. What can you do? Let’s look at a few great ways to help you avoid spam comments on your blog to keep your ranks high.
1. Monitor All Of Your Comments. This might seem like it would be exhausting, but if you create a daily schedule to look at your comments once every day, you will be able to accomplish this. Simply go to your comment section and see if any new comments have been posted and look to see what they are. You should be doing this anyways because you should be engaging with new comments. This will help you knock out two things at one time, check for spam and engage with your clients.
A great idea is to consider dedicating about an hour to this right after lunch. This can give you your morning to do other tasks, but also give you enough time to look through all of the comments if you get distracted. You are more likely to put this off if you wait until the end of the day. After a few days of doing that, you’ll realize that the comments sure do pile up quickly!
2. Delete Any Spam Comments Daily. When you see a spam comment, delete it right away. Never put it off because you might forget it. Like I say, delete spam comments daily. This should be easy if you are regularly monitoring your comment threads for blogs, website, and other content.
3. Consider Approving Comments Before They Are Posted Live. This can help immensely with avoiding spam and making sure it does not get through to your website. Sure, this can mean a little more extra work, but it can save you time in looking through daily comments as point one suggests. All you will need to do is go to the comment moderation page and read through your comments to find which ones are legitimate and which are spam. This will help make sure you do not overlook a comment accidentally (which can happen if you are very busy!) and it can make sure that spam doesn’t slip through.
4. Use Items Such As CAPTCHAs. They can be annoying to some people, but CAPTCHAs work wonders when it comes to avoiding spam comments on your content. This will not stop a physical person from spamming, but it will stop automatic spam comments that every blog experiences at some point. Whichever site you are using should already have this capability in place, making it easy for you to switch on.
If you are worried about your clients not commenting due to CAPTCHAs, take the opportunity to write a blog post as to why you have them. You can explain that it is to avoid spam comments, but make it appealing for your readers by saying something such as, “The CAPTCHAs keep our webpage looking clean and sparkly for your viewing pleasure!” Make sure your customers know that you want to avoid spam, not just for your business, but also for them.
5. Don’t Allow For Anonymous Comments. Ah, anonymous comments; the starters of word wars and Internet drama. When it comes time to allow comments on your blog, it is a great idea to get rid of allowing anonymous comments. Many of your clients who comment will not want to be anonymous because they will want you to know who is posting. However, trolls (those who simply complain for the sake of complaining) and spammers, thrive off of anonymous comments. If you have clients with concerns about your lack of anonymous comments, you can encourage them to submit questions privately through an anonymous question website, but make sure they understand you won’t allow for anonymous comments.
6. Install Plugins That Help Moderate Spam Comments. No matter what site you are using, you are likely to have available plugins to install that will help you moderate and avoid spammy comments. Wordpress offers this to all of their users, giving handy guides on how to install the Wordpress spam plugin. You can also find other plugins to use for your various websites if you do not use Wordpress. In fact, Search Engine Journal gives a guide on where to find these plugins and how to set them up on your blog and website.
Until Next Time
Comment spam is a real problem for anyone with a webpage, and it is obvious that you need to make sure you keep on top of it. Follow a few of the above steps to avoid comment spam on your site to help keep your traffic and ranks high. Not only will you see benefits on the Google-side of things, but you will also notice that your website looks gorgeous and not at all like the hot mess it can look like when you have a lot of comment spam!
The world of cinema didn’t start with the first Transformers film (thank goodness!), even though there have been about a hundred sequels to it (or is that just me?). You know that a film is truly great when it stands the test of time. And few classic films have stood the test of time as well as ‘The Wizard Of Oz’.
The film is now 75 years old, yet still regularly features in lists of the greatest films of all time, and the American Film Institute selected it as the greatest fantasy film ever made. There’s one word that sums up the reason for this. No, it’s not ‘courage’ (we’ll come to that later), it’s ‘quality’. The film has quality stamped all over it. Successful copywriting has to put quality first as well, particularly as Google are now making the quality of content its main criteria. Take a look at the film again, and there are plenty of lessons that a smart copywriter can learn. Now, tap the heels of your ruby slippers together, and follow me to a magical land full of incredible copywriting.
Look Magnificent
You could put a 5-year-old child who speaks no English in front of The Wizard Of Oz, and they would love it. Know why? No, there’s no subtitles, that would be cheating. You do know why, because I put it in bold up above. It looks magnificent. No expense has been spared when it comes to the overall appearance of the film.
Do you remember the moment when Dorothy gets transported away from Kansas to the world of Oz? If you’ve seen it, it’s impossible to forget. The screen changes from black and white to amazing color. And what color! It’s one of the most incredible moments in cinema history, and I have to say I always find it strangely moving too. A great copywriter needs to make their content just as exciting. This can involve selecting the right images, and it always involves selecting the right words.
Remember that your writing shouldn’t simply be functional, it should be fun and fabulous! Splash a little technicolor into your content.
Keep Your Copywriting Fresh
How can a movie that’s now three-quarters of a century old still feel so fresh? That’s because it deals with things that everyone can empathize with. Our world has changed a lot since 1939, but, believe it or not, people are still exactly the same. Cinema and television audiences today are just as uplifted and excited by the film as they were when it was first shown. Show it to a child for the first time, and watch the look of joy spread across their face.
The film doesn’t need 3D, it doesn’t need super high definition or CGI, because it has superb writing. Noel Langley. Florence Ryerson. Edgar Allan Woolf. These are the scriptwriters behind the film. Their names may be little known, but their work certainly isn’t. If they were copywriting today, they’d be naturals, because they knew the importance of keeping things simple, to the point, and, well, fresh.
Use The Best Sources
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (The answer’s ‘the egg’ by the way, because reptiles laid eggs millions of years before birds evolved, so that’s that one cleared up). Which came first, the book or the film? Yes, it may surprise lovers of great films such as The Wizard Of Oz, The Lord Of The Rings, Schindler’s List and more, but before the film there was already a great book. That doesn’t make the achievements of the screenwriters, producers and actors, it simply means that they were smart enough to find a superb source.
Copywriters can learn from this too. Plagiarizing is a complete no-no of course, but we shouldn’t live in a vacuum. We can take inspiration from great writers, and great content, that’s come before us. By adding our own unique thoughts and interpretations we can make copy that’s more useful than a self driving car that tans you en route. The original author, L. Frank Baum, is well credited in the film and its promotional material, so this helped to gather the interest of his fans. Copywriters can achieve the same effect by citing their high authority sources.
Be Truly Memorable
What do you remember the most about The Wizard Of Oz? The dissolving witch (‘I’m melting, I’m melting’), the beautiful ending (‘There’s no place like home’), the flying monkeys, the munchkins, the cute dog, Dorothy’s gingham dress, or the incredible music? Both the American Film Institute and The Recording Industry Association of America named ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ as the greatest song of the twentieth century.
You could ask a hundred people, and get a hundred different answers, but what’s indisputable is that once you’ve seen The Wizard Of Oz, you’ll never forget it. There’s even a mythology that’s sprung up around the film (watch it as much as you like, but you won’t see a munchkin hanging themselves in the background). Copywriters should strive to make their writing just as memorable. There’s a huge amount of data and content in the world today. Humdrum won’t cut it any more. You have to engage your audience, and teach them something that will stay with them. If your work isn’t memorable, then you may as well stop after the first word.
Send A Message That Matters
The Wizard Of Oz, although enjoyed by adults, is a film made for children. Does that mean it’s simple? Not a bit of it. There are more messages in The Wizard Of Oz than you’ll find in ten series of Grey’s Anatomy. It’s packed full of themes. Loneliness. The importance of friends. How to fit in when you’re in a new place. Standing up for what you believe in. Following the yellow brick road, er, I mean following your dream. At the center of the film is a theme that may go over the heads of most viewers. In essence it’s a story of how resilience helped America beat the great depression.
The film makers wanted to send a message that matters, and they succeeded. People from 4 to 104 can watch the film, and find answers to questions that they had in their hearts. That’s just what copywriting should do as well, find answers to real and everyday problems. When copywriting is as jam packed full of helpful content as The Wizard Of Oz film, then readers will love it, and Google will too.
Have A Heart
All the tin man wanted was a heart, but, of course, it turns out that he had one all along. And there’s a heart as big as a whale beating at the center of The Wizard Of Oz. You’d have to be stonier than the Sphinx not to find yourself touched while watching the film. It reaches right for the essence of what we are as human beings, and somehow makes us feel better about ourselves.
Great copywriting can have that effect too. It can make us feel more positive about a business, or a product, a film, or how we live. To achieve that result, copywriters have to accentuate the positive, and show how effective solutions to problems can be easy to enact.
Have A Brain
The scarecrow didn’t have a brain, so he thought, and yet his wise words made him the most loveable character of them all. He shows that something that is, on the surface, very simple can yet be meaningful and profound.
Copywriters will do well to become a bit more scarecrow themselves. Don’t worry, you won’t have to push straw down your pants. All you have to do is to edit your writing, to make it as simple as possible. It will become easier to understand, more direct, much more effective, and frankly more loveable.
Have Courage
You knew that was coming next, didn’t you? Everyone assumed the lion was a coward, but when his friends were in need, he was as brave as anyone. The film itself was incredibly courageous as well. At the time it was the most expensive production that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had ever made, and because it was so innovative, with its use of color and special effects, nobody knew if it would be a success. They displayed courage, took a chance, and the benefits of their speculation are there for all to see.
If you want to be a successful copywriter, you need to have courage too. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, or to agree with what everyone else is saying, but by writing something that’s truly original, you can create an article that becomes both useful and important. Everybody loves creativity and innovation, that’s why writing truly unique copy can see it shoot up the SERPs. When it comes to copywriting, it’s better to stand out from the crowd than blend into the background.
Make Your Writing Fly
The writers and team behind The Wizard Of Oz couldn’t have dreamed of the world we live in today, or know how things such as blogs and websites could change the way that businesses operate forever. Somehow, however, they didn’t just create an incredible movie, they created a fantastic blueprint for copywriters in a very different century.
Well it’s time to go, I’ve got a melody stuck in my head, and a film that I just have to watch again. I’ll leave you with this question: if happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow, why, oh why, shouldn’t your words soar too?
Have you made a great content campaign, but struggle with making it successful? One of the main reasons a great content marketing setup isn’t working is simply that you might not be directly marketing for your customer’s intent and needs. You need to change this up, and tweak your campaign, but how? You can understand what your client wants by simply researching and getting to know them. I am going to walk with you to help you figure out just how to achieve this and make that incredible campaign a successful one!
How Can You Get To Know Your Customers?
Getting to know your customers isn’t as daunting as it sounds. You’ll find that it can actually be quite easy if you take a few simple steps and apply them to your content campaign. Here are a few excellent ways I’ve found that you can get to know your client base:
1. Send Out Email Surveys For Clients To Complete. According to an infographic from QuickSprout, a great way to get to know your client base is to ask them questions. You can always do this via social media or blogs, but you might not get the response you want or need. Instead, you should consider doing email campaigns with a complete survey. Allow your clients to answer both multiple choice and opinion questions. This will help you get several participants, as some people might prefer multiple-choice answers, and others might want to make sure their voices are heard through comment boxes. A few questions you can ask are:
Do they like what your company has to offer?
What do they want to see from your company?
Why do they want these changes?
Is there anything that makes them unhappy? What about happy?
Find out if there is anything they’d suggest to make your content more effective.
Ask them their favorite websites (outside of social media) to gather information from.These websites can help you tailor your content to suit your audience, especially if multiple people in your client base visit similar pages.
2. Be Part Of The Buying Process As Soon As Possible. There are several times where you might feel that things could’ve gone a lot smoother for you and the customer if they had only brought you in sooner. This is something several businesses miss the mark on, but by becoming involved in the buying process as soon as possible, you are able to learn more about your customers. This can help you see any problem areas in the buying process, and how you can make things easier for future clients. A few ways to do this are to always allow your clients the ability to contact you throughout the buying process or have them talk to a sales associate for larger products or services. This will help both of you out while also helping you learn about your customer base.
3. Pretend You Are The Customer. This is vital because it can show you areas in your business that need to be improved. When you are starting to gather information about your customers, you should take the opportunity to stand in their shoes and pretend you are interested in your product. Ask yourself the questions a customer would ask and look to see if you have the answers readily available. If you are having a difficult time with this, head over to a site you’d be interested in buying something from and think about what questions you want to ask that company. You can see from their layout whether or not they’ll have the answers, showing you any holes in your own content marketing or what you are actually doing right. Just be willing to notice when you’re doing something wrong. This is one of the best ways to learn, even if it does hurt your pride a bit.
A great strategy big businesses take is creating a buyer or client persona. A buyer or client persona is a fictional “character” that you create to help you figure out what your customers want, and tweak your content for them. While this isn’t always exact, it can help direct you in the way you should go with your company. It can help you better craft surveys, getting the best information possible, and it can help you create new marketing campaigns that you can tweak as you learn more about your live client base.
How Can You Market For Your Customer’s Intent And Needs?
Now that you know a few ways to gather information about your clients, just how can you market to them with this information? I am going to look at a few great ways to incorporate your knowledge to better market for your customer’s intent and needs.
4. Publically Answer Frequently Asked Questions. Don’t just leave this up to your FAQ page, but actively answer them. First of all, this can offer excellent blog content. Secondly, you have the opportunity to give clients a more in-depth answer to certain questions. This might not be the case with all of your FAQs, but you might find that the more you answer frequently asked questions, the more likely you are to receive other questions from your clients. You can even consider hosting a blog series of “ask us anything” where you answer questions sent in by clients. This is not only a great way to answer questions people have, but also might help with improving blog engagement. This also offers you the ability to teach your clients through your blog, which is something that is vital for engagement and keeping a strong client base.
5. Use Your Social Media Accounts To Answer Questions. Another great way to market to your customer’s needs is to utilize social media. It offers you a great opportunity to answer questions, but it also helps you learn more about your clients through how they interact with you and what they feel is more important. While surveys can give you concrete data, you can also use intuition, basing things off of how a client reacts to a post. You might find this handy to help create a better social media campaign, tweaking things to meet what your clients want and need.
However, don’t fall victim to having a lot of traffic, and not engaging with your clients. One company I came across had incredible client traffic on their Facebook. It was amazing! However, the company wasn’t taking the opportunity to answer questions and engage with clients who were more than willing to engage with the company. The company did a great job at publishing and promoting content that clients liked, but failed at actually engaging with their clients.
6. Make Your Client Feel Important; Get To Know Them. You can make clients feel important whether you respond to them on social media, send emails to them, or respond to blog comments. You can also make them feel important if you take the time to get to know them. Many might feel that you are far too busy to talk with them, yet if you make an effort, they will greatly appreciate it. This is a great way to make sure you get an incredible client base, as well as maintain it. If you have a strong client base, you might find that they are willing to tell their coworkers, friends, and family about your business.
7. Never Be Afraid To Try Out New Things. According to the article I used earlier from Ideally Marketing, you should also never be afraid to experiment with your content marketing. Sometimes, you might find it difficult to get adequate answers, which means you should experiment with a few things to see what works. Oftentimes, companies are afraid to do this because they prefer staying in a comfortable setting, but it can be greatly beneficial. You never know when you are going to find that one magical idea that is really going to make your business hit that successful boom.
When you experiment, you can always tell your client base that you are trying something new. Take this as another great opportunity to survey your clients and find out how they feel about your new methods. This will help you find out if it will be successful, and can also help you figure out a few small tweaks to make it perfect.
In Closing, Be Thorough, But Always Ethical in Your Content Marketing
As you start to research your client base more, you will be able to tweak and tailor all of your content perfectly for them. One thing to be careful of is that you handle all of your research in an ethical manner through surveys, data collection from your own site, and other ethical ways. You’ll be quite happy to see just how well your content marketing campaigns do the more you learn about and work with your client base!
