2020 saw a surge of people donning their gardening gloves to try and ‘grow their own’. According to Livingetc Pintrest has seen a 600% increase in searches for the term ‘DIY small garden ideas vegetables’ as the idea of homegrown produce became more and more popular. To grow your own fruit and veg though, is a commitment that requires effort. Effort to monitor seeds as they grow, water plants in the heat, protect them through the cold, prune to encourage growth, and of course collect your harvest when the time comes. It’s not easy but the ongoing nourishment is worthwhile for the end result.
To reach its full potential in today’s digital world, a business needs to be nourished with ongoing content in the same way that a garden needs ongoing food, water and sunshine . And while some companies only dabble every now and again to make sure visitors don’t think their business is out of date, ideally a business blog should be kept up to date on a regular basis. The more often the better too from an SEO perspective.
Generating enough content to help your business thrive though can sometimes feel like a chore. Especially when you have so much going on in the rest of your business. Of course, your priority is going to be meeting customer’s needs and delivering on your promises. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Working with a copywriter that is willing to understand your business and work as part of your team to deliver fresh and engaging content on a regular basis can give you peace of mind that you are doing your enterprise justice from a marketing perspective, without compromising your service to your customers.
The bottom line is, the more content you can generate and post online, the better your SEO ranking and the more enquiries you will receive. You could say that blogging to a business is almost as significant as water is to the growth potential of your new vegetable patch!
Another question we’re often asked is “can you get good PR results for absolutely everything?” Or, in other words, can you PR anything under the sun, even something that might appear pretty dull? The short answer is, probably, and the long answer will explain what we mean by that. Certainly, nothing phases us here at Carnsight – we’ve helped raise awareness of niche construction firms, divorce lawyers, children’s nurseries, technical media agencies, care homes (just ask us if you want to see how). But it’s never a one-size-fits-all approach. Here’s how to lay the groundwork for good PR results for any brand, business or product.
First and foremost, ask yourself what are you trying to achieve through PR? There are a lot of potential benefits of PR, whether it’s about driving sales, recruitment or staff morale, so establish what’s most important to you and your business. This is key to help you track results and adjust your strategy for success. PR support can be given at this stage from a good PR consultancy, to help you define this.
Next, what overall take out do you want your audience to be left with? There might be an overarching message about your brand, and/or one about a particular offering or service. This may evolve – even over a short period of time. For example, with our flexible working platform client, That Works For Me, their message and audience evolved following launch, and they were nimble enough to keep pace with this. Have a look at our Three Lens Messaging Session details for more about what we try and establish upfront.
A new digital tool for the construction industry can either be the least or the most newsworthy thing, depending on who you’re talking to.
So, you’re all set with what you want to achieve with PR, and how you want to come across. Now – what’s most important for you to talk about? Do you have a new launch to promote or is your business changing in some way? Or is it that you have some great, original ideas that could work for commentary, thought leadership, podcasts or events? There are a range of ways to make yourself heard depending on what it is you have to say, so spend some time working out what your content should be. Again, this is where a good PR agency can help. And remember, getting good PR results is all about relevant content. A new digital tool for the construction industry can either be the least or the most newsworthy thing, depending on who you’re talking to.
Running in tandem with what you want to say, who do you want to say it to? Who’s your core audience – this could be your current audience and/or the audience you’re trying to target in future. Then, work on where you’d reach them – is it through newspapers, magazines, online sites, podcasts, broadcast? What kinds of media platforms, and what content do these platforms cover? Have a look. Remember, the journalists writing for those publications want to provide the most interesting content for their audience. With a bit of research, you can always ensure what you’re trying to say and the way you’re saying it is spot on for your audience. If it is, your PR efforts will be rewarded.
This is a common trap – on the one hand there are key things you really want to say (“we’re the best at this”) and on the other, there’s what journalists want to write about. The two don’t always meet in the middle. Have a look at our advertising versus PR piece for more on why PR is about being useful rather than being salesy. That’s where the careful balance and knowing what’s realistic comes in. Yes, there’s often a way to talk about your new service but it’s not usually about listing its benefits in an article – it could be about displaying your expertise in the sector or contributing to a round up article with a few details about your product, for example. Strike the balance.
The above are basics to get right as the foundation to achieve good PR results, and it’s worth spending some time on those areas up-front. If you’ve tried a PR push and you haven’t achieved coverage, it might not be because your service is too dull – it might just be because you haven’t paid attention to the basics. Take an honest look at what you’ve tried and check if it ticks the boxes. Or, get help from a trained PR consultant who will do the legwork for you.
In the digital age the focus is shifting from longer prose in the form of articles and handwritten letters, to short, snappy sentences on social media. That’s if there’s any copy used at all with attention turning increasingly towards images and videos online. While the faster means of communicating via social media has its benefits and is an excellent way to reach more people, more quickly than ever before, it is taking something important away too.
The written word is a wholly powerful thing. Here’s an example to demonstrate its importance. Think about how it feels to receive a text from a friend. As much as you care about the person texting, it probably isn’t much of an event anymore. It’s probably short for starters, and it’s more likely to be about something practical or light-hearted than it is to be about something deep and emotional. Of course, that’s fine for day-to-day interactions, but now think about how you would feel if you received a handwritten letter through the post. Perhaps from a friend or family member telling you how important you are to them, or how grateful they are for something you have done, or how proud they are of what you have achieved. Because we know a letter has taken more time, effort and thought, it means more. It is also something you can hold on to forever.
Prioritise a personal touch
The same thing applies in the business world too. Social media is a fantastic way to promote your wares as a business and reach more people. But used alone, it isn’t very personal. It can’t be when you’re using so few words to talk to so many people. And with the rise of shorter, faster, more convenient ways to communicate, has come an increasing lack of attention to detail. It’s as though speed and quantity are more important than quality. Unfortunately, it probably is in terms of social media or SEO algorithms, but what does it say about you or your business when your written word is full of typos, grammatical errors, and spelling mistakes? Don’t get me wrong, we’re all human, we all make mistakes. A few errors here and there can be forgiven, but a consistently problematic read is jarring and affects our perception of the author, whether we realise it or not.
The power of persuasion
When done well, the written word can harness the powers of persuasion in a way short text and images cannot do. People believe what they read in magazines, newspapers and trusted online sources, so when they read about best practice or advice on particular product options at length, they are likely to believe the content. Many of these pieces are ghost written by a copywriter or PR agency and serve to position businesses in the way they want to be seen, whether market leading, ethical, customer focused, or all of the above!
Future generation of writers
I have been lucky/unlucky enough to be in the mass of home schooling parents during the Covid-19 lockdown periods. This allowed me to see very closely the process of my reception child learning to write his first words, sentences, even stories. The pleasure to see him gradually grasp the different sounds and put them together on the page is immense and we will keep a lot of his writing to show him when he’s older. He may even decide to keep it and show his children one day. But what is the future of this creative outlet for him? Will there still be a requirement for any longer prose when he’s an adult, or will he gradually unlearn these skills and techniques and freedom to express himself, in exchange for quicker, easier ways to communicate?
I hope this isn’t the case because the impact of the written word on someone else whether in your personal life or in the business world, is something special and powerful and future generations should have the opportunity to give and receive this gift. The power of the written word should not be left behind in the digital age.
Pay your audience the attention they deserve
Whether you are talking to prospective customers or new or well-established customers, pay them the attention they deserve by spending more time on your communications. Quick and consistent social media messaging is great, but giving more thought to longer advice blog posts, a thank you note for their custom, or feature length articles in their industry magazines, offer a different level of connection between you and them. Aside from anything else it offers far more potential in terms of word count, to get your message across to them.
If the idea of this sounds appealing to you, but you simply don’t have the time, don’t forget you can delegate (read more about when and how you should delegate here https://blogwrite.co.uk/to-delegate-or-not-to-delegate/) to ensure you don’t miss out.
Today we have a fantastic guest post by Emily Morgan. An experienced digital producer with a Computer Science MSc, Emily Morgan has worked at ITV for the last twelve years, across its flagship daytime programmes including This Morning and Loose Women. She was part of a team working across online channels for the broadcaster, reaching millions across the UK through digital content including its popular email newsletters.
The next time you’re in the midst of a digital detox, think what makes you hover over the unsubscribe link on an email newsletter… and decide NOT to tap it. As you prepare to hit send on your latest business mailing, ask yourself whether it would pass the ‘hover test’. Here are five easy ways to make sure it does!
What grabs your attention as you’re scrolling through a backlog of unread emails? A clear and catchy subject line can mean the difference between that all-important open, and the trash. It may be microcopy… but it’s mega important!
Keep it short with your mobile audience in mind (the Nielsen Norman Group suggests aiming for under 40 characters), avoid the spam filters by swapping overly promotional language for a clear call to action or statement of value, and try a question to get your viewers engaged from the off.
Ensure your emails are valuable to the recipient. Provide a strong reason for your customer to open the email, read your message, and click through to further content online.
Whether you’re using your email to impart wisdom, reveal business updates or drive sales, your customers have let you into the private space of their inbox – now it’s up to you to make it count.
This may well mean considering personalisation and segmentation (we’ll let Salesforce explain) to drive up both open rates and conversions. And with good reason – an Experian marketing study revealed personalisation can achieve a whopping 158% increase in click-through rates.
Effective emailers keep their messages brief and straightforward. Cut out busy, competing content – nobody will thank you for a cluttered email!
With much of the web having moved to single-column layouts which display text in an easy to scan typographic hierarchy, viewers expect a similar clarity from emails.
Focus on the readability principles you’d use on your website; a clear font and high contrast text, sub-headings and short paragraphs will enable people to scan easily.
Oh – and we know we don’t need to remind you – but check, check, and check everything again before pressing send (and get someone else to check it for you too).
80% of recipients delete their emails immediately, according to Campaign Monitor. But don’t despair! Images can be a powerful tool to grab attention. They also speak to visual learners – you can impart multiple brand messages in a single image. Whether you’re using in-house or stock images, choose pictures relevant to your brand and purposeful to your message.
Keep images large and high quality (but optimised for efficient download) so it’s easy to extract information – remember many people will be reading the email on mobile where full-width images will work best.
However it is worth mentioning that (well-formatted) image-free emails often gain higher click-through rates in A/B testing. Why? Probably because they’re closer to the personal communications we value in our inboxes.
And don’t forget about accessibility – avoid text in images and use alt text so that everyone – including people using screen readers and those with their images switched off, receives the full content of your email.
Of course (and slightly annoyingly) there’s not a one-size-fits-all rule for the perfect newsletter, but strategies such as A/B testing can get you closer to what’s perfect for you.
Necessity has taught businesses much about agility over the past year and a half, and your email strategy is one area in which you can be super-reactive.
A/B segmentation splits will allow you to test subject lines, images vs plain text, shorter vs longer; and deliver a result which you can act on straight away. If only other business changes were as easy!
Learn more about A/B testing from Mailchimp.
Extra, extra! Be mindful of BIMI.
Noticed company logos popping up next to emails in your inbox? Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI for short), is a new industry standard that lets companies display their logos next to the email messages they send to their subscribers. To take advantage of BIMI, you need to adopt DMARC, and validate your logo with a VMC. Too many acronyms? Talk to your email provider for more info and to decide whether it’s time for you to be identified!
Some B2B brands find social media a challenge: your posts should be interesting and informative and be professional. Does your social media plan leave you feeling uninspired? It could leave your audiences feeling the same. It’s time to revisit your approach to social media.
Use SMART targets to get it right
SMART targets are a great way to set objectives that are achievable for your business. They’re a powerful and effective way to make sure your social media plan stays on track. They could look something like this:
S – Specific. What are you going to do?
We will improve clickthrough by 5% on our LinkedIn content.
M – Measurable. How will you be able to tell you’ve done it?
We have tracking in place to identify sources of traffic, as well as historical data on site usage, which will allow us to identify increases in visitors from specific origins.
A – Achievable. Is this something you can do? Is it within your control?
We have previously been able to raise clickthrough by 2-3%, so 5% should be possible with a more concerted and dedicated effort.
R – Relevant. Will this work within your organisation’s wider goals?
Site visitors are a primary source of sales leads, and this provides more opportunities for our sales team to work on.
T – Time-bound. When will you decide whether you’ve succeeded or not?
We expect to have achieved this growth by the end of the quarter.
Simple! SMART targets provide a framework for your social media work and what you need to create to hit those objectives. The structure will ensure that you have fixed goals, a solid scope, and achievable projects.
Follow your competition
Check out what your competitors are doing on their social media. You’ll be able to see what has and hasn’t worked for them. For example, if one of your competitors are using influencer marketing with success, think how your business could use them. However, look at where and how they’re using them. Where are your clients? Can you improve on their campaign? This is your opportunity to use their tactics and improve on them.
The emphasis is on using your competitors as inspiration. Don’t copy them. It’ll be obvious. And B2B brands need to stand out from the crowd, don’t follow the herd, don’t clone their efforts.
Managing your voice on social media
Crafting a stand-out identity as a B2B brand can be a challenge, but it can be done. A B2B brand faces different expectations from their clients than a B2C company. Playing it safe is understandable, but does nothing to distinguish your brand: find a middle ground that works for your business.
Listen to your audiences
You should always be marketing to networks; start by understanding what your audience talks about. Brands don’t have to start the conversation themselves: instead, they should align themselves with the discussion that’s already happening.
Check out Hubspot on Twitter. They aren’t starting the conversation, but they know what their audiences are interested in. “What I’d do if I was in charge” is a really common topic for the audience they want to reach, and they’re providing a forum to hold it in. This gives them that all-important element of successful social media marketing: authenticity. See their conversations around different topics and how they manage.
Perfect your content mix
People want different things at different times. Sometimes people are in the mood to read a blog. Sometimes they want to watch a video, or they’re just aimlessly scrolling to kill a little time. Knowing this, your brand needs to create a range of content to have the best chance of engaging with them.
Create content for your audience, put them at the heart of your plan. For example, while video is the king of social media for younger users, B2B brands may well be targeting a more senior audience. What content will pique their interest?
Start engaging
One of the highlights of social media is that brands can interact directly with their audience. From helping with a support issue or sharing a joke, look for ways to chat. Make sure that your team knows who will be doing the engaging, what to say, and how to say it.
Making a success of B2B social media marketing
A successful social media presence doesn’t happen overnight, and it certainly can’t happen without sustained effort. The elements of social media planning that we’ve covered should give you a good idea of where to start, and the questions you should be asking of your team. For expert assistance with your B2B marketing, or to have a discussion about your brand’s online presence, just drop us a line today: hello@ambitiouspr.co.uk
By Leigh-Ann Hewer, Account Manager
When telling your business story, it’s easy to get bogged down in the detail. After all, your company might very well be your life’s work and the outcome of a 20-year career build-up. The harsh reality, however, is that very few people will care about that part.
At least not at first.
When writing your business story (for awards entries or website copy etc) you can’t waste time with backstory, and certainly not in your opening. Novels don’t start with backstory (at least they shouldn’t), they start with action. Spark. They start with the inciting incident.
And your business story should too.
The inciting incident is an event in a story that upsets the character’s status quo and begins the story’s movement, either in a positive way or negative, that culminates in the climax.
(Joe Bunting, 2018).
Essentially, the inciting incident is the moment in time that sparked change. The moment you made the choice to start your business. It may have been floating there in the back of your mind for a while, you may have been ‘uming’ and ‘ahing’ for years, but the inciting incident is when you decided, yes!
Your business story should start there. Why? Because that’s the fun part! That’s where the action begins and the story hooks the reader in. It makes them care about what happens next. It’s not to say you can’t mention your 20-years of experience prior, but rather that it can come later when you have a tight enough grip on the reader’s attention.
The inciting incident of your business will often come shortly after discovering a problem you noticed that your business solves or facing some kind of issue yourself. It should be a moment captured in time, the moment you solved the problem. The moment you said enough was enough and linked your business to the solution.
Really, paint a picture for your readers and keep things as simple as possible.
For example, our client, Jessica Heagren, founder of That Works For Me, saw that talented women in senior positions were struggling to find flexible work after having children, so she created a flexible work platform to solve this problem. Her inciting incident was when a friend of hers called in tears one day on the brink of going bust. Her underqualified finance resource had miscalculated her cashflow. Jess asked why she didn’t have a CFO and she said she was too small and didn’t have enough work for someone that senior. So, Jess said, “Why not recruit a Mum who’s done it before at a really senior level but only wants a few hours’ work each week?”
Ping! Light bulb moment. Spark. Inciting incident.
If you were writing this as a piece of fiction, you would start there, wouldn’t you? There’s a rule in fiction that the inciting incident should happen as quickly as possible (within the first three chapters at least, if not the first page!).
It can be tempting to see creative writing and business writing as separate things. But, as a children’s writer and PR, let me assure you, you really shouldn’t. I learnt that the hard way. Think about your business story like you would any other story. Think about its structure; the beginning, middle and end, the hero’s journey, the character arc. If you’re not hugely familiar with these terms, I would say it’s definitely worth learning a bit about them. There are tons of great resources out there. Here’s one to get you started.
It can be tempting at times to put ‘professionalism first’ when writing about your business. You want to validate and justify your expertise and experience and provide evidence for why the business works. The thing is, writing your business story shouldn’t be like writing a longhand version of your resume.
Writing your business story has to be fuelled by passion. That’s not to say professionalism goes out the window (we can’t make bold claims with no supporting evidence). But we can focus on the why, instead of the what. The why is usually what makes the what more interesting.
Writing is a real passion of mine. I love words and sentences and I love how they all come together to make us feel something. Remember to start with the inciting incident, focus on the why, and evoke a feeling, and you’ll have yourself a great business story.
There are so many different things to consider when writing a blog, but for the purposes of this post, I’m talking about how to overcome some of the typical obstacles that get in the way of a good blog post and ultimately how to write your blog in a way that will best speak to your audience.
I can just sit down and write, can’t I?
Coming up with inspiration for content for your blog is the first step in the process which you can read more about here https://blogwrite.co.uk/five-ways-to-generate-content/ but assuming you have a list of topics you’re ready to work through, you then need to think about how you’re going to put these topics into words. That may sound like an odd thing to say because you can just write the first thing that comes into your head, can’t you? Not necessarily. A few business owners or marketers may be able to produce fantastic blog posts by downloading what’s in their head, but the majority will struggle to put their thoughts on paper in a meaningful way.
In my 20+ year background of writing copy for various companies and different personalities within those companies, I’ve seen every possible approach to generating and articulating content. Some of these approaches have been counter intuitive and believe it or not have put people off of using their services. Here are a couple of examples of some of the obstacles businesses need to overcome when blogging about their offering.
Be accessible
Some of the people I work with are very technically minded. Their jobs require a high level of detailed technical knowledge and indeed it’s why their customers choose to work with them. However, when it comes to writing pieces for mass consumption, the complex technical approach probably isn’t going to work best.
Think about your audience carefully. Choose one customer or ideal customer and imagine writing for them. What would they want to see in the blog post? How much time do they have available to read information online? Do they want to see lots of technical jargon, or will that make it harder for them to read? It can be a tricky balance because you need to show you have the knowledge and information your readers require, but equally you don’t want to put people off with an overly technical and jargon-heavy article. You don’t need to be patronising, but it’s important to accept that not everyone will know the same terms, abbreviations, industry specific jargon, that you do.
It’s also good to remember that blog posts aren’t about proving how much you know – the most successful blogs genuinely help people with advice and information.
Shelve the modesty
Another common obstacle I have seen for businesses generating content for themselves, is that they’re too modest. Some of the best companies and people I work with don’t think they have anything to say. I have come to the point now where I almost relish hearing this on first meeting because more often than not it means I’ve found a hidden gem! It is always easier for someone outside of your business to see the things you can’t see yourself.
Downloading this information isn’t a painful process either. I simply ask people about their background, their philosophies and what makes them different to their competitors and wonderful nuggets of information flood out! But they haven’t been able to see it because they are too close to all the good things they do. As is probably the case with most of us, they are more focused on the things they feel they need to improve than they are about all the positive aspects of the business.
This obstacle is a little more tricky to overcome because if you’re the modest type there’s not an awful lot you can do about it. However, if you identify with this, you should try to detach yourself and see your company afresh as much as possible. Again, think about a customer or prospect and pretend you’re writing to them. What useful information could you give them? How can you make their lives easier? What makes you different from your competitors? If you’re still finding it hard, perhaps you have a friend or family member that isn’t involved in the business that you talk to and find out what they think stands out about your offering.
If in doubt, outsource!
Of course, if this all feels too time consuming, or an impossible task, you can always outsource your business blog to a professional copywriter. They will have the tools to take your knowledge and experience and present it in precisely the right way for your online audience. Or see through your modest claims of ‘I have nothing to say’ and easily be able to produce a regular blog on all aspects of your business.
Leigh-Ann Hewer has been promoted to Account Manager as part of its fully flexible team.
Originally joining as an intern in 2019, Hewer quickly rose through the ranks to be appointed Account Manager this month. All Carnsight Communications employees work flexibly, with Hewer spending her Fridays pursuing her passion for children’s book writing. She is also coming to the end of a part-time MA in Writing for Children at Bath Spa University.
Founded in January 2016, Carnsight Communications works with small to medium-sized businesses across the UK spanning sectors including health and care; healthtech; creative agencies; recruitment, and construction. Clients include Armadillo, Axela Ltd, and St Joseph’s Hospital. Owner, Jessica Morgan, worked in London for 15 years before moving to Marshfield to set up shop.
The PR and communications consultancy creates strong commentary and content for businesses, ensuring that expertise and work are showcased through the media; develops SEO optimised copy and runs social media and blogger and influencer activity. The team is currently part way through five charity challenges to mark five years of the agency, having already completed three.
Jessica Morgan, Business Owner, commented, “We’re very lucky to have Leigh-Ann as part of our team, and her promotion to Account Manager is well deserved. An intuitive and thoughtful communicator, she brings her writing talent to every project she works on. She quickly grasps all new challenges and is talented at social media, as well as being a valued part of our team.”
Leigh-Ann Hewer added: “I’m incredibly grateful for this promotion and look forward to continuing to grow and nurture the relationships that I have built with our fantastic clients and the incredible journalists we work alongside. It’s been a pleasure working at Carnsight Communications from day one, and I thoroughly look forward to seeing what the future holds for the business and my wonderful colleagues as we continue to grow.”
If you would like to read more from Carnsight Communications, why not check out some our website where you will be able to find some useful PR hints and tips alongside other great blogs.
Business Owner, Jessica Morgan recently tackled the Jurassic Coast with her sister to raise funds for Target Ovarian Cancer where they raised a whopping £1,740. You can read this blog here
Press releases are an essential part of any digital marketing campaign, whether you’re making a general business announcement about a new product, service or crisis communication management, you need to think about why this news really matters and quickly demonstrate that you have a NEWS story. This is at the heart of all digital PR campaigns.
In light of recent discussions disputing the relevance of press releases, our stance at OggaDoon, Bristol, remains the same. The hunger for compelling stories, from publications, journalists and our industries as a whole, is stronger than ever. This has created a relationship, an essential yet, albeit, conditional one between journalists and PR – they need our help to deliver the stories their publications need and our industries want to hear about. For this reason, the competition among communicators is fierce and in turn, they have a wealth of different approaches on how to write the perfect press release – one they think will satisfy the needs of the journalist and secure them that vital collaboration. Here at OggaDoon PR, digital marketing and social media agency Bristol, we would like to share our formula gathering the key newsworthy facts to craft your perfect release. Here’s introducing the 5Ws, the 3Ps and the vital 1C. Intrigued, then please read on!
One common mistake is trying to write like a journalist – when what you should be trying to do is think like a journalist. Imagine you are on the receiving end; you have tens, perhaps hundreds of press releases along with other emails sent to you every day. What are you going to want to read and what is going to make your eyes roll? It’s fair to say that you’d click on the headlines that you are drawn to because they stick out, perhaps because they’re funny, perhaps because they’re succinct, maybe because it was unexpected. It’s also fair to say that you would be put off by big chunks of writing, you’ve got 101 things to do and think about and only 1% of that energy is reserved for reading emails. You would want to recognise newsworthy value, the angle and outcome within the first few lines, otherwise, the tidiness of your inbox would quickly supersede in value and just like that, the email that you spent an hour fashioning now resides in the trash.
If you want to make your press release stand out in a crammed inbox you must find a healthy balance between being original and trying too hard. The best way to do this is to think outside the box with your subject line and title, this is the only place you are granted to be creative and witty – the actual bulk of the release is purely pragmatic. Keep it to the point and make sure you hit the ‘Five Ws’. Don’t try and zhuzh it up with unnecessary jargon and clichés – journalists already know the jargon, they won’t be impressed that you do too. Lastly, don’t say your story is newsworthy, show that it is – if a press release looks like an advertisement, it will be ignored.
One way you can do this is by maintaining a sense of objectivity but also having an overarching sentiment throughout. This could be a sentiment of excitement, regarding a new launch or change in the marketplace, or it could have a theme, like nationalism or nostalgia. Part of identifying these themes is refining your angle and identifying the societal implications of your story.
Whilst people often stress the 5Ws when it comes to writing the perfect press release, the angle that you need to convey from these is often lost – so really, there should be three Ps, a C and an I threw in: alternative perspective, progress, public eye, conflict, and local impact. The angle of your story answers the questions journalists really want to know; Have you got another side to the status quo? What solution is it to what problem? What will the public response be? Who and what does it challenge? What impact does this have on the community? Remember that you have good reason to be invested in your story, but you need to look for the bigger, engaging storyline to give everyone else a reason to be.
Once you have got all these juicy bits in, it is time to offer a bit of context. Your second paragraph should contain an impactful quote from one or two persons that have authority in the industry. Here it is easy to fall into the trap so many are partial to – the temptation of adding fluff. Every sentence in a press release needs to have value, if you are adding one for the sake of it, maybe to balance out the sizing of your paragraphs, you have fallen headfirst into the trap. The key objective should be to select a quote that brings the story to life and helps paint a picture of how influential the announcement is. Quotes are not for information, but for insight – so make sure to use a quote that reflects a unique perspective on the subject.
The further you get down a press release, the less vital the information. Thus, there should definitely be nothing crucial to the story in the last paragraph. This section serves to strengthen and round off your narrative – this could mean offering background into ways the company developed the project or insights into future implications of the news (if this is a core theme of the release, then it belongs in the first paragraph, but if there are other stronger angles, it may be more appropriate at the bottom as additional content).
Empathy may not be the first emotion you would associate with journalists yet employing it will make not only make writing the perfect press release a far more streamline process but also far more successful in terms of responses. We can all think of ways to make our own jobs easier, so try and think of how you can make theirs so, and in the time you save doing so, invest more energy on constructing an irresistible title that will surely make them look twice.
Did you know 85% of people research the products they want to buy online before they make their decision?
When prospects land on a website of interest, yes they want information about the product on offer, but they are actually looking for a lot more than that at this early stage of the buying journey. They want to know what options are available, the price differentiation of those options, what the pros and cons of different products are, whether there are any related sustainability concerns and the general ethos of suppliers. In short, they want as much information as possible, so they feel well informed before they make their decision.
This is step one in the customer journey and yet it often gets overlooked.
Increase your influence
The most basic customer journey is the customer experience from finding out about a product, through to placing an order. Companies that pay this process the attention it deserves will create a Customer Journey Map to visually represent the journey their prospects take before they become customers, while they are customers, and possibly include after-sales service too. Breaking the process down in this way helps businesses to better understand each milestone in the journey and what impact they have on influencing the outcome at each stage. The more influence you can have during the research stages, the more likely prospects are to come back to you when they’re ready to buy.
Blog to build trust
A business blog is useful throughout the whole customer journey but really comes into its own in the early stages. The rest of a website will be front and centre for the second step in the process, when prospects have narrowed down their options and want to see what different competitors have to offer, but during this first step, more generic authoritative market information is a must have.
For example, if a homeowner is looking to buy a new conservatory, they will want to know about the pros and cons of conservatories vs extensions. They will want to know about the different styles of conservatory available, different types of materials used to manufacture conservatories and the pros and cons of glass vs solid conservatory roofing options. Someone looking to sign up to a new fitness regime on the other hand might first want to know about the latest popular trends in diet and exercise and which exercises are better for strength, flexibility or cardio.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t offer all of these products or services, by talking knowledgably about them you position yourself as an expert in the entire field. It is this expertise that warms a prospect to you and builds trust before they have even had any direct contact with you.
Make it easy
If you can make it easy for prospects to find the general market or product information they need, you will build trust and loyalty in your brand and visitors are more likely to return. Consistent business blogs are a great way of helping prospects find you in the first place because fresh content boosts search engine optimisation. You can read more about this here (https://blogwrite.co.uk/why-consistent-blogs-are-better/). Then, if your blog is full of helpful information, prospects can browse through it in their own time and gather everything they need to make an informed choice.
When you think about the customer journey in this way, who are they more likely to opt for? The company with the excellent informative blog that popped up at the top of their search and gave them all the information they need? Or the company that was hard to find in the first place and then only gave details of their own products with no additional market or product information? I know which one I’d choose!
So, when mapping out your online presence, don’t forget step one in your customer’s journey. Be helpful in the early stages and the trust and goodwill you build in the beginning, will come to fruition later, when they are ready to buy.
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