Do you sometimes feel that your blogs or social media posts lack a little…pizazz? Are they a little, dare I say it, bo-ring? Do you want to transform this into eye-catching content?
If you’re writing about a particularly dry topic, making your content sparkle can sometimes seem like an uphill struggle.
From pressure vessels to software systems, I’ve written about hundreds of dry topics in my time. I’ve sung the praises of widgets that process blood samples and CRM systems that help businesses attract more customers.
When you’re writing about these very technical topics, you really do have to work harder to convince the reader to read on.
It is much easier to get eyeballs on your blogs and social media posts if you’re writing about shiny sports trainers or exotic holidays – these are appealing products that people want to have in their lives. But, what about a new product for managing your business expenses? It’s a hard sell.
In this blog, I’ll be sharing my top five tips for helping you turn dry topics into eye-catching content.
- Every product and service has a purpose
This may seem obvious but important to remember that every product has a purpose – whether you’re selling garage doors or solar panels.
If you’re putting together website content or writing a blog, remember to focus on how your product or service makes your customers’ lives easier. It’s that age-old marketing strategy of promoting benefits first over features.
- Focus on benefits, as well as features
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with talking about the technical features of your products. The geeks in your audience will love those details. But most people will find the benefits far more engaging.
Tell your reader how your product or service will transform their lives, save them money or help them leave work that bit earlier. So, if you’re selling GPS technology, explain that your new product could help your reader make that important job interview on time or get to a first date with their dream partner.
- Tell everyday stories
One of my clients sells healthcare e-learning from the NHS – potentially quite a dull topic until you learn that this e-learning has helped train anaesthesia doctors in some of the poorest parts of the world, such as Tanzania – and it is helping to save lives.
Customer stories like this can put a boring topic into an everyday context – helping other customers see how the product can change lives.
- Use quotes from customers
Alongside stories, I would always recommend including quotes from customers – many marketers refer to this as social proof. Hearing from real people who’ve benefitted from your product or service is always the best kind of marketing. It’s even more compelling if you can persuade your customer to give a video testimonial. Having a customer talk about how a product or service has transformed their life is marketing gold.
- Make it conversational and fun
Many businesses struggle to write conversational copy. I saw this all the time back in the day when I was working as a marketer for tech companies. Business managers were so used to using corporate language and jargon in meetings that this seeped into their writing. The result was some pretty lifeless and stilted corporate content that needed some life knocking into it.
Always keep this at the forefront of your mind at all times: whatever your service or product, your audience are human beings – with their own hopes, desires, anxieties and fears. Write in a conversational way and make an emotional connection with your readers by talking about how your offering could help them. This is why it’s so important to write the content (or outsource this to a professional copywriter) rather than using AI (ChatGPT and similar tools) to write your content. I can always tell when content has been written by AI because it sounds very robotic.
But, also bring in some fun stuff. Just because you work for an engineering company, it doesn’t mean that you can only share technical content – you can still share posts from your team’s day out or a dog pic.
People buy from people
My client, A2Z Cloud, does this very well on LinkedIn – the team publish lots of ‘technical’ updates on LinkedIn but they also share lots of photos of their team, GIFs and fun facts. At the last count, A2Z Cloud had more than 3,000 followers on LinkedIn – proof that adding some personality, humour and fun into your content can really help you connect with your audience.
One of the biggest mistakes I find when auditing social media accounts is the lack of any real people or stories. People buy from people, after all
Let people know what’s going on in your business – include that photo of your office training day or a meme on a Friday afternoon. What’s the worst that can happen?
