At the heart of great technical copywriting is an understanding about what technology is—and what it isn’t. Technology isn’t the cluster of circuits, wires, plastics, or pixels. It’s the meaning in the machinery that makes it easier to be a student, a parent, a commuter, or just simply a person in the world.

Whether Facetiming by iPhone or strategizing on Slack, every platform offers a distinct experience. For a tech company to cement their uniqueness in a competitive market, writing that cleverly captures the difference in meaning enables it to take marketing beyond hardware or software and toward the human. 

Build loyalty through brand

Apple or PC? iPhone or Android? Apple Music or Spotify? When customers buy a product or create an account, they enter an ecosystem. Their decision-making process may be rooted in cost and convenience, but brand is the thing that ultimately earns their loyalty. What does it mean to be a PC person, anyways?

It’s one thing to make your prices competitive or to draw customers in with a sharp user experience (UX), but crafting a brand that’s as compelling as a lower price tag can be incredibly impactful. In tech, that means not just outlining what your product does, but basking in what makes it better. 

Apple products, for example, evoke sleek minimalism, curved edges, and signature coolness. With strategic marketing, Apple said less and did more—making its marketing content as simple and straightforward as the products themselves, setting a new standard for branding in the tech industry.

Portray a powerful user experience 

Effective web copy, content, or product writing requires a firm understanding of the user experience you offer. How does Zoom UX differ from FaceTime? Not just the interface, but the end-to-end client experience?

Zoom has screen sharing and breakout rooms. Facetime is convenient, familiar, and casual. Features matter, but so does the feeling they evoke. The possible use cases might be identical, but Zoom has successfully situated its product as a go-to replacement for in-person business meetings while, for professional work, Facetime remains a less popular option.

The Zoom example suggests situating the nuts and bolts features within a narrative of optimal, successful user experiences.

Capture the human behind the keyboard

Fast speed, energy efficiency, and broad compatibility are all major pluses in the tech world—but to many consumers, they’re floating buzzwords without immediate, tangible impact. To slice through the noise and reel in customers, introduce features in terms of the actual benefits that they offer customers and paint a picture to drive home the point. 

Messaging platforms aren’t beneficial because they’re fast, they’re beneficial because they’re fast at connecting people. To drive marketing (and make it more compelling), always hang on to the human aspect of the technology—and weave it into the core of your brand. 

Turn the most complex code into a compelling consumer story

Consumers don’t just want to hear about hardware, they want to know how a product will improve their lives and the experience they’ll have by using it. When shaping a marketing strategy committed to following the human thread through the technical ‘circuit pathways’, you elevate your brand’s content, making it about the customer’s aspirations.

Want help bringing a human touch to your technology marketing? Connect with us. 

How do you handle crisis communication? Your words always exist in context, and that context can change how they’re received.

In person, we constantly gauge the mood of our environment. Right away, social cues tell us that a funeral probably isn’t the right place to break into dance, or that a rave would be a strange place to sit still. But when it comes to marketing communications, things aren’t so cut and dry. Online especially, you don’t know what environment your words are going to land in—nor the mindset of its occupants. This is why tuning into widespread moods—like that of the current coronavirus pandemic—and adapting your message and tone accordingly is crucial.

Easy to say, harder to do. The evidence abounds, in the media and in your inbox: Posts that seem unimaginably tone-deaf or irrelevant, like lingering email ads that’re still promoting travel (automated, surely). In the wake of any crisis, we all walk a tricky tightrope when it comes to communication, at a moment when communication is more important than ever. Whether you’re communicating on behalf of a company, a nonprofit, or yourself, your message (and how you present it) can be crucial.

Yes, we’re all separate and isolated. And that makes it impossible to “read the room” in a physical sense. Nevertheless, there are ways that you can read (and more importantly, write for) the current mood:

Recognize the moment.

It’s rare for the whole world to experience a crisis simultaneously. But right now we’re seeing it—with news outlets, social media, and our daily interpersonal conversations making it impossible to ignore our mutual experience, not to mention our questions, concerns, doubts, and curiosities. As a person in the world, recognize these moments. Then, think about how you can change your writing to be thoughtful, sensitive, and empathetic when people around the world (perhaps including you) are sharing in a turbulent time.

Keep things relevant.

In the midst of a crisis, people don’t want to hear about the new award your company won or about luxury vacations they can no longer indulge. People don’t want to be aggressively marketed to in an unstable economy, either. 

In a new survey from Edelman, conducted in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, 71% of people said that if they perceive that a brand is putting profit over people, they will lose trust in that brand forever. To keep your messaging appropriate, make sure it’s relevant and sensitive.

Connect, don’t request.

Right now, if you’re trying to connect with people, one option is to simply stay in touch instead of asking them for things: like to buy your product or volunteer to help your mission. In the middle of a crisis, the best way to communicate is to keep things simple and honest. Check in, offer support, share news and updates, and then give people space. Let your community know what you’re doing to keep them safe during the pandemic, or share helpful guidelines for personal protection. When they’re ready to engage with you, you’ll be right there in their inbox—without having to push.

We’re in the midst of an unprecedented challenge. But by being sensitive to context in your communications, you can turn that challenge into an opportunity—to connect, inform, inspire, and overcome. If we can be of any assistance in helping you do that, especially as you navigate the delicate matter of coronavirus crisis communications, we’re here to help. 

 

You know, even in a hazy way, that you “need” SEO. But you don’t know how to get it. To newcomers, SEO terminology can be daunting—search value, keywords, buckets, and backlinks—but the ultimate goal is simple: capturing the attention of a target audience.

When the SEO bell rings, the first thing you want to turn to is content. Whether you’re a restaurant chain, a law firm, or a content agency, SEO-geared content can play a crucial role in positioning you on the web as an business option—and an industry expert. 

Here are three ways to create SEO content that drives your campaign onto the screens of your ideal audience:

Think Like Your Audience

When someone needs a copywriter, where do they look? In 2020, most likely Google (to start). Often, initial searches are outcome-oriented, not coded or mysterious. “Copywriting agency,” “copywriting,” and “content marketing” are common keywords people use when looking for writers, so we’ve worked them into our content—maintaining our tone and voice while optimizing it to be found by prospective leads.

All of this is to say: think about who you want to be discovered by, and put yourself in their shoes. If you’re a law firm, you want to reach prospective clients with legal needs and questions about the law. If you’re a restaurant chain, you want to  entice hungry customers nearby. When those audiences search a specific legal question, or “best burger in Austin, Texas,” an SEO-driven campaign can put you on the first page of their results. 

To think like your audience, ask yourself:

• What are they looking for? Are they searching for a good, a service, or an answer to a specific question? By anticipating their needs, you can create content that satisfies them—or at the very least piques their interest.

• What can you do for them—and how do they see this benefit? Ultimately, consumers are drawn to your company because it benefits them in some way. You know the benefit, and your consumers do too; but you might be seeing it differently. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and consider their wants. From there, brainstorm keywords and make buckets to organize your SEO content. 

• What are their priorities? Maybe it’s a focus on cost-effectiveness, quality, or something entirely different. Think about what your customers want, and add related words to your content. For instance, the keyword “affordable” can go a long way with a cost-conscious audience.

Capture Local Searches

Nearly half of all Google searches are for local information: store hours, local addresses, or more specific inquiries (like the next time a music artist is touring in town). If your business has strong local ties, flexing them with online content could be a smart strategy for strengthening your SEO.

One way to achieve this is by building informative web pages. For example, if you’re a Chicago-based law firm with deep knowledge of local and state laws, web pages that summarize relevant legal issues can position your firm as an authority—and boost your search presence. With strong, reliable, properly optimized content, you can even snag a coveted spot in the Google answer box, with your content coming up first for frequent searches like, “Is X legal in Illinois?” 

When planning your campaign, don’t forget about your local roots—or your local audience.

Show Authority on Relevant Topics

Every day, billions of people take to Google with questions. What is your company doing to provide answers? Consider your industry expertise. What topics can you comment on in-depth? What credentials make you a subject matter expert? Next, think about relevant topics in the industry at large. What are people talking about?What’s new? Once you’ve found the overlap, let that sweet spot drive your content production. 

If your audience is asking questions, you want to be supplying answers. Use your company’s credibility to create SEO-geared content—for instance, an industry-specific ebook or an actionable blog post. Whether you’re an e-commerce business or an art museum, producing targeted content can drive you upwards in the search ranks—and send the right customers your way.