Getting people’s attention is harder than ever with double and even triple screening and every brand out there vying for your likes and shares.
So it’s more important than ever that your social media posts, press statements and blog posts are written in a simple and short format to give your audience the best chance of understanding what you are trying to say. If they understand what you are telling them and what you want them to do you have the best chance of converting them into customer/clients.
Here are my top tips for you to remember when creating content to give you the best chance of being heard AND understood.
Creating Content that Converts - Use simple sentences and words
The Sun has a reading age of an eight year old while The Guardian has the reading age of a 14 year old. Any good PR consultant or PR agency will tell you that so when you are trying to get media coverage you need to consider the language you are using.
Newspapers deal with complex issues but are still extremely readable. They use short and simple words rather than longer words whenever possible.
They don’t use acronyms without explaining them. They don’t overuse capitals – which interrupt the flow – and their sentences are simple in structure without excessive commas or semi colons.
You may think that your customers are intelligent – most people do – but the average reading age in the UK is 11.
Before they can understand your meaning people need to be able to read your words.
Creating Content that Converts -Don’t use jargon
Business speak and corporate language has long been a joke. Think The Office. My favourites recently have been people discussing their ‘bandwidth’ and the ‘texture’ of a document.
In my work with a law firm we constantly talk about ROI, alignment, EBITDA, culture and purpose. This is fine internally at a certain level but it’s not appropriate for most businesses.
To everyday people these words are meaningless and annoying. Even if your target audience are PHD educated scientists they will appreciate you communicating efficiently.
Creating Content that Converts -Keep it short and then cut it shorter
One of the best examples of how to communicate something complex in a short or simple way to potentially the widest of audiences – was the announcement of the launch of the NHS.
This piece of paper went to every household in the UK in July 1948. Look how short and easy to read it is.
It contains the three key messages they want to communicate and does it extremely efficiently. Don’t write War and Peace on your social media posts. Keep press releases to one page. Get to the point.
Creating Content that Converts -Proof, proof, proof
There is no excuse for typos.
You might be on your phone or not have a spellchecker but if you spot one fix it quick.
Better still get someone to proof read and sense check your work for you before you post. Spellcheckers won’t pick up everything.
Be especially careful with text on images that your create for social media.
Bad spelling, punctuation and grammar WILL impact how seriously people take you. If you haven’t already you should read a great book that explains why this is important: Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. Read it and let me know what you think.
If you want a copy of my FREE mini eBook ‘7 Secrets to Smashing your Social Media Lives’ click here. And don’t forget to join my Facebook group by clicking here.
Alison Jackson-Carter is a ‘PR Pro’ who has spent her career helping people and businesses share stories. As a journalist she spent her 20s working for newspapers, ITV’s This Morning programme, Sky News and 5 News. She then moved into PR where she has worked with hundreds of household brands to increase their media profile.
Since she moved to PR she has led teams that have won awards, launched a successful podcast that has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, and achieved millions of pounds worth of media coverage for brands.
Her passion for supporting women in business led her to launch Enlighten PR where she helps small business owners and entrepreneurs raise their profile and communicate with confidence about their business. In her downtime she can be found listening to The Archers or trying to read while her children and dog climb all over her.