heartharmony.com.au

When you think of branding most people think of logos, colours and designs. But the way you write and the words you use are as much a part of your brand as all of the other visual elements.

Think about Virgin’s Brand – cheeky, taking a poke at the establishment and very fresh. When they write ads or brochures each part of their writing reflects their overall brand – fun and saying it like it is.

Now think about some of the major banks – their business writing is often dry, corporate and staid.

Many small businesses make the mistake of being too formal with their writing. They use big words, formal sentence structures and refer to themselves in the third person. However the trend in marketing is personalisation – people want to know and trust you, the people behind the logo. You can achieve this by being real and open in your communications.

Some indicators of this trend are the shift in ads on TV. Gone are the ads promoting a company “Woolworths the Fresh Food People” to be replaced with ads showing Woolies employees showing their expertise with fruit via weekly information about new seasons fruit and vegies. Bunnings shows their employees talking in their words about their company. Even the banks are cashing in showing their tellers in social settings.

This trend has also shifted into writing. Gone are the boring web pages or brochures. People want to know more.

When we work with a company I always have a conversation with the head of the company. I want to hear in their own words what makes their company great. I also want to hear how they speak, what makes them laugh and what makes them tick. We use this information to ensure there’s no disconnect between the words people read on websites and brochures, and the words they hear when they talk with the company.

As a freelance copywriter, here’s my process to make sure your writing reflects your brand:

• Describe your brand in words – what does it mean, what does it stand for, what sort of people work there, what sort of experience do people get when they work with you?
• Ask a few of your friends and top clients to describe your brand to you.
• Look for common words and themes – for example fresh, vibrant, trusted.
• Use these words as part of your unique selling proposition (USP).
• Run writing past the ruler of these words – if someone didn’t know you and they read your words would they think this company was (fresh, vibrant, trusted)?
• Always write directly to your clients or customers. Refer to “you” and “we” not “the client” and “our company”.
• Insert emotion – have some fun with your words. Don’t try to be someone or something you’re not. You are perfectly fine the way you are – if you represent the essence of you in your writing the right customers will be attracted to your business for the right reasons.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriters