Content Strategy for the Masses

Ginny Redish, the author of Letting Go of the Words, says Good Web Writing is based on usability and:

• is like a conversation
• answers peoples questions
• lets people grab and go

Using this as a base, let’s look at an email alert I received this week and determine if it was successful in its digital writing to get me excited about a new product.

Who am I?:  I signed up for this newsletter because I love coupons. It’s true. No shame.

(Lesson: A pay-off will get someone to sign up for a newsletter. Coupons, recognition, additional secret information that no one else could get… If you’re creating a persona around people who sign up for your newsletters, be sure to include one who is in it to get something)

Their latest newsletter featured a link to coupons, but also prominently featured a new product. I thought maybe I’d get another pay-off if I clicked on “check it out” to learn more about the product. Why else would they want me to click on it? The newsletter blurb gave me all the information I need… why would I need to know more?

 (Lesson: Don’t automatically assume your users are as excited about your new product as you are – if you want visitors to read more on the product, provide a reason to click on the link other than ‘to provide more information.’ Also, stop using “check it out” online. Just. Stop.)

So, I clicked on the “check it out” to enter the site.  It featured lots of information about the product (which I didn’t read), rollovers on a graphic (some of which didn’t work) and links with animations to show the razor’s different features (of which I clicked on one).

(Lesson: If good web content is like a conversation, this one was one-sided. It successfully answers questions a user may have about the product, but doesn’t answer: why am I here?

The website also featured a “love it, pass it on!” link, which I thought – ok – maybe sending info will also provide a coupon. So, I clicked on it.

Who in their right mind would send their friend an email about a new razor? Really think about this… What is interesting about this?

(Lesson: Including interactivity and opportunities to share content is great – but not all content is worth sharing. Adding a pay-off “send to 5 friends for a free sample” would encourage more use of this form)

I clicked on this “buy it now” link, thinking it might be good to find out where to buy one – and maybe I’d find a deal:

So, I click Buy It Now, and the following pop-up appears:

Wait… wha? Why is it even an option?

(Lesson: Anticipate what the user will do when they come to the site. Good web writing answers a visitor’s question – not make them ask more. Also, if you offer something on your site, such as “Buy it Now!” or “See the video clip now!” it’s in your best interest to make sure the content exists every time. Also, avoid industry speak. Rather than partner online retailer, try “online shops” and let the user know where they can find it in the real world, if that option is available)

How Did This Email Campaign Do?

• the web writing was like a conversation – not really. While there were efforts to share the information, there was no anticipation of the user’s part of conversation when they would open this site.
• the website answered questions – the campaign answered questions the who, what and how about the razor, but did so in the well written introductory paragraph on the newsletter. It didn’t effectively anticipate the where and why questions a visitor would ask, such as “where can I buy this?” or “why am I here?”
• the website let me grab and go – since the campaign didn’t answer real user questions, there was nothing to “go” with on this site. I could grab the link to the site and send it to a friend, but what am I grabbing and why would I share it?

This is a great article from PBS’s MediaShift on how to correct mistakes on social media.

MediaShift . How to Correct Social Media Errors | PBS.

Quick overview:

- Neither Facebook or Twitter offer a suggestion on how correct a poorly written post. Pundits suggest these services, or a third party app, need to create a functionality that lets users correct errors and notify anyone who retweeted the erroneous message (great idea for budding API developers!)

- Google+ allows users to edit posts and lists the date and time of the change.

Made a mistake? Best practices include:

- capture the error with a screengrab

- acknowledge the mistake and reference the error

- send tweets and messages to let those who shared or retweeted the error

If your social media mistake is offensive to some readers, and/or potential brand damaging, read this about Kenneth Cole’s rebound, and this, about Bing’s approach.

Did you ever see (in a movie or in real life) a young nerdy kid try to bribe “popular kids” for friendships by giving them things? “Oh, I heard you really like Sprite so I got you the last one from the fridge.” Remember how the cool kids would usually react? That’s right – with heart-wrenching indifference.

So why has Facebook changed all of that?

Every day, I receive requests to Like a brand or product on Facebook to get a coupon. It’s not only the fastest way for the industry to minimize the potential analytics and sincere word-of-mouth goldmine of a Facebook Like –  but it’s shocking because many of us very cool people are falling for it. It’s like we’re gladly taking a free can of pop from the annoying kid at school and not only thanking them for it, but promising to let everyone know -publicly – that we think this annoying kid is actually the coolest ever.

Seems kind of lazy to me.

Are the popular kids (us) just willing to put up anything on our profile (and our friends walls) in exchange for something free?

As I write this blog post, a very simple poll question, Mac or PC, has received over 2 million (!) votes on Facebook’s new Questions app.  Thanks to this new feature, everyone on Facebook now has the option to easily post a poll – and this includes anyone with a company fan page. Yes, even you. But is it something you should use?

One of the reasons why “Mac or PC” is getting so many responses is because it’s a quick question with a quick answer – and that’s something to keep in mind if you’re deciding to venture into Questions for your business. Don’t ask long, convoluted questions because you won’t get much response. Another key: while it’s good to get a gauge on what your fans are thinking, consider your audience. Do you want to ask questions that only your fans would know, or can you adjust your verbiage to introduce new users to your fan page/brand.

Questions is a great promotional tool for your Facebook page. When a fan decides to answer your poll, their vote is posted on their wall – prompting their friends to also answer the question and perhaps, end up as a fan of your FB page. If your poll is so specific that only your fans could answer, this might be a missed opportunity to capture some new traffic. But again, it depends on what information you’ll looking to gather.

So… early stage take aways:

- Keep it short (quick question, maybe two choices tops)

- Consider keeping it generic so anyone can answer to add fans to your FB page

Love to hear any other tips – please share!

It seems the team behind Smart Water had someone tell them “let’s make a viral video.”

I had a hard time watching this. Why?

- it uses only her celebrity to make it viral
- it uses pre-established memes rather than coming up with something original
- it’s, as someone wrote, “Jay Leno” funny
- if you’re going to make fun of internet memes, tip your hat to them, don’t belittle. Here’s an example:

And this is how you make a good viral video:

Why?
- high production values
- well written song and great direction
- content is relatable and directed to its intended audience
- it’s not “Jay Leno” funny