Strategy Matters 
Vol 2 Issue 3 March 2010
Strategy Matters brings you news, tips and strategies for effective communications from Strategic Communications, LLC. We're committed to bringing you success through strategy. www.stratcommunications.com
Improving the Impact of Your Ad Copy

Want a quick tip to help you evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising copy? It's simple. Just take a look and see how many times you use words like "we" or "our." What's wrong with those words?

They're you-focused, vs. they-focused - they being the target prospects you're hoping to influence in some way.  Instead of words like "we" and "our," your copy should include words like "you" and "your." Your copy should speak directly to the target audience that you're hoping to influence and should appeal to their needs, concerns and desires.

One of my favorite books on writing copy is Robert Bly's The Copywriter's Handbook - I highly recommend it.

Whenever I'm called upon to offer a critique on, or advice about, a company or consultant's copy - whether it's on a web site, in a brochure, an ad, a blog, or whatever - the first thing I do is read through the copy to see whether the focus is on "we/our" or "you/your." Most of the copy I look at is the former. A quick, easy and relatively painless way to improve it is to make it focus on the latter - "you/your."

In copywriting there's an old acronym - WIIFM - that stands for "What's in it for me?" That's the question, from the prospect or reader's point of view, that copywriters are taught to focus on when writing copy for any audience.

Most copywriters grow to do this instinctively, but they are sometimes challenged by clients, bosses and internal customers, who may sometimes find it difficult to take an "inside out" view of what they do. The ability to translate internally-focused product or service-related features into externally-focused benefits is critical in terms of convincing prospects that you have something they may need - or better yet, something they can't live without. 
 
It can definitely be helpful to have a non-biased, third party, review and improve your copy. But you can take a big step in the right direction of simply getting rid of the "we's"!

For more information, visit www.stratcommunications.com.
 
Using Hashtags Effectively
 
What the heck is a # and why should you care?
 
For those of you who have braved the bold new world of Twitter, it's likely that you've come across the symbol #. In the old days, we referred to this as a "pound sign," generally referring to its use on a phone. Today that symbol is becoming more commonly known as a "hashtag" and it is a powerful tool in the Twittersphere.

The hashtag (#) can be used by Tweeters in a few different ways:

1) To follow topics that you're interested in. So, for instance, if you're interested in marketing and want to keep up with what people out in the Twittersphere are saying about marketing, you could track "#marketing" using a tool like TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com).

2) To increase the odds that people are picking up on your tweets. So, if you'd like to build awareness of yourself as a marketing expert, when you're sending a tweet, you might include "#marketing" at the end of your tweet (if you haven't already used this phrase in your tweet). By doing this, those interested in marketing, who are following "#marketing" will be exposed to your tweet.
 
Better yet, if your tweet is sufficiently insightful and brilliant, they may choose to follow you - and your network will grow exponentially. So, for example, I might tweet something like: "Just came across this great article on boomers and social media - http://ow.ly/1oI2Ac. #marketing."

Happy hashing!  @LinGPophal
 
Learn more at
www.stratcommunications.com
Generating Response, Followers and Referrals 
I experienced an interesting phenomenon when I issued this e-letter last month. I've gotten into the practice of posting notices to various LinkedIn groups when a new e-letter is available, inviting new subscribers. I've been doing this for about 14 months now and usually pick up 10-15 new subscribers. But, last month I picked up well over 100 new subscribers from one LinkedIn group.

I immediately began to consider reasons why the demand increased so significantly.

Was it the enticing post?: "Tips and strategies for employee communication, branding and advertising - February Strategy Matters e-letter has been released. If you're interested in receiving a copy, let me know." I don't think so. This is basically the same format I follow each month.

Was it the topics? Employee communication, advertising and branding. Again, I don't really think so. I've seen a slight uptick in interest based on teh topics covered from month to month, but these are pretty typical of what I tend to cover.

So, what could it be?
 
After some rumination, and as I continue to see requests come in, I think it has to do with "herd mentality." Unlike previous months where people have tended to email me privately when they're interested in being added to the list, this month someone quickly posted a notice to the group asking to be added to the list. Then another. And another. And so on. The group actions themselves, I believe, generated the amazing interest.

Basic consumer behavior, I suppose. We learn from others and have a tendency to replicate their behaviors. You could call it "me-tooism." And, in fact, the same phenomenon is why the advertising industry works so hard to help us identify with - and want to be like - others who buy and use various products.

For me, the key learnings I'm going to take away from this experience are
  • Be explicit when posting these types of comments about asking people to "comment here" or "post your comment below."
  •  Consider ways I might use this same process to generate more participation on this blog - just need a few people to be brave enough to start posting publicly for momentum to increase!
  • Leverage this concept as I continue to experiment with Twitter.
Finally, I think it's important to note that my "aha" moment is really nothing new. In fact, there are a number of great books that explore the sometimes counter-intuitive actions of consumers, and the general public.  Some of my favorites are:

Preditably Irrational - Dan Ariely 

Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics both by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
 
To learn more, visit www.stratcommunications.com.
 
35 Media Mistakes You Should Never Make!
 
Some easy to avoid mistakes may be keeping your name out of the news. Learn how to get the coverage you've been looking for. 
 
Contact us for a free copy of this white paper. 
 
[email protected]
 
Strategy Matters!
Offer Expires: 4/1/10
Two book updates from Strategic Communications:
 
Employee Management for Small Business (released in November, 2009) and Managing Off-Site Staff (released in January, 2010) offer practical, actionable advice for small business owners. 
In This Issue
Improve Your Ad Copy
Using Hashtags
Generating Response
StratComm In The News
Logo
WE'RE IN THE NEWS!