Month: October 2017

Podcast 54: why standout content needs writers *and* experts

Posted on by The Radix Team

Every copywriter knows the feeling of being asked to think up content ideas for clients – and in some cases, developing their whole content strategy. But how much of this planning work should a writer do, who should pay… and, crucially, how much client input do we really need?

Talking to subject matter experts can make the difference between “me too” content and a really standout, original take on a subject. It’s why David rates them among the three people your B2B copywriter definitely needs to meet.

It’s pretty clear that an effective editorial board can transform your content – so why doesn’t this happen as standard? And how can writers and experts work together in a focused way, to get the best results?

In episode 54 of our B2B copywriting podcast, Fiona, David and Emily discuss what it takes to go from good copy to great copy.

Listen now to discover:

  • Why there’s issues around access to subject experts
  • The risks of being cagey with access
  • Standing out from the crowd, and why it’s important
  • How deep insight on a niche topic can make all the difference
  • When copywriters should be relied on for content ideas

How to listen >>

You can download the episode here (right-click and “save-as” to download). Or stream the episode in the player at the top of the page.

(Or you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. Alternatively, add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.)

Credits:

Intro and outro music by Industrial and Marine.

How to become an overnight expert on pretty much anything

Posted on by Matt Godfrey

Contrary to popular belief, being a B2B technology copywriter isn’t all glamour. Away from the constant accolades, the endless parties and the rapturous attention of an adoring public, your beloved copywriter has a lot to cope with.

When we’re in our enterprise tech comfort zone, life comes easy:

  • A white paper on PaaS integration for data centre managers, you say? No problem!
  • A blog post for HR directors in EMEA on IoT use cases in 5G networks? Piece of cake!
  • A picture book on Lean Startup product development methodologies for under-fives? Hell, yeah!

But when we’re dragged out of that comfort zone by new clients, new tech or new topics, that’s when we have to bring out the big guns.

Here’s a sample of some of the topics I’ve had to learn about from scratch (and fast) for client projects over the last few months:

  • Refined-oil storage facilities
  • 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T Ethernet standards
  • The global aluminium market
  • Positive pressurisation in electronics enclosures

So how do you get up to speed on seemingly impenetrable topics and quickly turn around an insight-packed, beautifully crafted piece of weapons-grade B2B content? I’m glad you asked…

1: Know what you need to know

First things first: figure out your audience. A decent understanding of the what your readers already know (and what they’ll be thinking about next) will point you in the direction of the stuff you need to know.

As luck would have it, our very own Fiona Campbell-Howes, persona-maven nonpareil, once wrote a rather nifty blog post bursting with red-hot tips on whipping up a quick buyer persona.

Second things second: know your limits. When time is tight, you can’t spend three weeks immersing yourself in every element of the topic – stick to the brief and narrow your research down to:

  • The things you definitely need to know so you don’t come across as a gibbering imbecile when you start writing
  • The things it would be really nice to know so you can sound like you write about this stuff all the time

2: Research fast

Now, I know you’ve all done research before, but this is different. When you’ve only got a couple of hours to find what you need, you have to zero in on the most trusted trade-news sites (the client can point you in the right direction here) and industry analysts for the topic at hand.

It’s important not to fall too far down the rabbit hole, clicking link after link after link in the vain hope of finding a single source of enlightenment. But if you’ve followed step 1 above, you’ll be able to stay focused on finding what you really need.

And remember to keep it current. Set your search parameters so you’re only seeing things from the last 12 months, otherwise you’ll end up quoting crusty old reports predicting trends that have either been and gone or never happened.

One last note on this – don’t panic. You’re not cramming for an exam, you’re trying to find useful knowledge to create a specific piece of content for a specific purpose for a specific audience. Once the client sees the fruits of your labours in the outline, they’ll give you a steer on which points need to be expanded/reconsidered/fired into the Grand Canyon.

3: Phone a friend

When I say “phone”, I mean “bellow across the office at”. And when I say “friend”, I mean “already overstretched co-worker”. But you get the idea.

I’m fortunate that the Radix team is replete with arcane knowledge on areas of technology so obscure that nobody is really sure if they actually exist within the boundaries of space-time. As my colleague George Reith will tell you, for example, “The lore of bit depth quantisation is very deep.”

If you’re not lucky enough to work in an office full of unnervingly geekish folks like George, fear not – I’m willing to bet your social networks are full of people with expertise on all kinds of unlikely topics. So maybe you *could* just phone a friend, after all.

4: Talk to the real experts

This is the bit where you grab your client by the lapels and demand answers.

At the end of the day, when push comes to shove and all’s said and done, the only sure-fire way to get real insight, real fast is to talk to the experts on your client’s team.

The people on the ground who live and breathe this stuff will quickly validate or debunk all that research you just did. And they’ll add unique insights that can enrich your copy and elevate the finished piece into something genuinely valuable for your audience.

Putting copywriters and subject-matter experts together is absolutely critical for creating great B2B content – you neglect it at your peril.

What are you waiting for?

So come on, people! This diem isn’t going to carpe itself – get out there and learn something new.

Or if you’ve got an upcoming campaign on a topic nobody else seems to understand, why not put our skills to the test? Get in touch at [email protected].

How to write for the new CIO: a Radix primer

Posted on by The Radix Team

The Chief Information Officer is an interesting creature.

Less than a decade ago, it was uncertain whether the role had a future, but – lo and behold –  it evolved. Today, the CIO is expected to be the driving force behind digital transformation.

But that said, the CIO still appreciates a helping hand now and then – even if it’s just to nudge them in the direction of the right enterprise technology. And that’s where well-written marketing content comes in.

But first, we need to understand the role, and the pressures involved.

The CIO – then and now

Traditionally, the CIO’s pressures came from balancing the books and mitigating risk, but today, they arguably face the greatest challenge of all C-suite executives.

With the emergence of the tech-savvy Chief Digital Officer, the CIO has had to step up, and face the tricky job of maintaining and migrating legacy systems, while delivering the latest technology and enabling mobile working.

For many CIOs, it’s been a long time since they actively engaged with IT on a ground level – maybe even as far back as the 1980s. We assume the CIO is still a technologist, but they are often far more interested in the business benefits technology can deliver, not how many numbers it can push per second.

Forced out of their comfort zone, and left with no choice but to enable the agile and flexible service their customers and employees expect, it’s only natural that a CIO should take advantage of helpful brand content. But what should that copy look like?

No time wasters, thanks

The CIO doesn’t have much time in their day to dive into B2B marketing, and for some of us, that means getting pretty ruthless with our copy. No fat, no fluff – every sentence needs a purpose.

At Radix, we have a ton of experience writing for C-suite executives, so I asked my colleagues to share some of their thoughts on writing for the CIO. Here’s what George Reith had to say:

“When writing for a CIO, I have to be so careful not to patronise them, or cast doubt on their ability to deliver the goods. But at the same time, I never assume they know everything on a ground level. They’ve experienced the upheaval of mobile and cloud over a short period of time, but I won’t avoid introducing new technical trends on a business level – I believe that’s exactly what they want.”

And when it comes to making decisions, David McGuire finds CIOs aren’t afraid to follow their gut instincts:

“Whenever I’ve attended industry events with CIOs from big enterprises, it’s quickly become apparent that there are as many approaches to their big, common challenges as there are people in the room. And the thing I found interesting was how often those preferences were based on gut feeling; for a persona that’s presumed to be so rational and analytical, a lot of people were talking about what they ‘felt most comfortable’ with.”

Bringing CIO copy to life

In 2015, Octopus Group published the Tech Heads report and it revealed 41% of CIOs believe today’s B2B marketing copy is too generic. In fact, they called it their number one frustration with vendor content. But as writers that’s encouraging; it confirms that getting detailed and adding a touch of originality isn’t going to be a problem.

CIOs want a fresh spin on important topics – so we always aim to show them something they didn’t know. Of course, this is easier said than done, so when approaching a CIO centric topic, we make a habit of asking ourselves: am I preaching the converted? Am I boring them? Am I just echoing existing copy?

It’s fine for us to say “cloud-native app development is faster and more flexible”, but it’s always better if we offer an example of what their team can actually do with this technology, and in turn how that helps their business.

The anti-tech tech-head

If we find the technical intricacies of our copy tough to understand, then chances are the CIO will too. The trick for us writers is to use ourselves as a template audience: just say what is it, what it does, and how it helps – and keep it as simple as possible.

And with that said, I’ll leave you with this quote from our Head of Copy Team, Matt Godfrey:

“The CIOs I’ve spoken to really couldn’t care less what technology they use or what it does – they’re far more interested in getting the right business outcomes. They’re also (usually) playing the long game, although they’ll happily take a quick win if it fits their overall strategy.”

Put simply: they won’t abide fluff – so we give them what they want, when they want it. And we make it snappy.

Need to convince the C-suite?

Radix has a whole team of writers experienced in writing content for B2B technology audiences. If you have a project in mind, let us help you. Get in touch today, and we’ll talk about your options.