Month: February 2018

When is thought leadership NOT thought leadership?

Posted on by The Radix Team

According to Forbes, thought leadership is “grossly indulgent slang for plain ol’ expertise”. Ouch.

Is that fair? Maybe. Marketers (content marketers in particular) do like shiny new jargon – and it’s not like expertise is ever a bad thing to demonstrate.

But here’s the sticking point – content is all too often framed as thought leadership, when it’s anything but. For us, thought leadership means stuff that’s original and compelling, and rests on the cutting edge of a discussion.

Or the head of Radix’s copy team, Matt Godfrey, wryly put it:

“If you haven’t put any thought into it, it’s not a thought. And if it’s not on the vanguard, on the tip of the point of the spear, it’s not leadership – it’s just waffle.”

No thought… and precious little leadership

But when does thought leadership become, well, not thought leadership? And when is a ‘hot take’ just a thinly veiled cry of ‘me too, me too’?

Look close enough, and you’ll see this fluff everywhere. The same arguments, the same stories, the same opinions. It’s essentially content marketing churnalism.

And your audience thinks so, too.

In 2016, Grist surveyed over 200 senior executives from FTSE 350 companies for a “definitive” look at the subject of thought leadership. It’s a good read, and a rare insight into why certain content does and doesn’t work, and what an executive audience looks for in a thought leader.

Here’s a choice cut from the survey: when asked what they dislike most about existing content online, executives cited content as:

  1. Too generic – not directly relevant to me (63%)
  2. Lacking original insight or ideas (58%)
  3. Promoting the adviser rather than addressing my problems (53%)

Our creative director, David McGuire, thinks the problem’s in the term itself:

“For a lot of marketers, ‘thought leadership’ has become a catch-all phrase for self-indulgent content that doesn’t fit anywhere else. It’s like the usual rules of value and customer-centricity don’t apply – when in reality, they’re more relevant than ever.”

The search engine echo chamber

But faux-leadership content doesn’t just stem from brands wanting to get in on a conversation without having anything meaningful to say. There’s a technical incentive too. SEO.

If a content marketer is under pressure to match a competitor blow-for-blog on a certain Google keyphrase, then of course there’s a temptation to regurgitate content and ideas. And while the resulting content may still have merit to those unaware of other sources, it is anything but ‘thought leadership’.

If it’s not new and exciting, then you’re just adding to the noise.

How to do thought leadership well

But let’s not dump thought leadership in the bin just yet. Because when it’s done well, it really can add value, shed new light, and guide an industry in a whole new direction.

So, what does good thought leadership look like?

Typically, consulting firms such as Cognizant and Accenture do a strong job delivering original perspectives on the latest market trends. Whether it’s deep diving into the latest developments in healthcare AI, or exposing the hidden value of risk in banking – they tend to offer something fresh and relevant to their readers and clients.

(Heck, Cognizant won an award in 2017 for ticking all these boxes with their financial services campaign: ‘Blockchain: Thought Leadership Driving Action and Results’. That blog netted them over 150,000 views alone.)

There are lessons we can learn from firms like these. Do your research. Monitor your competitors, but don’t ape their content. And know your audience inside out.

The point is, good B2B thought leadership is not easier than other content. It takes effort, discipline, resources, and time; there are no short cuts.

But are the results worth the investment? Absolutely.

Podcast 58: how to get value for money from your copywriter

Posted on by The Radix Team

Demand for great B2B content is growing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your budget for copywriting is expanding to match. So, naturally you start looking for ways to get more value for money.

But, obviously, you shouldn’t sacrifice quality just to save a few quid – it’s all about balance.

In the newest episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, David and Fiona discuss a few ways you can get the biggest possible bang for your B2B copywriting buck.

Listen now to find out:

  • How our pricing strategy and copywriting price list came to be
  • Where you can save money and add value to your project
  • Where you really, really shouldn’t cut corners

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.)

Other content we talk about in this episode:

Want to contact the show?

It’s always good to hear from listeners. You’ll find us on Twitter… or feel free to send your thoughts to [email protected] (if you’re feeling fancy, email a voice memo).

Next month, we’ll be talking about the dark art that is writing email subject lines. So if you’ve any questions, thoughts or tips, do get in touch.

 

Credits:

Audio editing and music by Bang and Smash.

How to tell a compelling brand story in a world full of heroes

Posted on by Steve George

As I took stock of everything I’ve learned throughout the year,  I had an interesting realisation. One of the most valuable copywriting lessons I learned this year didn’t happen in the Radix office.

It didn’t even happen in this world.

I’ve been a passionate player of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games) since my early teens. My hobby has taken me to dozens of fantasy worlds, but my experience this year really stood out – and helped me develop as a B2B copywriter.

Everyone’s a hero. So now what?

The nature of MMORPGs makes traditional video game storytelling very difficult. In a world where millions of players are running around together and constantly interacting, it’s hard to make each and every one of them feel like they are the one true saviour of the digital world – destined for glory and power above all others.

Yet, in spite of the obvious challenges, the game I played this year – Final Fantasy 14 if you’re interested – does it almost flawlessly. In the game’s world of Eorzea, every single player character is the “warrior of light”, a chosen individual destined to save the world from multiple catastrophic threats.

That got me thinking about the B2B copy I write. I’ve often found myself working on a project for a client that wants to stand out from their competition and sees themselves as a lone hero, but – at first glance – doesn’t really have any massively compelling USPs.

A crowded and competitive market is much like a world full of heroes. Every company wants to stand out and feel unique, but only a handful have an offering that’s obviously differentiated and able to deliver value above that of the alternatives.

It’s a difficult situation that many copywriters dread. But thanks to my online experiences, it’s a challenge that I’ve learned to embrace and overcome. Instead of clutching at straws and trying to scrape some kind of pseudo-unique proposition together, I’ve learned to embrace it – and devised a few tips to help you craft your own compelling stories for businesses in hero-filled markets.

Finding your individuality

The game makes every player feel like a uniquely significant hero by using:

  • Almost endless character customisation options
  • A strong supporting cast of non-player characters
  • A unique character development system where you can be whatever you want to be

Those tactics are great for game developers looking to achieve the same. But how exactly do they translate into tips and strategies for a brand that wants to be a hero, when its competitors are all offering the same?

The honest answer is “not directly”. But, by thinking about the principles behind those game design decisions, I’ve helpfully engineered them into three simple tips for brands that need to find the extraordinary hidden in the everyday.

Differentiate the brand through tone

So, your brand can’t do anything more than your closest competitor can. It’s a grim reality that few company stakeholders – especially those in marketing – will ever hold their hands up to. But if you can, you’ll be at an advantage.

Because products and capabilities aren’t the only way to differentiate a brand.

Voice and tone are important weapons in any brand’s arsenal. They provide a simple way of showing your reader your attitude, your ethos, and why working with you is a different experience – even if on paper the features and benefits look much the same.

Even if you can’t offer a massive amount of unique value, you can make dealing with you a unique experience – and as a copywriter, we can help you demonstrate that by talking to the customer in a unique way.

Be more open, honest and friendly than your competition. The person reading your content is going to remember that, and often simply being honest and approachable is enough to secure customer interest in an offering.

Tell your customers’ success stories

Telling real success stories is a great way to make your company look heroic – even if, realistically, many of your competitors could have solved the same problems and achieved similar outcomes.

That’s because your reader might not be looking for unique value. Often, they just need to know that you solved a real, relatable problem for a customer in their position, and that the outcomes achieved were positive and appreciated.

(By the way, if you haven’t already read Kieran’s blog post on everything you need to know about B2B case studies, you really should.)

It’s really helpful if your writer can talk directly to a satisfied customer. Often, by explaining why they chose to work with the company and what they gained from it, customers can help uncover USPs and differentiators that senior stakeholders hadn’t even considered.

Because ultimately, in your customer’s world, you’re not the hero anyway. They are.

Say the things other companies are scared to say

If you’re in a well-worn sector, where best practice is well-established and there’s little genuinely new or exciting to say, don’t fake it.

Instead, try cutting the crap.

Is there an elephant in the room that people are scared to address? Is there common jargon or shallow promises that get thrown around a lot in the marketplace? Or – if you’re feeling particularly brave – is there a glaring weakness that is common across all available solutions in your market?

Discussing the points that others are afraid to – and being open and honest about them – is a great way to make a brand stand out, and show your attitude in practice.

Whether it’s breaking the silence on an underdiscussed flaw, or just openly acknowledging that most solutions in the market are very similar and will deliver similar results, openness can pay dividends.

Don’t bullshit. Ever.

Whether they want to rise to the top of their market, make a difference to their customers or simply continue growing, every company we engage with as B2B copywriters wants to be a hero. If they have a compelling story to tell already, then that’s great – but often, they’ll look to us to provide that spark.

A clear, differentiated narrative is a luxury not everyone can afford. Especially in B2B tech, too many brands overstretch trying to look unique, and end up undermining their credibility by pretending something’s different when it’s not.

Instead, it’s up to us to find ways of making the ordinary extraordinary, and helping individuals stand out from a crowd of others with the same capabilities, on the basis of their attitude. Their ethos. Their people.

As copywriters, we’re in a unique position to make that happen. We can influence things like tone, voice and honesty in communication to help a single voice rise above the static. We don’t need to try and sex-up product offerings or call on unsubstantiated facts to fabricate a narrative that simply isn’t there.

(Even if, sometimes, we need to push back on a brief, and have those awkward conversations for the brand’s own good. Because somebody has to.)

If the offer looks the same on paper, we need to be honest about that. Because the conversation that happens next is when we can really make our chosen champion feel like the only hero in their world.