Comms in the time of Covid: 3 ways to write with precision

Working from home means writing to sell like never before. Rory Stobo, Chief Copywriter at Sookio, breaks down some big wins to make you stand out.

In times like these, there are three types of brands. You’ve got the ostriches who bury their heads in the sand and pretend we’re not living through the most significant global event since WW2. They’re marketing as though nothing’s happening.

Then you’ve got the milkmaids, engaged in squeezing as much collateral from the pandemic as their cynical little brains can manage. We cannot judge them, but history surely will.

Finally, there’s the rest of us. We’re just trying to adapt and survive, accepting the reality of the situation without glorifying in it. In a recent LinkedIn post I spoke about the biggest change I’m seeing people struggle with: written comms.

Nowadays, everyone is in eCommerce in ways they weren’t two months ago. No more networking, no more shaking hands, no more wheeling and dealing on the golf course. Your digital market stall is everything.

Every email is now a product description. Every tweet is now an elevator pitch. Everyone is now a copywriter but as always, not everyone is a good one.

Here are three ways you can add precision and clarity to your written business comms and adapt to challenging times.

Carry out a content audit

Even relatively new websites quickly accumulate a lot of content. This often comes from multiple teams containing tens of people all over the country (if not the world). Now’s the time to make sure it’s consistent.

Is all your web content adhering to one clear style? If you don’t have a style guide, pinch one from GOV.UK or the Guardian. We’ve written a whole other blog on why style guides are great.

If your site reads like it was thrown together by a bunch of Kyrgyzstani freelancers on Fiverr, trust will be damaged and you have no physical means to rebuild trust right now.

Check your blog. Are you keeping it updated? Might be time to pen that masterpiece you’ve had on the back burner. If someone sees you haven’t released any content since 2014, they might question if you’re still in business.

If you don’t have the time to write new content, see if old stuff can be repurposed. Two or three old blogs on similar themes can be combined into one megablog, giving people more relevant info in one place.

 

Ready to learn more? Continue reading on the Sookio blog.



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