A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, but in this age where visuals seem to rule, let’s not forget the value of the written word.
While a picture can get attention and–if done well–convey a message or evoke a feeling, words can persuade, inform, validate, and tell an engaging story.
Think of all the places you use words in your business: your About Us page, FAQs, product or service pages, and blog and social media posts, to name just a few.
All of those individual pieces of writing are part of your marketing, as each reinforces the other and builds a narrative that speaks to:
- who you are
- what you value
- where you came from
- why you do what you do
- how you support your clients and conduct your business
Writing, especially long-form, showcases your knowledge and expertise and positions you as an authority. It allows you to explore topics and answer questions in detail. It shows your clients that you are willing to put in the effort to provide them with as much information as possible about your business, and that you see value in communicating with them effectively and often.
And what writing offers to your target audience, it also offers to search engines in the form of content they can crawl and use to rank your site. The more text, the more opportunity you have to use keywords and related keyword phrases.
How To Use Writing Effectively to Market Your Business
- Use a consistent tone and voice across everything you write, from short bios to lengthy web pages or blog posts.
- Ensure the content on your website provides a solid foundation for your business by providing the fundamental information people need, including services pages and “about” and “contact” pages. All should be laid out in a logical format that is easy to navigate.
- Write long-form blog posts to build out your website. They provide rich, new content for search engines to crawl.
- Further to the previous point–do not stretch your posts too thin in an effort to add length. Posts have to provide value to the reader. Be sure every word counts toward the larger message and skip the filler.
- Try to provide some evergreen content on your blog; that is, the kind that does not age and will be relevant and searchable long after it is posted. Think guides, listicles, glossaries, how-to posts. Just ensure the content is relevant to your business and consistent with its overall messaging.
- Base at least some of your posts on questions clients have about products, services, or general queries about your industry and any topics that relate to it.
- Be efficient. Use a blog post as the basis for multiple social media posts. Pull quotes or use short bullet points to summarize the content. Mix it up a bit for each social media platform you use.
Writing creates a picture in a thousand words (or as many as needed) that defines your business with depth and clarity and brings into focus the qualities that set you apart.
To learn more about using writing in your marketing, see:
The Benefits of Long-Form Copy for Your Business
Creating a Manageable Content Strategy
How To Write an Article Outline
Photo of typewriter by Patrik Houštecký on Pixabay.