Getting Smart With: Content
Content writing is often thought of as little more than filler for websites or promotional materials. This is where a content marketer comes in.
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Are you content with your content?
If that seemed confusing, it probably is for the majority of readers as well. The concept is sound enough, are you as a business owner happy with the wording and organization of the subject matter presented by your business both online and offline? However, somewhere in the execution of the sentence the meaning got lost due to the similarity (or resemblance) of the two words. The English language is a vast, complicated forest that many businesses get lost in, but your business can benefit from someone with a map of the terrain. This is where a content marketer comes in.
Content writing is often thought of as little more than filler for websites or promotional materials. No one knows your business or what it is capable of better than you do, so you are best-equipped to do it justice in terms of content generation. In actuality, the act of content generation is much more involved than that. If you get it right, you will bring in more readers and the opportunity to convert them into customers. But, if handled incorrectly bad content makes a greater and more-lasting impression than good content. Often, you have one real shot to make a good impression, and glaring misspellings and grammar errors will be held against your business for longer than you want to believe. Years ago, I worked with a recording studio who declined my offer to look over their content, claiming that the services of a copywriter was outside their budget. Apparently funds to have t-shirts, vinyl banners, bumper stickers, and two magnetic trailer wraps re-printed was, because the entire first printing had the word “rehearsal” misspelled. One misstep can put your business in an unnecessary bad light, which you want to avoid at all costs, especially in terms of something that is so simple to fix.
Proof that all that Reading wasn’t wasted
It’s not just branded merchandise orders that need proofreading though, blog posts and everything that is posted on social media can be considered content. Therefore, it should be treated with the same respect and subjected to the same amount of scrutiny as a legal release or employment contract. And while you could easily proofread it yourself, you’ll more than likely miss the majority of errors even after a second read-through due to something known as an “inattention blindness”. You know that you meant to say, “the customer is entitled to fair treatment” so even though you read the text that says, “the costumer is entitled to fair treatment” you don’t see the error. Wait… did you have to go back and check? So, if I am not engaged in the practice of designing and sewing costumes, I’m not getting fair treatment at your business?
As ludicrous as it seems, without a dedicated content marketer you are often working on multiple projects with varied deadlines, which can cause unnecessary and easily avoidable mistakes. You can’t be expected to simply create something in one pass and hope that it makes sense. There are few better ways to proofread a document than to edit it with someone else. Oftentimes, one or more extra sets of eyes can suggest better ways to present the information so that it can be easily understood and shared by your audience.
If you are interested in learning more about how this topic can help your business, please contact our agency on our contact page or call us at 1-888-964-4991. We publish a new article once or twice per month so make sure to follow us on social media and allow for push notifications if you want to stay in the loop with our agency and digital marketing.
Posted In: Business, Information, Marketing