Marketing Messages

My clients and I have been up to our eyeballs in planning lately. Marketing planning. Copywriting plans. PR strategy. In fact, just this morning, I talked with a client about the strategy and planning for an exciting new marketing effort they're launching. At the time, I was deep into planning out a copywriting project.

Recently, I heard David Meerman Scott give an interesting keynote at the Marketing Profs digital conference. While all of his presentation was worth listening to, the part that had me cheering (and if you follow me on Twitter, you heard me) was the simple recognition that words like "cutting-edge" and "robust" are overused. Not necessary. Meaningless.

I was talking to a prospective client this week about the art and science of good writing. He shared a concern that I hear all the time: my people can't write. According to the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools and Colleges, he's not alone.

The Commission estimates that deficiencies in employee writing skills costs American corporations as much as $3.1 billion a year.

This month, I have the opportunity to hone my white paper writing skills with some of the best white paper writers in the country. These are the guys who wrote the books (literally) on crafting solid white papers and informational marketing pieces. Learning from their wealth of experience is priceless.

Are you missing the mark? Are you spending a lot of time wondering how your marketing needs to change in this new environment?

Are you holding on by your fingertips to the idea that you need to "control the message"? 

Relax. You don't need to do that. In fact, thinking that you can is wasting valuable time. 

Recently, I spent some time researching how firms in the AEC industry (that's shorthand for architecture, engineering and construction for folks outside the industry) have been positioning themselves. As some readers know, I spent several years working in that industry and continue to work with clients in that realm. 

It’s that time of year when you and I and millions of other people get serious about setting personal goals and benchmarks for the coming year. I don't know about you, but as part of this annual exercise, I don’t just make a list of what I want to accomplish, I also take a good look at why I want those things.

One of the writing projects I've been working on is a museum display. It's reminded me of the importance of concise writing-- and the effort involved in engaging readers while being brief. If there is one thing that holds true among busy museum audiences, it's this: they are not going to spend much time reading long paragraphs of text.

Social media is arguably the hottest topic in marketing these days. Not everyone’s doing it, nor should they be. Yet there are a number of reasons why it’s important: User numbers are rising. It’s inexpensive compared with traditional marketing and PR tools. And it’s changing how we communicate whether we’re on board or not.

Has the economy got you down? If the folks I’ve been talking to are any indication, there’s no across-the-board answer to this question. No doubt about it, some businesses are feeling the pinch. But others are surprisingly robust. And everyone, it seems is looking straight ahead, positioning themselves for the eventual uptick.