Brad Dyment, Director of Web Services
Brad holds a degree in Information Technology from Carleton University and an Advanced Diploma in Interactive Multimedia and Design from Algonquin College. He realizes that an effective online presence needs to be integrated with the rest of your business as part of a broader web strategy. Working alongside our creative team, he produces campaigns that bring your organizations to life and deliver measurable, tangible results.
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Writing for the web
The Internet is arguably the most difficult place to get your message across. If you have ever been tasked with writing content for a website, you already know this. Users have short attention spans and only want the raw facts.
“When opaque, esoteric, recondite language is used thoughtlessly, either out of laziness, bad habits, or the failure to realize that the listener, no matter how interested or well intentioned, just doesn’t come from the speaker’s milieu, it is guaranteed to fail.”
Comprende? I didn’t think so. That statement could have delivered the same message by saying “Write your message with simple language that is familiar to your reader.”. The point is, it’s not what you say. It’s what people hear.
This is taken directly from Words That Work by Frank Luntz. The book is a fascinating read, even if you’re an experienced communications professional. I am sharing the following key points because they’re valuable to anyone tasked with communicating a message online. It is only a brief summary, and I encourage you to buy the book for the full effect.
So, here is an overview of Frank Luntz ten keys to successful communication.
- Simplicity. There is a public preference for short words and acronyms. Consumers don’t have the patience to find the meaning of $10 words, so avoid them.
- Brevity. Never use a sentence when a phrase will do. Never use four words when three will suffice. The most memorable tag lines in product advertising are usually not much more than fragments. When it comes to effective communications, small beats large, short beats long, and plain beats complex.
- Creditability is as important as philosophy. People have to believe it to buy it, and consumers will always be smarter than we think. “New and improved” is perceived by most as a marketing ploy, so don’t say it unless it’s true. Few things are more valuable than your reputation, so tell people who you are wand who you do. Be that person and do what you said you’d do. In short, say what you mean and mean what you say.
- Consistency matters. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Stick with a single message. Finding a good message and sticking with it takes discipline, but it will benefit you ten-fold. Consumers don’t pay attention as much as you do, so repeat everything. It will feel as fresh to them as when you first said it.
- Novelty. Offer something new. Words that work often involve a new definition of an old idea. Consumers are easily bored, but if something is truly new, it will naturally attract our attention. If your message generates an “I didn’t know that” response, then you have succeeded.
- Sound and texture matters. Use words with the same first letter or same sound. Snap, crackle, pop. Someone of the most memorable branding doesn’t even involve words. Plop plop fizz fizz of what a relief it is.
- Speak aspirationally. Messages need to say what people want to hear. The key to successful aspirational language for products or politics is to personalize and humanize the language to create an emotional remembrance. People will forget what you say but they will never forget how you made them feel. Consumers have to see themselves in the ad and a genuine benefit from the product. So don’t sell the product, sell the benefit. Sell the you that you will be when you use the product Smarter. Sexier. A better you. Aspirational advertising taps deeply into ones self image.
- Visualize. Paint a vivid picture for your reader. There is one word in the English language that automatically triggers the process of visualization by it’s mere mention, simply because it has 300 million unique, individual, personal manifestations. That word: imagine. Its perhaps the single most powerful communication tool because it allows every individuals to picture whatever personal vision is in their hearts and minds.
- Ask a question. It’s not what you say, but what you ask. Don’t require an explanation; just let it ring true. The reason for the effectiveness of questions in communication is quite obvious. When you assert, whether in politics, business, or day to say life, the reaction of the listener depends to some degree on his or her opinion of the speaker. But by making the same statement in the form of a rhetorical question makes the reaction personal. And personalized communication is the best communication. The rhetorical question remains one of the most powerful but under utilized communication tools.
- Provide context and explain relevance. You have to give people the why of a message before you tell them the therefore and the so that. Without context, your can not establish a messages value, its impact, and therefor its relevance. If it doesn’t matter to the intended audience, it won’t be heard. With so many messages and communication vehicles competing for out attention, the target audience must see individual, personal meaning and value in your words.
The key to successful communication is to stuff yourself in your listeners shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling. It’s not what you say. It’s what people here.
Don’t forget to buy the book!
