THE MESSAGE MARKETING BLOG
Valuable snapshots about Business, Marketing, Content and Copywriting success
Around this time last year, I shared with you some of my predictions for businesses in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
While we can’t yet say that the pandemic is over, it’s a relief knowing that so many individuals and businesses in Australia (and around the world) are now on their way to regaining a sense of normalcy again. Day by day, we are building this “new normal” and reclaiming the life that has been taken from us over the past two years. So, before we end this year and welcome the new one with a positive mindset, let’s take a look back at the year that was 2021. 
Can you believe how fast 2021 came and went? Neither can we!
We’ve been so busy as Australia has begun to reopen that we didn’t even notice these past few months flying by. Yet, with the holiday season just around the corner, there’s still so much left for us to do! We’ve got to finish up our projects, send cards to our clients, buy gifts for our teams, arrange Christmas parties, set business goals for 2022 - the list goes on. But if there’s one thing you can’t afford to let slide before finishing up this year, it’s planning your content marketing strategy for the next 12 months. Here are the top content marketing trends for 2022 you need to know. 
It’s that time of year again.
The weather’s getting warmer, the shops are getting busier, families are coming together and Michael Bublé is playing on repeat. That can only mean one thing… it’s Christmas time! While we’re all looking to reconnect with loved ones and decorate our homes with Christmas trees that will probably stay up until February, this is the perfect opportunity for your business to do a little Christmas content marketing! Here’s how you can connect with customers during the most wonderful time of the year. 
Ho ho ho!
Christmas is an awesome time of the year - but it comes around REALLY fast. You've probably noticed that your customers are all in the festive spirit already. But has their favourite brand (i.e.: you) done the same? Whether you're writing simple cards or launching a full Christmas-themed marketing campaign, you need the right festive copy to match. Here are some Christmas copywriting pointers! 
Let’s talk about your writing process. When you create content, how do you begin? Do you consciously decide what flow to follow? Do you just let your thoughts freely turn into words?
However you write, you must always consider your audience. The approach you take must be specifically catered to address their needs, pain points and limited attention spans. However, this is not an easy feat. Learning how to write to keep them hooked is a hard skill to learn. In this blog, I’ll share with you a writing approach that I’ve developed during my 15+ years of copywriting. It’s that every piece of content follows a consistent flow: an upside-down triangle, and here’s how you can use it to write well. 
Your customers don’t just buy from you.
You have to earn that sale. Dah, right? Of course! But what does “earning” the sale actually involve? Well, people progress through a customer journey, where they go from a stranger of your brand to (hopefully) an advocate. In today’s digital age, both B2B clients and B2C customers are actively hunting for content to research solutions to their needs at every stage of their buying journey. That’s where you can create “content checkpoints” that fulfil their information needs at each to get them to the next stage. Here’s a breakdown of this journey and what you need to do at each point to finally earn the sale. 
Today, businesses are producing all kinds of branded content.
In fact, the most successful brands employ omnichannel marketing – like producing visual content for people who prefer watching while posting written content for those who love to read. But what about multitasking people on the move? One of the most overlooked and yet biggest marketing trends you can take advantage of is podcasting. This type of audio content is no longer just a hobby for creatives and people who love to talk - it has evolved into a popular marketing channel format that allows you to share your expertise and develop key opinion leadership status. Let’s discuss why your brand needs a podcast. 9 Hard-Earned Lessons We’ve Learned From COVID-19 That We Should Never Forget14/10/2021
The last couple of years will go down in history – and we all know why.
The global pandemic has changed so many things in so many ways, leading to what could arguably be considered a whole new era for businesses and lifestyles alike. Sadly, so many have struggled during this time, but whilst it is far from over, COVID-19 has also given us many hard-earned lessons that we should try to take with us going forward. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the things that we’ve learned throughout this trying time and make a commitment to keep them in our minds as we start to get back to a sense of normal in our lives. 
There’s a philosophical aspect to giving back.
We give because it’s a human need to feel good and we know that it’s the right thing to do. In the same way, businesses give back because they share the same virtue of giving. Today, customers are more socially aware and expect the corporate world to align with this. That’s why, when brands demonstrate ethical authenticity and consideration for the community, they create a purposeful connection with the audience. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) marketing can make a difference by helping you improve your brand’s reputation, foster trust and influence more people to pursue what’s best for the society in which your customers live in. Let’s discuss the importance of CSR marketing and how it can benefit your brand. 
Artificial Intelligence – it’s everywhere today.
It’s evolving finance and insurance, cybersecurity and marketing, and now it appears to be arriving on copywriting’s doorstep. We all knew this day would come and I’m finding it amusing that people on LinkedIn keep smugly sending me these websites, saying: “Well, now you’re getting hit too.” But is AI-powered copywriting what it’s all cracked up to be? Who knows? Time will tell, but here are my initial thoughts from what I’ve been hearing and seeing from all around the industry and what you need to know. 
Google AdWords, re-target marketing and browser cookies are staples in today’s marketing environment. Most, if not the majority of businesses, use some cookie-based advertising to get clicks, attract leads and secure conversions.
As businesses, we are familiar with it. As customers, we see it every day. This type of targeting works by using data crumbs or “cookies” to target audience groups based on their web browser behaviour. This cookie-based advertising allows different companies to display ads throughout a user’s browsing experience once a web surfer has expressed interest in a certain product or service. However, digital advertising’s reliance on third-party cookies for years is coming to an end. So, what is the future of audience targeting? 
Do you often find yourself trying to justify the power of brand awareness and how it translates into measurable sales? We’ve all been there.
Every brand needs to make people aware of its existence. That’s because no one buys what they don’t know about and don’t understand. That’s the undeniable importance of brand awareness marketing campaigns. The goal of Marketing campaigns is to produce a Return On Investment (or ROI) so that every dollar invested produces more back in returns, revenue and profit as a result. Both of these make perfect sense and are the basics of marketing practise. The problem is, Brand Awareness campaigns have a reputation for being “necessary but not profitable”, meaning that there seems to be an ongoing need to balance them both, to find out how to make people aware while still producing measurable results. In other words – compromise. Let’s discuss this in more detail and see if we can find the sweet spot between the two. 
What's the hardest part about marketing your business?
Is it holding your audience's attention when they read your content? Perhaps, it's convincing them to take action and subscribe to your newsletter, book an initial consultation or buy your product? If these common challenges are stopping your business from hitting your targets, then conversion copywriting is exactly what you need. Here’s what conversion copywriting is and how to harness its power. 
Can you name a business that doesn’t use content in its marketing?
It feels impossible, right? Hundreds of brands today are posting on social media to connect with their audiences. Start-ups have learned the value of blogs to get their names known out there. Even large and prominent businesses are using the power of videos and podcasts to remain relevant in these changing times. That’s why content has become such an important business asset - serving as a digital currency that enables you to raise awareness, engage with customers and achieve excellent results through valuable conversions. But how do you know what types of content to use? When is it best to create and publish a specific type of content to connect with your audience? Let’s find out! 
Website best practise changes quite a bit over time.
One of the most recent trends I’ve noticed is the SERVICE and SOLUTION pages. Sure, you may be thinking ‘this isn’t new’, and perhaps it isn’t. But it’s certainly growing in prevalence today – and for good reason. You see, you have two types of customers.
These two website pages address one each and that’s why it’s useful to have both of these pages on your website. If you don’t, then you’re losing them. Let me explain why it’s a great idea to have both a SERVICES website page and a SOLUTIONS page and what role they each play. 
Your customers really do determine the success (or failure) of your brand.
That’s because their reaction to your marketing has such a profound influence on everything you do. So, communicating with them and giving them the best experience is obviously a top priority for any business. Now, take time to think about this – how are you keeping up with your customers? What experience are you providing for them when they interact with you? Whether at the front desk, over the phone or via your digital platforms, it’s important to make a great impression. Why? Besides their purchase and growing fondness of your brand, they’ll typically share their experience with friends, family and online – and suddenly, word about your brand spreads like wildfire. You want this to be a super positive word! Let’s discuss how to gear your marketing content and copywriting to ensure you’re providing excellent customer service. 
You always want the best for your business.
Every manager, business owner and entrepreneur thinks the same way. This naturally involves making worthwhile investments in your people, hardware, software, marketing and more, all to help boost your brand and get results. Of course! But are you missing something? What about copywriting and messaging? It’s commonly overlooked, and it’s easy to see why. Most of your team can write and they know everything about your brand. But are you actually producing quality copy? How do you know? While most think that copywriting is just putting a bunch of nice words on a page, it’s so much more than that – and it can be the difference between a strong brand that customers understand and a poor brand that customers ignore. So, here’s what copywriting can REALLY do for your business – and why you should invest in it just like other forms of marketing. 
Every business loves social media today.
Why? Because all of our customers are there! The growth of active social media users around the world continues to rise and this has encouraged brands from all industries and of all sizes to join them there. It makes commercial sense! But now that almost everyone is aware of how powerful social media marketing can be, the competition has become extremely tough, with every business vying for attention and trying to stand out from the crowd. In the scramble, some brands are losing sight of how to incorporate social media successfully into their marketing strategies – especially as time goes on and trends change. So, to help, here are 10 common social media mistakes that you may be doing and really want to avoid. 
Every organisation has its own unique flow, process and rhythm.
These daily behaviours, values, language and activities between groups of people make up your culture. We all hear about how culture empowers teams and helps us communicate with our customers in a genuine way. The question is: how can we incorporate this culture into our marketing to strengthen our brand identity? How can we have a strong brand culture that will enable us to generate excellent marketing results? Here’s how you can incorporate brand culture into your business’ message marketing. 
Every year, business and marketing practises evolve – and copywriting is no exception.
Of course, the biggest and most recent shift has come in the wake of COVID. While the physical impact is starting to pass, it has changed our global lifestyle significantly. For one, we’ve all become more reliant on the digital world than ever before. This has meant the demand for engaging content has completely skyrocketed. As part of this, quality copy is absolutely essential if you want your brand to get noticed. Here are 3 of the 2021 Copywriting Trends we’ve observed that all brands need to pay attention to. 
Want to know the secret to writing the best copywriting and creating the most effective content? Think like your audience does!
Sounds simple, right? But it's just not that easy. Here's what you need to know. 
Let's discuss the grey area of SELLING within your content.
It's a tricky balance that all copywriters and content creators struggle to get right. We want to provide value and interest, but it's still business, right? Isn't it funny how even just the mention the word “selling” in the context of a written piece, such as a blog, can completely turn people off? Some readers will recoil almost immediately! Why is this? And how do we manage this balance? 
Businesses are starting to get it: producing content is an essential part of reaching your audience because it offers them something potentially interesting and worthy of their attention.
In today's digital world, your customer demands more than direct selling messages to inspire them to take heed of your brand. The problem now is that, in knowing that, it's tempting to go with quantity over quality. Businesses are often churning out content for the sake of it, and as a result, it's becoming a graveyard of unnoticed chaos and ignored clutter. So, how does your business' content cut through the deafening noise? 
How do you make your copywriting work? How does copywriting generate results? Excellent questions!
Business has always been about outcomes and achieving a return on investment, however with the rise of digital marketing, assessing the success of our campaigns is easier than ever. Every advert, promotional campaign or social media strategy can be tracked, measured and improved. But what about the copywriting element? Copy makes up a significant part of every marketing initiative, from your content marketing to website pages. But how do we make sure our words are pulling their weight? 
Creating a business is easy today, right?
Sell a product or service, then earn the money. How hard can that be? Well, if this is your approach, then don’t get too attached to your business because it’s not going to survive for long! Sure, your product or service may be great. But eventually, it will become irrelevant, priced out or overtaken by the competition. However, if you work on building your business upon a strong foundation of branding that imparts value and nurtures a strong relationship with your customers, then you’re building the right foundations for the long-haul. Here’s how strong branding will improve your business. |
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