What Is An Effective Brand?

Let’s start with what it’s not. It’s not a logo or tagline or advertising or your Web site. Those are communications mediums. It’s the message behind the medium that counts. Spend due diligence developing your message properly, and you can connect with your prospect. Slap your message together with bells or whistles, and you’ll be lost in a sea of clutter.

You can’t make your future client work to find out the real value you bring to the table. They’ll only give you a nanosecond of consciousness to tell them why they should even care. That’s why the discovery process is essential. An effective communicator learns everything about your business…what you makes you different…what makes you special. Then, they compress a kaleidoscope of differentiating factors into one single statement of value. They raise the bar on what you offer, and fill that nanosecond with something meaningful.

Only then will you stop them cold. That’s the moment your prospect gets interested, sticking around long enough to learn about all those selling points you’ve been dying to share. They’ll read your collateral, peruse your Web site, connect with your social media and visit your booth. They will see you as the thought leader, all the while being reminded of the clear statement of value that keeps them wanting more. That’s when they’re hooked. When they’ll ask for that 45-minute presentation. That’s effective brand.

And that’s why you need an expert to do the job properly.

Tear Down Barriers to Supercharged White Papers and eBooks

For many technology verticals, meaty white papers and eBooks are content gold. But deep-dive documents can also be a content nightmare if subject matter experts are hard to wrangle and the review/approval process spirals out of control.

Normally, this is the part where you would expect “3 steps” to successfully executing engaging and results-driven content. But instead of steps, I want you to think of a shape. In this case, an inverted pyramid is the key to pulling the stress out of your content-heavy projects and producing a vehicle to connect audience to revenue.

Start Wide

When supplying background to a writer to build out the refined content you need, there is no such thing as too much. Interviews with multiple subject matter experts are fine. Reams of previous documentation—no matter how disorganized and complex—are fine. Don’t hold up the project kickoff over-thinking how to prep the writer and concerned that you’ll overwhelm them with too much information.

It’s a content developer’s job to organize multiple streams of thought and create a through-line to engage the reader and take them on a journey. What’s needed is access to raw information, but it doesn’t need to be pretty.

Tip: If you have trouble getting on the calendar with one of your SMEs, bypass their input temporarily. But you can still offer the chance to review the initial draft. When someone is too busy for a 30 minute phone call, the ability to add a few comments to a working document might make the difference.

Finish Tight

As you move along in the process, the number of internal contributors after the production of the first draft should start to shrink. Multiple opinions provide a wealth of information at the start, but those same opinions can drag the paper in competing directions if too many enter the review phase. As work on the white paper or eBook progresses, tighten the input loop continually until only 1 or 2 at most have a say on the finished product. The remaining review should comprise of individuals who know the content and business goals, and whose opinion is the voice that you want to be heard by the audience at the end.

This approach makes all the difference in simplifying what can be an intimidating project—not only at launch, but also in maintaining a tight trajectory through to a timely public release.

How to Work with Your Case Study Writer

In an over-saturated world of marketing noise, the demand for reality-based communications continues to grow. Customer testimonials, PR—and case studies in particular—are deeply popular as the cornerstone of any campaign to build trust within a prospective marketplace.

But what is the right strategy to empower a case study writer to nail an effective case study and help you connect with your audience? There are three steps to a solid case study:

#1: The client must be happy.

This seems obvious, but many organizations will assume a customer will make a good case study candidate without taking the time to discuss their level of their satisfaction. The case study writer can present a story in the best possible light, but only if it is a true success story to begin with.

#2: Measurable ROI is essential.

Authenticity in a case study is measured through the lens of proven results. Remember: Most audiences are naturally skeptical—a success story backed by real data pierces that skepticism.

#3: Client engagement is critical.

A case study only performs when it’s ready for release. And a case study writer needs a client contact who is engaged throughout the initial interview, review stage, and final approval process. The best way to ensure client engagement is with a sales team member or other contact within your organization who also engages with the client throughout the entire case study process.

These simple steps can deliver a case study that makes your prospects sit up and take notice. With today’s connected world, distance is no longer a problem. You can work with a case study copywriter to develop your own powerful case study from anywhere in country.