Scott Stratten said it best: “People don’t share commercials. They share emotions.”
And he’s right. While they may find them helpful or interesting, people don’t emotionally respond to facts, product descriptions and brand attributes no matter how oh-so-carefully woven into your blogs, social media posts and email marketing copywriting.
Think about the things you’ve read that have made an impression, those pieces that really resonated with you, the ones you shared with your friends and family via a social network or recounted in an actual conversation. They probably weren’t lists of 10 tips on how to choose the right color for your new roof or an article about how to finance liposuction.
Stories, personal accounts and narratives written to express a belief, opinion or idea are the pieces that make the biggest impact with readers. That’s because they elicit emotional responses instead of just offering information or helpful advice.
This shouldn’t come a big surprise to a small business owner who’s trying to improve his or her company’s online presence. Look at your own Facebook or Twitter feeds to see what your friends and tweeps are sharing. Chances are, the content that’s being retweeted and reposted most often evokes an emotional reaction in some way. Facebook’s most shared articles of 2011 prove that emotions drive what gets shared online.
Sure, cute pictures of kittens and funny memes make people chuckle and are ripe for content sharing. But these aren’t the kind of things small business owners should rely upon to build a reputable digital presence. Rather, a content marketing strategy should seek to establish a business owner as an intelligent problem solver who can provide an expert service to clients and customers.
So how can you generate an emotional response through your content marketing and get your articles or blog posts shared more often? Hire a professional writer to turn your ideas into thought-provoking, insightful or entertaining content.
It may be intimidating to ask a stranger to write a first-person opinion piece about an intensely personal experience or on a divisive issue like healthcare reform, violence in the Middle East or the pressure of raising children in modern society.
But that’s exactly what ghostwriters do. They take someone else’s ideas and craft engaging stories that get read and read again. A professional writer can take your notes—no matter how disjointed they may seem to you—and craft a well-written blog post that shares what’s on your mind with your audience. And if you’re lucky, your message will strike a chord with readers who will help spread your content far and wide.
Chelsea A is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
