Content Development

It’s the little things that count. Like a butterfly fluttering across your path, a child’s smile, or a snail-mail thank you note. Seriously though, don’t you just love a good old fashioned thank you?! In digital marketing, those little things can come in the form of tiny bits of copy. Which is why we’re here to tell you, microcopy matters. 

Microcopy is the little bits of copy that help users find what they need with ease. Yes, this copy may guide them towards a shopping cart or a signup page, but ultimately, microcopy is about the user, not a sales pitch. It’s about keeping the digital conversation going—taking it to the next level.

Your website copy, blogs, social content, and emails are all important. Don’t abandon those. But for this post, pull out your glasses, binoculars, and microscopes, and let’s explore the details.

So, What Are Examples of Microcopy?

We’re so glad you asked. Truth be told, it sounds like teeny-tiny letters, which it could be, but that would make the user experience (UX) more cumbersome. Think of microcopy like the opposite of long-form copy, like a blog post. It’s the short, concise bits of copy that are like signposts for readers. 

Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

It’s right there in the name: ACTION. You’re telling them to do something—like a director. A good CTA is like a strong, confident handshake. You’re not shying away from telling readers what to do because you know what you’ve got to offer is valuable. You can even make the CTA fun, playful, and engaging, just as long as it’s clearly pointing them in the right direction.

Check out our very own Wayward Kind “Story” page. We give readers snippet of what we do, with focus on cultivating digital conversations. So, what’s our CTA button? “Let’s Talk.” Our conversations aren’t just with existing clients, or their audience, they’re with everyone and we make that clear by telling them we want to talk to them.

Opt-In Forms

People are often a bit skeptical about signing up for things. So, if they’ve gotten to the point where they’re ready to sign-up for a newsletter, a service, or anything really, GREAT! Microcopy matters here—it’s used as a way to quickly explain something or direct users to further information. Essentially, it helps them feel more confident about the choice they’re making.

Check out the MailChimp sign-up form below. It tells you the benefits (“Find your people. Engage your customers…”), where to go if you already have a log-in, and clearly explains what your password needs to be valid. We’ve all had those frustrating moments where our passwords don’t work, right? It’s simple, yet informative, and it’s all because of some good microcopy. 

Image: MailChimp

Helpful Reminders

Did you abandon your shopping cart? Forget to check out related products? Well, microcopy will remind you. These tidbits of copy can not only guide users to make their purchase, but also create a playful conversation that will make them feel encouraged, even excited to take action.

Knowing what your users like can also help to create microcopy that will guide them to other useful products and services. Remember, your helping them. You’re the tour guide through the website. Consider what’s going to help them do that with ease and interest. 

What Should Microcopy Do?

We touched on this above, but it’s worth diving a bit deeper into the intention of microcopy. So here’s a few key things to think about when getting your writing juices flowing.

Microcopy Should:

• Set expectations: Where users are headed, what they should do and why
• Speak the customer’s language: Align language and tone with your brand. If you’re fun, be fun in your microcopy. If your audience is made up of professionals seeking clear information, keep it simple and direct. You know your audience best.
• Be Informative: It’s not just there to look good—it explains, very briefly, something that’s important to the user
• Be Timely: This is huge. Consider when you want users to do something, and add the micropy in there. For example, on the homepage of your website. You probably want to get them to more of your services or “About” page quickly. So, put your CTA at the top, not the bottom. The chances of them getting to the bottom of the page and seeing the CTA button is minimal. Time it right, and you’ll probably give them more of what they need, when they need it. 

Like a warm towel right out of the dryer, you want your blog to be fresh, not stale. No one likes a mildewy towel, right?

Of course, this should be an obvious fact. You don’t want your audience to get bored with your old content, and you certainly hope to draw in new readers by giving them something interesting and useful to chew on in your small business blog.

Consistent blogging is essential for building up your content reserves. It creates more opportunities for content related to your business to be found, which means greater lead generation and conversations around your brand. It also develops connections with your audience.

And it’s not by accident. It’s all a part of an intentional digital marketing strategy that works.

Check out some of these stats about the importance of maintaining your small business blog:

• Small businesses that consistently blog are 13 times more likely to see positive ROI
• 51 percent of B2B buyers use educational content to inform buying decisions
• Changing blog headlines can lead to 10 percent increase in clicks

You get the idea. Blogging matters. But what all these stats have in common is that they all relate to fresh content. Whether it’s the body of your blog, the headlines, the tags, or the number of blogs you publish, keeping it fresh needs to be a part of your long-term digital marketing strategy.

Let’s learn why!

A Change is Gonna Come…

Change is good. It can be uncomfortable sometimes, but it’s essential to growth, even to audience growth and engagement.

When it comes to a small business blog, change is also good. But the type of change is key. Changing a single sentence in a blog or in body text won’t make a dent in rankings. But, changing a large amount of content perks Google’s interest enough to start noticing.

It can be challenging to fill your blog with new and interesting content, but it’s not terrible to re-purpose and expand on previous topics. But it must be different enough to interest your audience.

This is where doing some good keyword research can really help you. Popular search terms are constantly changing, so if you’re using a keyword from five years ago, it may no longer be relevant. Understanding the needs and wants of your target audience TODAY can really help you create content that sparks interest and gets people talking.

Timing is Everything

As with anything else, timing is integral to your small business blog strategy. Let’s say you have a blog, but it’s been two years since you’ve updated anything on it. The chances of that content being relevant or discovered is minimal.

Furthermore, Google sees you. They know that your blog content is not fresh and may treat those old pages differently.

As we’ve said before, consistency is the rule when it comes to blogging. You’re not going to see a sudden spike in leads after one post. But after a few months of posting on a consistent basis, your readers will start to see you as a credible source of new and exciting information. You’ll become the authority on the subject! They’ll start clicking more, sharing more, and taking action.

One more thing to consider for a small business blog is the time of day you choose to post. Along with fresh content, knowing when your readers are doing the most searching can really help to plan your blogs. This is where partnering with digital marketing experts who can help you strategize your blog posts is super beneficial. Between their marketing expertise and research abilities, they’ll help you get the timing just right.

Link it Up

Using links in blog posts is SO important. Whether it’s linking back to your own website (another reason to always have fresh content!), or linking to other reputable sites, using links can help to keep your small business blog totally fresh.

When including links, though, it’s important to do a little research first. Ask the following questions:

How old is the link?

If the link is quite old, you may end up back in the stale category. What’s relevant and useful now may not have mattered 3-5 years ago. Make sure the links you use are still helpful for your readers.

Is the link to a reputable website?

It may take a little time, but checking out the website you’re linking to can be a game-changer. Check that the site being linked to is in line with your values and industry. If there’s questionable material on the site, or it lacks credibility, find a different source.

Is the link from a competitor?

This can be tough when you’re researching content for your industry. But it’s crucial to find neutral sources of information, i.e. not competitor websites. Like you, they’re probably trying to keep their content fresh, but you never want to link back to a competitor’s business. Put your own spin on the content and find reliable sources that help support your small business blog post.

Staying fresh does take work, but it’s worth it. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not just about getting more leads or ranking higher—it’s about educating and informing your audience. It’s about benefiting them. When you approach content creation from that perspective, your small business blog will come out looking and smelling totally fresh!

When things are going easy, it can be nice, but you can also start to get a little stagnant without something pushing you along. If things are crazy hard, you sometimes back off and get hesitant to keep moving forward.

But moving forward is essential for growth.

Consider the anticipation of waiting for your garden to grow. You plant a seed, water it, make sure it gets light, pick off the bugs, and check everyday to see if a new leaf has emerged. It can feel a little tense, but it’s that tension that drives you to keep nurturing it, and maybe even planting again.

This is the kind of tension you want your audience to feel—something that propels them to keep going.

In digital marketing, you need a great content plan that does that same thing. You want to show people the possibilities your services offer (those fledgling little leaves) to encourage action, without making them so frustrated they just call it quits.  

So, how do you walk the line between tension and hesitation? With a little digital psychology, we’ve got some answers.

Tension in Your Content Plan Inspires Action

When there is a problem present, humans will embark on their own little hero’s journey to try and solve it, no matter how trivial it may seem. Humans have this need to confront challenges and overcome them. We get creative. We get innovative. We may even get excited as we step out in search of a solution.

That’s where you come in. You want to present a solution in your content plan, but you’ve got to grab people’s attention first. You’ve got to inspire them to take action. You do that by tapping into their emotions.

It may help to think of tension as conflict. When your audience is looking for a solution to their problem, and they’re scouring the internet for answers, they’re feeling something. Understanding their search and all the feelings that come with it, is key to your content plan.

If your audience feels confused, they want clarity. If they feel slighted, they want to be valued. If they feel insecure, they want reassurance. Each of their challenging emotions leads to a search for solutions. You want to be a part of that solution.

To translate that into an effective, engaging content plan, you need to tell a story that piques their interest. You can do that by using keywords and phrases that emphasize the tension of what’s possible, what can change (for the better), and between their problem and a solution.

Stories are a great way to amplify tension because, as Seth Godin says, “stories work because we’re not sure.” They induce a healthy bit of tension that makes your audience go, “Hmmmm.”  Your audience may not realize you’re telling a story, but they will feel like you understand them and see them as a real live person with genuine feelings and needs.

What Does Tension Look Like

The most relevant tension points to your audience will vary, but essentially, tension refers to the limbo space that exists between one thing and another. Some examples:

• Good vs. evil
• Status quo vs. potential
• Stale vs. lively
• Old vs. new
• Scared vs. brave

You get the idea. You can run with this in a million different ways, but what’s most important is that you do the research to understand what tension points matter to your business’ content plan.

Let’s take the status quo vs. potential example. We recently helped a local corporate wellness business called Workday Warrior elevate their digital presence with a new website. Their mission is “to turn every desk in the world into a place of energy, movement, and health.”

Workday Warriors needed to highlight an important point of tension: exercising after work vs. wellness in your cubicle, and everywhere else.

Now we’re interested.

Companies, or employees have plenty of access to exercise, but Workday Warrior offers the potential for health and wellness plans that extend into every aspect of daily life. They believe in taking the current state of corporate wellness to the next level to create a better state-of-being. That means nutrition education, workshops, yoga, and training—a holistic answer to feeling stagnant at your desk all day.

Understanding that tension between what is and what could be gave them a road map for how to move forward with their content plan and future digital marketing efforts.

How Much is Too Much

We’ve all seen them, those ads or marketing that feel kind of…not right. Or maybe it’s social media that feels a little too polished and trite. When that happens, we feel hesitation. We start to question our choices. We wonder if that brand we heard of is what they say they are. Instead of hitting that confirmation button, we’re hitting the pause button.

Not the reaction you want.

It can be hard to gauge how much tension is too much in your content plan. But there is a fine line to walk between cultivating committed customers and losing your audience. When you’re brainstorming your strategy, make sure to avoid these few things:

Shock for the sake of shock

Sure, there may be a few people that love the shock and awe tactic, but those few aren’t worth the many who may feel alienated and dirty. Shocking your audience is a super quick way to provoke hesitation in your audience.

Repeating the same old message

Part of what creates healthy, actionable tension is introducing something new—even if the product or service isn’t new. A good content plan amplifies innovation. A bad content plan will use the same language, same images, or same strategy over and over. It’s stale. You’re not stale. You’re awesome—so show it!

Speaking to everyone

Here’s the bottom line: you can’t be everything to everyone. If you try to develop your content plan to suit everyone, you will get very tired and very frustrated. You deserve to work with clients who align with your values and services.

That’s why you need to do the work of getting to know exactly who you audience is before you start building a digital marketing strategy. Knowing them will help you to clearly define which tension points are more important to them.

Tension vs. hesitation is a delicate push-pull that can’t be quantified. It takes skill to identify the pain points in your industry and form a content plan that works and stands out from the rest. Understanding and embracing what makes you special is a winning strategy no matter what you do.

Blogging can be daunting. What should I write about? How often should I post? And the all-important question: How long should a blog post be?

So often small businesses are under the impression that they need to share LOTS of information. But that can get confusing for you and your audience. And that’s on top of feeling intimidated by the whole writing process to begin with.

Fear not. When it comes to blogging, the truth is, you don’t need to write a novel every time you blog. In fact, it’s better to keep it short, sweet, and consistent.

We’re going to dispel the mystery around blog length and explain what to focus on so your content gets seen, heard, and those leads start to flow.

How Long a Blog Post Should Be: Long enough to get in those keywords

In blogging, it’s all about the keywords and phrases, also known as long-tail keywords. Instead of wondering how long a blog post should be, consider what keywords can get your blog post on the map.

Focusing on keywords alleviates the stress of trying to cram tons of information into one post. A list of keywords and phrases takes the guesswork out of coming up with blog topics and gives clear direction on what to write about.

This is not only important for the writer but also your audience. Most readers are not going to spend much time sifting through a super long blog post. That means that you have a matter of minutes to capture their attention and give them what they came for.

Consider a blog about plumbing—a post could cover plumbing as a whole, but most readers are probably trying to get answers about a specific problem. Perhaps they want to fix a leaky toilet or a broken sprinkler.

So, focusing on one targeted issue at a time makes it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for and get to solving their problem. And in the meantime, they get to know about your services.

Good Content Always Wins

Having keywords and phrases is, well, key. But so is having good content. Just plugging in a few words like it’s a formula won’t necessarily bring 1,000 followers. Telling a good story and giving people valuable information that’s presented in a clear, concise manner, will.

Understandably, this can get tricky. You’re like, “Hey, you just told me to focus on keywords, but now you’re telling me to tell a story?” Yes.

Think of an effective blog post like a parable: a short story to help teach a lesson. Parables don’t need to be long-winded. In fact, the longer they are, the more likely people are to check out.

Blog posts can be the same way. Instead of worrying about how long a blog post should be, give them more bang for their buck by using simple language, easy-to-follow headings, shorter paragraphs, and something interesting to chew on so your readers feel like they learned something and got to know you a little better.

Consistency Matters

Blogging consistency can be thought of a little like dating. When you’re dating someone, and they pay attention, send texts, call you, meet up with you, you feel the love. You’re more interested. You want to engage back, right?

But when they send a text once every couple weeks, or even less, you’re less inclined to reciprocate. The same goes for the blogging relationship.

Your readers want to know who you are and they value what you have to say. But if you’re not taking the time to share with them, they’ll lose interest. Not to mention, the less content you have out there, the fewer opportunities there are for people to find you.

Consistency shows that your content is fresh and alive. It shows that you’re interested in what’s current and who your readers are. It shows that you take time—and we all know quality time is a hallmark of a good relationship.

Don’t forget the visuals

Writing is great and all, but if your readers are greeted with a wall of text every time they check your blog, chances are good they’re less likely to engage.

When asking how long a blog post should be, remember the importance of visuals like videos, images, or even an occasional animated GIF. Not only do visuals make your post look more interesting, but they can also help guide your reader through the written content. Think of visuals like bookmarks that bring attention to the information you really want readers to see.

Images also serve as one more way to layer in keywords and phrases. Choosing a relevant file name that replicates the post’s keyword is one more way to make your post discoverable.

Let’s say someone is searching for an image of a giraffe at the San Diego Zoo. If the file name is 1234.jpg, it won’t show up in a search. But, if the image file name is giraffe_san_diego_zoo.jpg, that image is more likely to pop up in a search. Making sure that every layer of content is searchable is key to driving traffic to your blog and your business.