Have you ever felt pressure to keep it “short and sweet” with your marketing?
The current trend of extreme minimalism has its benefits, but sometimes it goes too far. Is there a place for taking up a little more time and space in your marketing, and with your clients?
Lifedge founder and CEO, Oscar, shared a few thoughts with us about slowing down and taking the time to build quality customer relationships. Read what he says below!
Short and Sweet
Since I moved from Costa Rica to the US, something in me has been repelled by the idea of “short and sweet.”
When I’m working with clients, they will often disagree with me at first when I say that we need to expand the word count and create more content. They will often say, “No, let’s make it short and sweet!”
In today’s post, I want to discuss what is happening on the consumer’s side when your website, emails, and other marketing materials are just “short and sweet.”
Why everybody loves Costa Rica
Many people I know who have traveled to Costa Rica tell me that the country itself is beautiful, but the people are what they like best. So, I’m constantly thinking about what makes the Costa Rican and other Latin American people so friendly – why do the people of the United States like them so much? The number one reason is that we take time.
Time is not money in Latin America, time is a relationship. And a relationship can only be built on trust, care, and friendliness.
“Short and sweet” as a marketing concept
When we translate this concept to marketing, it’s easy to see how short marketing strategies, emails, and website copy can make you feel unappreciated as a user. It sends the message, “We don’t have time for you.”
So, where does the “short and sweet” mentality come from, anyway? It comes from a bygone era: the pre-digital generation who had a strong emphasis on hard work, but a tendency to care more about increasing the bottom line than fostering relationships with customers.
This mentality may have worked before, but here in the digital age, people don’t like or expect it.
A few marketing examples
When you receive an email without a proper introduction or closing, rather than be impressed at how much time was saved with a shorter email, you probably feel dehumanized. You feel like you’re just another name on a mass-emailing list, rather than a valued client.
Think about the example of a contact form: your automated response could say, “Thank you for contacting us, we will answer you shortly.” There’s nothing wrong with this, and it gets the information across. It’s certainly “short and sweet.”
But what would it look like to go the extra mile?
Imagine saying something like, “We truly appreciate you taking the time to contact us. We value your interest in our brand. Please give us 24 hours to respond to your request. We are excited to work with you!”
Of these two examples, which one is better? Which one is clearer? Which one would you rather receive as a client?
While the first option gets all the necessary information across, the second option shows much more care and appreciation for the client.
A myth about content
A common myth floating around the internet is that people don’t read online content. The general idea is that the current generation of young people has no attention span, and won’t read content any longer than a few words. This is why many people think their content has to be “short and sweet” in order to be read.
In reality, nobody has an attention span for empty, filler content. But, people do read content that is high-quality and helpful. This article has some great information on this topic if you’d like to learn more.
The key is to create content that is clear, helpful, and caring.
Advantages of being a little more “wordy”
There are some significant advantages to using more words in your content, whether for emails, website copy, or something else. Below are four of the top reasons why you shouldn’t shy away from being a little more “wordy” in your content:
- It’s better for SEO
When you write longer content, you have more space to use keywords and other strategies to boost SEO.
- Clients will feel cared for
You may be able to get the necessary information across with just a few words, but it’s hard to communicate care and appreciation for your clients that way. Using more words allows you to personalize your content to show how much you care.
- People will be more confident doing business with you
In order for someone to feel confident purchasing a product or service from you, he will need more than just the bare facts about what you offer. Using more words in your content is a way to build trust with your clients and make them feel comfortable doing business with you.
- You can communicate tone
When you keep your word count to a bare minimum, there is no room for your tone of voice to come across in your writing. This leaves it up for interpretation, and you can be misunderstood as cold and unfriendly. Taking the time to add a few extra words allows you to communicate a friendly and grateful tone.
Clarity is key
In the end, the most important aspect of content writing is clarity.
Donald Miller, creator of the StoryBrand marketing framework, puts it this way: if you confuse, you lose.
Sometimes, you can provide more clarity with more words. Don’t confuse a small word count with clarity!
If you take your time to say something well, it will have a much bigger impact on your audience than the “short and sweet” version.
A few questions to ask yourself about your content
The next time you’re writing an email to a client or updating your website copy, ask yourself these questions:
- Is it clear?
- Is it friendly?
- Will it make them feel cared for?
I’m truly convinced that this is one of the best ways to transform your prospects into sales, and your sales into loyal clients.
We want to build a relationship with you!
At Lifedge, building great relationships with our clients is our first priority. We want you to feel cared for and listened to when we work with you.
That’s why we offer a free discovery meeting with you to discuss your marketing goals for your business. We’ll always take the time to understand your vision and share how we can help you achieve your goals.
So, book a meeting with us today! And let us not only form a great relationship with you, but also help you strengthen relationships with your own clients.
Also, in case you missed it, check out Lifedge’s 6th-anniversary blog post to see what our team members love most about working at Lifedge. (Hint: it’s all about the relationships!)
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