Op Ed Piece Nails Allusion and Metaphor

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In Greek mythology, Pandora was given a box to care for, and when she opened it, all the world’s evils came out, including curses on humanity. The term “Pandora’s box” has become an allusion to something that seems valuable but turns out to be a curse… 

 In her opinion piece on leadership published  in the Indianapolis Business Journal, Samantha Julka uses the Pandora’s Box metaphor to encourage workforce leaders to go ahead and” open the box” by asking the kinds of difficult questions that are the only path to “hope” of improved performance…

The point of using cultural allusions in content marketing is to cement a bond between the writer and readers based on shared experience and knowledge, I wrote back in 2016. But if readers happen not to be familiar with the underlying tale or reference point, the danger is that the content will be frustrating rather than illuminating. “Know your reader when using allusions in business blogs!” I cautioned, advising marketers to gauge readers’ level of education, to avoid having “Huh?” be the reaction to their chosen metaphor.

Julka handled this very content writing issue superbly, I think. In explaining her thesis that the reason many workplace leaders don’t engage more with workers to learn about challenges and how to address them is that they fear questions might lead to requests they can’t (or don’t want to) fulfill. They fear “opening Pandora’s box” might anger workers rather than engaging them.

But, prior to illustrating her point using the Pandora’s Box metaphor, Julka actually reviews the story, putting all readers (regardless of their level of cultural sophistication) “on the same page”:

Pandora, the first woman on Earth, lets her curiosity lead her to open a mysterious gift she received from the gods. The gift contained all the world’s evils, which escaped when Pandora opened the box. It was impossible to put the contents back in.

 Having reviewed the reference, the author proceeds to state her recommendation to readers – “It’s better to find a way to open the box and deal with the contents constructively” framing questions in a way that benefits all of us”.

At Say It For You, we tell content writers to add picturesque metaphors to help readers remember the information.   I appreciated the way Julka used planning dinner for her own family as a metaphor for framing questions in the workplace. Rather than asking, “What do you want for dinner, boys?”, she now takes a more inclusive approach, asking the more criteria-based and abstract “What do you boys want out of dinner?”.

Julka’s “hope” is that her menu-planning query will allow mixing in some broccoli. As content creators, we’re hoping to mix in some search optimization terms ,along with are engaging content!

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Create Compelling Content by Using Images!

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Do illustrations, graphics, images enhance content? If you think back to childhood, all your children’s books had many images designed to illustrate the content. Some books were picture books without any “content”. So, we are programmed from childhood to be attracted to visuals. I miss seeing them in adult books! I studied Illustration in art school before I segued into graphic design. It gave me a good foundation in thinking visually when communicating.

After starting my own design business, I was freelancing at the headquarters of an international furnishings and design company. They actually hired me fulltime and I worked there from 2012-2017 before going fulltime into my own business again. While there, I created many counter cards, as they called them. These were like little posters at letter size that would be placed on the counters where the receptionists sat in the design centers.

Here’s one for gift cards. I combined a fun type with the visual of the gift card taken by the in-house photography team. It made an effective ad for gift cards that could be seen by visitors and customers.

 

 

 

Another example is this counter card for a color trends event posted in a Missouri design center. I found and used an image of a paint roller to make it clear what the event would be about before the viewer even read the content.

 

I could bring out endless other examples but these are two of my favorites for showing how visuals enhance content. Without imagery, the message can be passed over in the clutter of content trying to gain our attention. Just think of these two examples without the visuals and you’ll probably agree!

 

 

This guest post was contributed by graphic designer Patricia Creedon.For more information, Pat may be reached at https://patcreedondesign.com or at 203 252-0909

 

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Content Marketing Must Make Readers the Winners

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“Shark Tank likely would not be the household name it has come to embody had it not been for Clay Newbill, Daymond John admits. “it was Newbill who pitched the idea and his choice of ideal cast members to a team of writers and editors”. In his book Powershift, Daymond John recalls a key change to the seating arrangements on the set that Newbill had made in the show, putting the Sharks at eye level with the entrepreneurs instead of on a raised stage. John’s advice to entrepreneurs is to “hone a win-win negotiating style”, striking a deal that works to the benefit of both parties.

In order to bring about a successful result in negotiating any deal, John elaborates, you need to do your homework, set the tone for the discussion, make the first move, and play to win-win. Understanding that people are people, just like you, bring value to the table without expecting anything in return, he advises. Always consider the needs of the buyers, not only those of the sellers.

Think like a buyer in your blog, I tell content writers. As Keith Rand, my late friend and co-member of Circle Business Network put it, achieving success in business means understanding – and focusing the conversation on – not what you have to offer, but on what the other party is seeking. Keith would explain that in a business transfer, the focus needs to be not on why the seller has decided to sell, but on what on what’s going on inside the buyer’s head as he or she pictures owning and running that business going forward. 

In advising professional speakers on ways to drive revenue, Aussie consultant Peter Sheahan advocated being buyer-centric, doing everything with buyers’ needs in mind. Your content marketing, I tell business owners and professional practitioners, will succeed only if two things are apparent to readers: 

  1. You understand their concerns and needs.
  2. You and your staff have the experience, the information, the products, and the services to solve exactly those problems and meet precisely those needs. 

The content  marketing principle emphasized ten years ago in a piece by socialmediatoday.com remains true: “Content marketing should be beneficial to your customer, reflective of your brand, and optimized for Google, in that order.

Content marketing must make readers the winners!

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Focusing on the Reader of the Story

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“Here’s how to introduce yourself to a reporter so that you will be a source for a news story on the subject,” consultant Janet Falk writes. The five W’s, she advises (who, what, when, where, why) should serve as the framework for your pitch.

In blog marketing, the “Who”, of course, denotes narrowing down your audience in order to “target” the content to those you most hope will be reading your post. “Be as specific as possible,” Falk cautions.

The “what?” has two components: What idea or concept will you present? Then, what will they do next with that idea? Think of readers’ situation before they learned this information; compared to after they hear about it, Falk writes.

Translated into content marketing, the “what” relates to the “where”. In the Call to Action, what alternatives are you offering for next steps? There should be more than one: those ready to buy should be enabled to do that right away (link or phone number). Those who need more information before making a decision should be able to message you. For those not quite ready for any of those steps, provide a link to a video or white paper. Navigation to that “where” needs to be very easy.

The “Why” is the most important question of all, Falk explains. “How will your idea help someone save time, save money or make more money?”

When it comes to blog marketing, there’s a lot of talk about “traffic”. Yes, blogging is part of business owners’ and professional practitioners’ “pull marketing” strategy, designed to attract readers’ eyeballs. In practice, however, fewer might actually prove better, I explain to Say It For You clients. The real goal is attracting readers of “the right kind“, customers who have a need for and who will appreciate the services, products, and expertise being showcased in your content.

 

In the scenario Janet Falk describes, you are introducing oneself to a reporter as a source for a news story, In content marketing, the “reporter” is the search engine algorithm, which serves as a “gateway” for you to tell your story to the target reader. “Social media algorithms can be a powerful ally in growing one’s online audience. Think of them as virtual matchmakers designed to match users with content that suits their interests,” sproutsocial,com explains.

Whether you’re introducing yourself to a reporter or to an algorithm, define your five W’s, always focusing on the ultimate reader of the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In Content Marketing, You’ve Gotta Do More Than Rubbing Harder

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Earlier this week, we discussed the importance of infusing the unique personality or “esthetic” of the business owner or professional practitioner into their marketing content in order to “make things happen”. Ironically, the instruction label on a household product reminded me how often this good advice is apparently ignored….  

Preparing for the upcoming Passover holiday, I realized that my silver candlesticks had become tarnished and were in need of polishing. At my favorite hardware store, after selecting a packet of “polishing cloths for fine metal”, I began reading the instructions on the back of the package.. The first of seven bullet points of instructions read as follows (so help me!): “Rub tarnished objects gently. For tough jobs, rub harder.”  

”Writing a blog with relevant content proves to your audience that you’re a knowledgeable resource on the subject,” Mailchimp explains. “The content in your blog posts should be helpful and informational as that shows your customers you understand them and want to help them….How-to’s are a very popular type of blog post, explaining to a reader how to do a specific task.”

“When you teach your readers how to do something, it demonstrates three very important qualities about you and your business: You want to help 2.You can help 3.There is more help where that came from”, Linda Dessau writes on LinkedIn. Instructional posts are educational, offering advice and tops onn tackling either common complaints or niche problems, bigstarcopywriting.com observes. In fact, the authors add, instructional blog posts tend to be more successful than others in increasing landing page visits over time.

The thing to avoid, though, in creating content that helps and instructs, is exemplified by the inst4ructions on my silver polish package: talking down to your audience. (As Prince is quoted as saying “When you don’t talk down to your audience, they can grow with you.”)  The secret to success in instructional content marketing is making complex topics digestible without sounding as if your talking down to the reader.

Do I need the manufacturer to advice me that polishing my candlesticks effectively is simply a matter of rubbing harder? In creating how-to content, the one reaction you never want to elicit from readers is the one I had – “Duh!”

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