Indianapolis Blog Content Writers Can Take Tips From a TV Movie

Around professional blog content writers’ circles, there’s much talk about fresh content.  The word “fresh” seems to imply “new” material, and I couldn’t help reflecting on that after seeing an old TV movie the other evening about Marie Antoinette.

On the surface of it, historical film making in general seems the very antithesis of fresh content-centered blog writing for business. Given the legendary short attention span of online readers and the modern what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude so prevalent in business, you’d think the very last place freelance blog content writers would look for business blogging help would be a historical TV movie.  After all, as a viewer, I knew how the story would end before it began!

Why, then, did I find “Marie Antoinette” so riveting?  Why did I hang on every word of dialogue, waiting for what I knew had long ago already taken place?

There was a simple answer, I realized.  It wasn’t about the material itself being “fresh”; it was about the “fresh“ point of view. Sure, in high school and college I had studied the events leading up to the French Revolution, but I’d never experienced those events through Marie Antoinette’s eyes.

That insight reinforced something I’ve spoken about many times in corporate blogging training sessions:  Readers may know some or all of the information you’re presenting in your business blog, but they need your help putting that information in perspective.  In fact, that’s where blogging for business tends to be at its finest, helping searchers with more than just finding information, but helping them understand its meaning and significance.

Well-told historical fiction, explains Jennie Lundquist of teacher.scholastic.com,

• Portrays character realistically, folding in facts
• Provides accurate information through illustrations
• Avoids myths and stereotypes

Neither “Marie Antoinette” nor corporate blogging for business deals in pure fiction, what the two have in common is perspective.  The film made me think about the facts  in a new way. Corporate blog writing needs to help readers answer these questions:

• Who are the business owners or professionals providing this information?
• Can I trust the accuracy of the information?
• What should this mean for me?
•  What are some choices I have?

The lesson for us Indianapolis business blog content writers is clear.  “Fresh” doesn’t have to mean “new” facts.  If our content is “fresh” in that it offers a new perspective on familiar information, we have a chance at have our online readers finding value in our every word.