Most businesses want to engage their readers and persuade them to make a decision, whether it’s to buy, download, or watch something online.
What Exactly Is Conversational Content?
The more you interact with prospects, the more likely they are to act in the way you desire. This is where conversational content comes into play.
The goal of conversational content is to write and address customer needs in words that they actually use. You must write something that they will want to read, share, and interact with. The messaging should form a meaningful part of the conversation.
Messages should be written in a way that ends up in a two-way experience. In conversational content, the goal isn’t to drive sales immediately but to influence.
If you can persuade people, you will not only increase sales, but you will also build customer loyalty and they will begin recommending your business to others.
Why Is Conversational Content Important?
Interactions between businesses and their prospects via various channels are becoming more conversational, which will alter engagement patterns. Consumers expect instant responses from brands with which they interact, which will lead to increased use of chatbots and emerging AI-powered tools.
Before you write or transcribe anything, I’d like to share five tips that will make your content far more conversational.
- Use simple language.
Social equity is an important aspect of having a conversation. In other words, you should speak to each other rather than down (or up) at each other.
Another useful tip is to read your content aloud. This is the best way to see if it sounds approachable. In conversation, for example, most people prefer “won’t” to “will not” unless they want to emphasise its importance, so use contractions whenever possible. I also recommend that some people use swear words—gasp!—if it’s appropriate for your brand. Strategic cursing is an excellent way to achieve the social equity I mentioned earlier.
- Keep it brief.
A discussion is a two-way street. A rant, on the other hand, is not a conversation. Make sure you cover all of the necessary points but don’t make your content any longer than it needs to be. After all, our attention span is now estimated to be 8 seconds, regardless of age, so brevity is essential. Learn to edit your own work, or ask someone you trust to do it for you.
- Recount a story.
Who do you know who always speaks in perfect prescriptive grammar? Isn’t that correct? You should not write in this manner if you want your content to be more conversational. Prepositions are used to begin sentences. Make use of incomplete sentences. As if you’re telling a storey, write as if you are.
Each blog post tells its own storey, but your blog, brochure, and Instagram all tell a larger storey about who you are.
Consider the elements of storytelling, as well. Make it interesting. Consider who (the characters), what (the plot), when and where (the setting), and why (resolution). Most, if not all, of these elements, can be included in a 280-character tweet.
- Speak in your brand’s tone of voice.
This should be a no-brainer coming from Elevate My Brand, but add your brand to the mix! Customers chose you over competitors in part because they identify with your voice and values.
Those must absolutely be reflected in your content. Because those elements are what make you sound like a person with whom you could have a conversation.
Customers not only expect to hear your voice, but they also expect the content to be tailored to your relationship. For example, there are a plethora of content specialists who could write this blog post. In fact, there are most likely several versions of this article floating around in the marketing world. My job as the author of this one, in particular, isn’t so much to say something new as it is to say something in a new way—a way that is uniquely me and that my audience can relate to.
- Make inquiries.
It’s difficult to converse with text on a screen. It is difficult to create engaging content for a website landing page, for example. I understand. But that doesn’t mean you can’t include your audience in the conversation. Asking questions, even rhetorical ones, is one of the simplest ways to accomplish this. Your audience may not be able to respond or speak back, but they can participate in some ways by considering their responses to your questions.
Polls are one way for your audience to respond to your questions. Interactive polls are particularly effective on social media, but they can also be included in emails or in appropriate places on your website.
The responses from your audience can then be used to generate new content. This makes you appear very responsive, and it makes your audience feel seen and heard, which is exactly what a conversation is about.
It is easier said than done to create conversational content. It does get easier with time, so we encourage you to try these tips. However, if you require assistance, you know where to go. We love creating engaging content for our clients at The Social Lions, a digital marketing agency in Mumbai. And we enjoy a good conversation! For a consultation, please send us an email or give us a call.
