Writing tips Archives - Page 2 of 2

Marketing words to avoid: timeless

August 1, 2016 by Owen Leave a Comment

Merriam-Webster defines the word ‘timeless’ as “staying beautiful or fashionable as time passes”.

Another, more literal definition could be “lasting forever”.

Timeless is a word to avoid – it tends to make me wince when I’m editing construction product descriptions. It’s often seen describing design-led benches or street furniture, or products made from natural stone.

The first of the definitions above is subjective and the second just won’t be true of any construction product or street furniture.

In terms of aesthetics, ‘timeless’ is often used in phrases such as ‘timeless style’, or ‘timeless beauty’.

I recommend leaving the question of aesthetics to the architects or landscape architects, to make their own minds up on.

Better ways to describe aesthetics

The best way to show the beauty or aesthetics of products, is to include good quality photography. Beyond this, go in to some technical detail about how they are manufactured and finished. If your company pays particular attention to detail, put this beyond reasonable doubt by saying what and how

If it is an expensive material, like bronze, go in to detail about how it is cast finished. What was the finishing process? What skills are used? How long does it take?

It it is a wood, is it FSC accredited? This term is often referenced but manufacturers don’t often give any more detail about where the wood comes from or why it is suitable for the application. Finishing wood carefully can make the difference to the aesthetics, so why not take the time to explain the sanding process or what waxes or oils are used. The selection process for grades of wood is also something architects, landscape architects and interior designers are interested in. They will see this if they visit a manufacturer’s premises, but why not offer the information up front on your website.

There may not be room to go into this detail on a product page, where the core information needs to be offered up first and foremost. However it’s worth considering doing some in-depth blog posts on these topics and linking to them from your product page.

If you take the time to invest in this content, it’s something that you will be able to use for years to come in the sales process.

You can email links to interested clients, repurpose the blog post as an email newsletter, include it as part of an email sequence or even use it as part of an ebook.

Construction marketing words to avoid: unique?

July 23, 2016 by Owen 6 Comments

I recommend that you avoid the word unique entirely when marketing construction products. Below I give you three reasons why. In brief: it is usually used incorrectly; it is overused; and it does not build trust.

1: Ask yourself: is it really unique?

The first reason to avoid the word unique is that you may be using it completely incorrectly. Is the thing you are describing really a one-off? Ask yourself again: Is it really? Most often, I see the word unique used to describe construction products that have similar competitor products available on the market.

The meaning of unique is something that is one of a kind or unlike anything else.

True examples of unique products are sculpture and public art, fully bespoke commissioned products, products with patents and products with innovations that are first to market. If your product isn’t one of these things, don’t use the word unique.

Even if it is one of the above, I’d strongly recommend describing in plain terms why it is a one-off product. This is much more helpful for a specifier who might be considering a similar commission, than trumpeting about the fact your product is unique.

It’s true that the meaning of language shifts over time and we may be seeing this with ‘unique’. The word is overused, and the strength of its meaning is being reduced. It is being used almost to mean ‘special’, and this is in evidence by the increasing use of the phrase ‘quite unique’. Technically, something cannot be ‘quite’ unique; it is either unique or it is not.

2: Do you want your writing to be cliched?

This word has been so overused as to have lost some of its weight. When a reader sees the word unique, my guess is that at best, they will think twice, and at worst, visibly wince. For these reasons it is best avoided, even if your product actually is unique.

In 2010 (1), Adam Sherk conducted research using PRWeb that showed ‘unique’ was the fifth most commonly used word in press releases. This built on a 2006 study (2) by David Meerman Scott.

Instead, find a way of describing what makes your product special in clear, helpful terms.

3: Do you want to build or erode trust?

Too often, a product’s features are described as “unique”. Even if you have designed your own locking mechanism, fixing system or slam-lock hinge, there is likely to be a similar feature available on some other product.

It is better to state clearly in plain terms what the features are, what their benefits are to the user, and let the reader make their own mind up as to whether they are special or not. They may or may not be special depending on the application a designer plans to use them for. The environment and usage play a big part in performance of a product.

Over-hyping a product or one of its features is to be avoided in itself. It is a bigger than the use of one single cliche or a series of marketing buzzwords. I have written about the importance being honest and objective before and will do so again. It’s a philosophy that helps the construction specifier. This approach will in turn benefit the manufacturer looking to promote their products.

Put yourself in an architect’s shoes – they may be trying to source ideas at the concept stage or they may be specifying product details. In either situation, is it a help or a hindrance to them to have to cut through exaggerated marketing language?

There are many more blog posts I can write on this.

Avoid the word unique to:

accept the fact that there may be other similar products out there and your readers need choice
steer clear of a stale, overused word that has lost its impact
build trust with your audience as an honest manufacturer that communicates the facts

(1)
Adam Sherk blogged in 2010 with a list of the 100 most overused buzzwords and marketing speak in press releases after using Google search on PRWeb’s website.

(2)
David Meerman Scott launched his ‘gobbledygook manifesto’ back in 2006 and explained that your buyers want your products to be explained in plain language. This post is still as valid today as it was 10 years ago.

“Not only but also” examples in construction marketing

July 13, 2016 by Owen 1 Comment

I see examples of the phrase “not only but also” frequently in construction marketing. Are you using this phrase appropriately in your copy? Read on to find out.

In grammatical terms, the phrase not only….but (also) is called a correlative conjunction. It is used to present two related pieces of information.

The ‘also’ is presented in brackets above because it is optional. As you’ll see from the examples that follow, it is not always used.

Not only… but also must include two related points

This definition brings me to my first point – the phrase is often employed where there is no close connection between the two pieces of information.

I see the ‘not only…but (also)’ part of speech misused frequently in construction marketing, where is used to increase the importance of two unrelated features of a product.

Here’s one example (edited from an actual piece of copy I worked on) that shows two unrelated features being incorrectly linked by ‘not only… but’.

With the high wear and rigorous cleaning regime of retail washrooms, durability is critical and System XYZ cubicles are not only robust in design, but are available in a wide range of colours and finishes to ensure corporate identity can be maintained.

In the example above, the two features, colours and durability, really bear no relation to one another. The wide range of colours is not conditional on the durability; nor are they a consequence of it.

To think of a better example, durability and an antibacterial surface finish, for example, would qualify as related information. In the context of cubicles, both of these features are relevant to maintenance in high-traffic public environments. You could argue that an antibacterial finish is an extra level of protection, so it makes sense that it follows in the second part of the sentence:

With the high wear and rigorous cleaning regime of healthcare washrooms, durability is critical and System XYZ cubicles are not only robust in design, but also have an antibacterial surface finish that prevents the spread of infection.

The second point should build on the first

The second part of your sentence, the ‘but also’ part, should really be something that builds upon the first, is an improvement to it or is something that is more difficult to achieve.

If the second part of the sentence is on the same footing as the first, using ‘not only… but also’ serves to artificially exaggerate the product features:

The products is not only available in a polished brass finish but also a nickel bronze finish.

Why is a nickel bronze finish more special than polished brass? You risk losing trust with your reader by over-exaggerating your marketing claims. In the example above, ‘nickel bronze’ is just another finish option, so there is no need to use ‘not only…but (also)’. It is more appropriate for a construction audience to simply list the available finishes, either in a sentence or as bullet points. Don’t think of this as dull copy. Think of it as factual, accurate copy that respects the specifier and their job, the decision-making process that ascertains whether one finish is more appropriate than another for their application.

Here’s an example where ‘not only… but (also)’ could be used legitimately:

Our bar was in a central location with direct access from the street, so we required a floor covering to not only withstand high traffic but also offer ease of maintenance, said manager James Willis.

Here, the ease of maintenance is related to the durability.

Don’t exaggerate with ‘not only… but also’

A backdrop to this article is the need for objectivity in construction marketing, particularly in writing style and tone of voice. I firmly believe that less exaggeration and more factual information is important for a construction audience.

One last example of good ‘not only’ usage:

The Lumixia street lighting range is designed to perform not only at night, when the light affects the streetscape, but also during the day, when the fittings need to blend well into the area.

I like this one because the lighting’s primary function (to provide illumination) is flagged up first, while the secondary point – the attractive design of the fittings themselves – builds upon it. I also like the way this piece of copy subtly references the benefits of attractive product design without over-egging it. Too often products are described as ‘stunning’ or referred to using bizarre abstract language that would be better off used for haute couture fashion.

So when using ‘not only… but also’, remember:

that the two points must be related
that one must build on the other
and you are not using it simply to exaggerate your marketing

Why puns in construction news headlines are a waste of time

July 8, 2016 by Owen Leave a Comment

Using puns in construction news headlines is a throwback to traditional media and marketing where a snappy, attention-grabbing was a key requirement. Sub-editors would spend 3 or 4 times as long crafting a headline as the journalists would have spent writing the piece itself.

Print magazines, journals and exhibition guides are still part of the marketing mix, but unless you are writing project news or case studies for the popular press, puns in the headlines are not doing you any favours.

At The Content Marketing Academy conference 2016, Kate McQuillan, of Pet Sitters Ireland gave a presentation on how she grew her small company to a national leader, mainly through blogging. Avoiding ‘catchy’ page titles in her blogs, and focusing on search, was one of her tips. Although she grew her consumer business to a national chain, I feel this tip is directly applicable to construction news.

Her next tip for page titles was to think about what people type into search engines.

Let’s think about fundamentals for a moment:

Most content is digital these days
Most people do research online these days
Many people type direct questions into search engines

Search engines don’t have a sense of humour, they care about what your content is about, and how likely it is to solve the searcher’s problem. Your title is the most important element of your page in terms of telling the search engines what it is about – using a play on words here is wasting your valuable space.

In construction, I find a lot of manufacturers simply use the name of the location or building. If you are a main contractor or a key participant in the project team, this is relevant, as your potential clients may be searching for specific buildings or projects. They may be interested in who delivered the build and how it was achieved.

If you are a product manufacturer, aiming for this search traffic isn’t going to help you. You’ll pick up people searching for the information about the building itself.

My recommendation is that headlines should be optimised more for search – but do you know what your audience are searching for?

To address this, we need to work back. Do you know what their needs are? Do you know what their pain points are – what causes ? If you aren’t sure, it’s time to go back to basics and put yourself in your ideal buyers/specifiers’ shoes. What questions are they asking at the point when they are considering your product for a design? It’s easier to know what questions they are asking – these will be the sorts of questions they ask you about your products, when they call, email or speak to you in person.

If you don’t have time to do keyword research, make your news and case study titles a little more generic, and tailored towards people searching for a requirement where they haven’t already selected your company or product.

What problem did the client or designer have – space restrictions, a need for high-end aesthetics, sensitivity at a historic site? What problem did the product solve? A design, installation or maintenance issue?

Don’t
>Don’t include the project location, as discussed above (at least not in all your project news titles).

Don’t include your company name – if they are searching for this, they’ll find your home page.

Don’t include your product name, – if they are searching for this, they’ll find your product page.

Use puns, e.g

Product X scores full marks at Y school
Product Y makes a splash at Z swimming pool

Do
Use a general, plain english description of the problem your product solves, e.g:

Reinforced rootzone improves grass pitch durability
Anti slip tiles reduce risks at swimming pool

One last tip:

Don’t go OTT on your marketing claims and benefit statements. Can you picture an architect typing ‘state-of-the-art‘ or ‘stunning’ as part of their Google search? I’ve written about the importance of an objective style of writing in construction marketing before.

Compelling construction content “starts with why”

June 26, 2016 by Owen Leave a Comment

Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, “Start With Why” is an inspiring concept that can be beneficial to businesses or individuals.

People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. They aren’t inspired to connect with you as a business unless your ‘why’ is compelling. Sinek stresses that your reason for being should be communicated to your customers in this order:

1. Why do you do what you do – your core beliefs
2. How do you fulfil that
3. What you do to fulfil that

In consumer marketing, the ‘why’ can be very subtle, and many organisations position themselves by leading with the ‘what’, which is much less engaging. He uses Apple as an example of a company that has nailed its ‘why’ and is wildly successful even though its products cost more than the competition.

In the B2B sphere,this concept is equally relevant, even where buyers have a job to do and are far less likely to be motivated by aspirations. There’s always still a ‘why’.

I’ve also found Sinek’s concept of ‘finding your why’ to be applicable to good construction content. For many years, when writing about construction products, I worked to a standard that begins with what something is, and then moves on to how it can be used and then the reasons why it should be preferred over an alternative product.

Construction examples of Starting with Why

In the past year or two though, I’ve noticed a few striking examples that lead with the reasons why a broad, general concept is compelling or beneficial to an end user. The copy below (for print in External Works directory) exists to provide information about cycle parking products but the opening paragraph focuses solely on why cycling is of benfit to the population more generally.

This ‘why’ is a compelling hook for the target audience – landscape architects – who are often motivated and inspired by the benefits that their designs or projects will have on the end users – people.

Looking at an online example – this page about signs starts with why vitreous enamel is the ideal finish for park applications.

Do you have any examples of a construction product manufacturer that effectively communicates the ‘why’ of their business, or of a product in particular?

Links
Simon Sinek, Start With Why
Hubspot blog: 3 Key Marketing Takeaways from Simon Sinek’s Start With Why

Image credits
header image: e-magic on flickr
other images: ESI Ltd 2015

Use of the word ‘any’ in construction writing

June 22, 2016 by Owen Leave a Comment

When writing or editing text about construction products, an alarm bell will usually go off in my head when I see the use of the word ‘any’. This is a word I would recommend you avoid, or at least stop and ask carefully whether it really should be used.

As an editor trained in objective writing, I have spent a lot of time creating copy to promote construction manufacturers’ products on third-party directory websites. In this context, objective, non-promotional language has been the rule. However, it’s an approach that I believe should be adopted by marketing professionals working in-house.

Take this example that I quoted in a post about objective writing:

This seat is designed to complement any environment and can be supplied with armrests.

The product in question was a stainless steel bench of a similar design to the one below.

I don’t intend to criticise one specific company or product. The design of the seat above is pretty universal, and it would certainly fit in to most environments, but in general I would advise against this type of statement.

Can a single product genuinely be suitable for any application? When you think about it, this is a very bold claim. I see this sort of statement very frequently, so often, in fact, that its impact has been eroded and whenever it comes up I’ll instinctively consider editing it out.

A black paint finish often helps a product sit less obtrusively within a rural or historic context but satin or polished stainless steel is not always appropriate. In certain situations, timber is the best material for the job – the bespoke timber benches at Lewes Priory sprung immediately to my mind

Even as I write, I feel like I am getting ideas above my station. I would edit out the phrase ‘suitable for any environment’ and leave it up to the designer to decide based on the facts – material, finish options, colour options, and so on.

Construction writing: the importance of an objective style

June 19, 2016 by Owen Leave a Comment

What do architects, specifiers, or construction buyers need when they read your construction writing?

They just need the technical information.

They need factual technical information to do their job. This may be gathering ideas at the concept stage, designing a project, specifying the detail of a product, or in the case of contractors, breaking spec and searching for a cost-effective alternative.

As a marketer you may want to present your company’s products in the best possible light, emphasise their benefits and ensure your branding is properly represented. This type of writing is typically promotional, persuasive and in some cases aspirational. By all means, there is a place for this; it’s particularly appropriate on your home page and company ‘about us’ pages, or on exhibition display stands. But when you write about your products, always stop to put yourself in the shoes of your customer.

Su Butcher recently wrote about why hate architects hate the direct sell. Don’t we all? If a construction buyer receives pushy sales calls, it erodes trust. In the same way, if the writing on your website is pushy, it also erodes trust.

Construction specifiers demand trust in the products they specify – they need to be sure that they will perform over the long term. They also need to trust in the companies that manufacture those products. They will buy or specify from a sales rep they trust too – someone who listens and offers the type of technical information and advice that they need, when they need it. Salespeople and marketers who push their message when it isn’t wanted come across like they don’t understand the needs of the buyer, and they are the ones that won’t be trusted.

I often see writing on construction websites using overblown language to push the benefits of a product. If you are selling to architects, engineers, landscape architects, stop and think – they are educated, analytical and technical people – like most of us, they they smell exaggeration a mile off. There are many words to avoid – unique, outstanding, stunning, excellent, exceptional … I will be sharing many more thoughts on words to avoid in the construction writing tips category.

Construction writing: product descriptions

If you are unsure where to start, include some of these three simple things:

what the product is
what it does or what it is for
who uses it or what applications it is suitable for

This text comes from Broxap’s web page for their Weyburn seat:

A contemporary all welded steel seat, straight or curved, made to various lengths and special configurations. This seat is designed to complement any environment and can be supplied with armrests.

A couple of sentences like this, which state in clear terms what the product is, helps the specifier. I might take issue with the phrase ‘any environment’, but that’s a separate issue.)

Here’s an alternative from Public Spaces’ Mago Situs seat:

Maintain your individuality. This combination of bench and seat with a backrest in a single piece marks your space. Because sometimes not everything needs to be shared.

There is a balance to be struck when a product has been designed for aesthetics and form, and is intended to appeal to the designer’s creative side. However, it is my opinion that a product description shouldn’t lead with this sort of conceptual idea. “What is it made from?” is arguably the most important question. To be fair to Public Spaces, this information is clearly available on the product page. I would still advocate leading with the technical information and leaving the concept stuff for display ads, or prioritise it a bit lower down on a web page. Design, style and aesthetics are best conveyed in good photography.

Resist the temptation to use the writing to make the products seem more exciting – your audience are specifying construction products, not buying an expensive suit or their dream car. Accept the fact that construction products are boring. Specifiers need the boring details!

Be specific when listing features and benefits. If a product is ‘highly fire resistant’ – it’s better to say what standard it is tested to, and precisely how long it resists fire for. If you haven’t tested the product to BS standards, state why the material is fire resistant, rather than making a general claim. Many products are described as ‘exceptionally durable’. Why not specify their expected design life – 10 years, 20 years, or 50 years? There is a difference.

Your audience are decision makers – their role is to make the correct choice of product for the project. For the most part, this is not an aspirational choice. So basing a relationship on exaggerated, misleading or deceptive language seems to me the best way to lose all hope of ever gaining any trust, forever.

Give them what they need – the plain facts – and they will trust your brand. Moreover, it will be easier for them to do their job – it will be simpler for them to specify your products in their design.

Construction writing: making stuff interesting

June 10, 2016 by Owen Leave a Comment

At #TCMA2016 conference, Ann Handley – a writing, marketing and content expert – explained her tongue-in-cheek acronym FIWTSBS – or Find Interesting Ways To Say Boring Stuff.

In a nutshell, this concept urges you to see everything as content, and make the most of the calls to action on your website, like email opt-in forms and 404 pages. Instead of ‘sign up to our email’ brands are making things fun and more engaging, with links like ‘Get our weekly email of awesomeness!’

That’s all well and good if you are in a brand with a vibrant, quirky personality. If your brand delivers fun in its marketing emails, you should make sure people know that they are great to read. But how could this be used for construction?

Construction industry examples

I was sceptical about whether this would be appropriate in the dry and technical constuction industry. Empire Cat, an Arizona machinery dealership have a fun 404 page (the web page that is returned when you follow an out-of-date link). Although the image is fun, showing a mechanic or assembly line employee searching in boxes, the key point for me is that it’s useful – the 404 page points the user back to the core links. via socialfresh and Empire Cat

Things take a sillier turn with this Russian construction company. The animated ‘under construction’ scene is relevant to what they do, but with the oddly captivating dancing stick man and cheesy Russian pop, you could actually linger and spend some time on this page. There is only one link back to the home page though, and it isn’t very obvious. via Gizmodo and kvartirakrasivo.ru

Lets take a step back. There are a minority of construction companies and product manufacturers doing these sorts of things. Very few are even capturing opt-in email addresses to build their own list, or using 404 pages to redirect people, let alone add a bit of humour to the mix. Do you have any examples? Let me know in the comments.

Further reading on FIWTSBS (Find Interesting Ways To Say Boring Stuff), and more highlights from Ann’s keynote presentation at: Ann Handley’s Fight For Good Content vs. Good Enough Content.

Making construction industry writing interesting

Over the years I have written about some pretty boring stuff. Cast iron bollards, hardwood benches and stainless steel drainage channel covers. It became a running joke that my colleagues and I were ‘street furniture nerds’. When out and about, you’d point out elements of the urban environment, to the bemusement of your friends.

However, the audience we write for, as construction industry marketers, aren’t interesting in ‘sexed up’ content – they just want the technical information. This is a phrase I’ve heard time and again, in different forms and from different angles, over the years.

In fact, the seemingly boring aspects of a product are often the most important. Is it 304 or 316 stainless steel? The answer is vitally important if the project is the renovation of a seaside promenade.

Companies often struggle to tell a compelling story in their case studies. Here’s another example – the you are selling tens of thousands of tons of gravel, how can you make it interesting? Your quarry has an on-site technical lab, testing the stone to ensure the material is of the necessary hardness – pretty nerdy, who is going to care about that? But this lab, and the fact that vast quantities of the material are held in stock at the yard and are dispatched daily via a fleet of loyal local hauliers becomes the critical element. The contractor had the guaranteed supply they needed to complete an important road infrastructure project.

These seemingly boring details could be the difference between a multi-million pound project finishing on time and on budget, or becoming a public relations fiasco, eroding the trust of investors or local people.

So for construction, I say don’t strive to make the writing overly interesting. Focus on the boring details – these are what keep the construction industry moving, they are what specifiers need. They just want the technical information.