The Difference Between Creative Writing and Writing Creatively

By Natalie Meza, Communications Coordinator

I’ve always been a big thinker and storyteller. I grew up in a family that loves to tell tall tales, and that love has been ingrained into my very being. More than just that, I’ve always been obsessed with the written word: it has led me to where I am now in my career and continues to propel me forward every day. I dared to take the less “practical” career path (or so every doctor, dentist and engineer has told me) and I don’t regret one moment of it.

My ability to write with creative flair has always been a strength.  While I grew up writing mostly short stories and poetry, I’m now producing creative copy and thinking up big and bold ideas for our client partners. That being said, writing creative copy for a client project and producing creative writing pieces for fun require vastly different thought processes. Though they sound similar, the differences between creative writing and writing creatively are important to understand should you feel you have the creative spark within you.

Personally, creative writing allows me to reach deep into the imaginative corners of my brain and produce whatever is available in that moment. There are no boundaries and few rules – not even the sky can limit me. My imagination is an untamable beast, and to round up all varying pieces of information needed to put together a cohesive and interesting story can be incredibly difficult. My stories are organized chaos with the beginning, middle and the end often decided before I even put pen to paper. All that’s left to decide are the details within the guidelines I set for myself, which may ultimately change throughout the process. It’s challenging and trying, albeit fun and rewarding when all the pieces click together just right.

Writing creative copy for a client, however, is an entirely different beast. The boundaries have been set: there is an established audience, the style serves a specific purpose, and I need to write in a tone of voice that matches the client’s. All of this is part of the fun for me – challenging myself to think in a method that I’m not used to, utilizing language that I don’t normally use and turning words that could be lackluster into something unique and exciting. The limits are firm and the rules are set, but I get to pour life and personality into something that may have started with neither.

I love to write, and more than that, I love to help clients tell their stories. No matter the audience, no matter the style and no matter the tone required: I’m happy to write outside the boundaries of my comfort zone. My best work comes from being given a challenge, and I embrace it wholeheartedly. Have something to throw my way? Get in touch with me at nmeza@wrightoncomm.com and I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of.

6 Tips for Stellar Marketing Results

By Chance Shay, Senior Communications Strategist

Productivity overactivity.

It’s a motto all marketers should live by. The point of marketing isn’t to do marketing, it’s to support the bottom line of a brand, which means increase sales, drive new membership and increase donations. A marketer who isn’t showing results is a marketer soon to be without a job. Of course, for some marketers it’s a bandwidth issue and for them we’ve put together a cheat sheet for improving marketing productivity by 30% in 30 days (you can download that here).

Every industry is unique and what works for one brand is different from what works for their competitors. However, there are a few guiding principles that transcend industry’s and brand’s individual market standing. To help every marketer deliver stellar results, we’ve put together this skim-able guide of six principles each with quick take-homes that you can implement in your marketing efforts today.

  1. Know your audience.
    • Focus all marketing on showcasing how you solve that problem/fit that need better than your competitors.
  2. Speak in terms of benefits, not features.
    • People care about a product that will make their lives easier and will serve to benefit them in a way nothing else can. They aren’t concerned about breakthrough/proprietary/new/cutting edge technology – they care about how it will change their life.
  3. Go where your audience is.
    • Determine where your target audience is, what stage of the purchase cycle they’re likely to be in at that place, and then tailor your marketing materials and message accordingly.
  4. If it doesn’t get their attention, it doesn’t matter.
    • You can’t bore your audience into action. If your marketing materials are full of text or your communication channels are vanilla, your audience will tune out.
    • Take your text heavy collateral and turn them into visuals. Ask yourself, “What would my audience tell their friends about,” then create that.
  5. Use content to give and give and give.
    • Provide value to your audience beyond the product you’re marketing. They don’t want to hear from you only when you’re trying to get them to buy something.
    • If you’re a manufacturer of a product meant for pools, blog about pool ownership and ways to improve the pool ownership experience. If your company produces software to automate some aspect of business, create a video series with weekly tips for being a successful entrepreneurial.
    • By producing content, you’re engaging customers to drive repeat business and creating ambassadors for your brand. You’re also creating opportunities to reach a new audience. If your content is truly hitting the mark for the audience you’re targeting, they’ll want to share with their network.
  6. Tell your audience what to do.
    • Always include a call to action for your audience to make a purchase, join an exclusive membership and follow your social channel – whatever action it is you want them to take.

 

Want to learn more about how WOC rocks client partner projects with a unified approach? Check out WrightOnComm.com or drop us a line at info@wrightoncomm.com.

Rediscover The Lost Art of Conversation

By Grant Wright, CEO

Twitter: @Grant_Wright

For us communicators at (W)right On, it’s essential we understand and practice the art of conversation. Shown in Celeste Headlee’s interesting TED talk, it’s apparent that fewer and fewer of the younger generation are developing and exercising this skill. Imagine if the 1/3 of teens who send more than 100 texts per day instead worked on their conversational skills: they’d be better prepared for the dating scene, career opportunities and so much more. As Harvard University’s David Deming points out, “high-skilled, difficult to automate jobs increasingly require social skills.” In fact, in a 2006 survey of 431 large employers, the five most important skills for college graduates ranked in order were: oral communication; teamwork/collaboration; professionalism/work ethic; written communications; and critical thinking/problem solving.

Becoming an older person myself, I wrestle with this issue. On the one hand, it seems to me we need to learn – and teach – oral conversation skills for the numerous good reasons just noted. On the other hand, the tidal wave of alternate communication like texts, tweets, SnapChats, and Facebook posts cannot be ignored. Communication evolves, and so must we all. So is the latter the new reality, with the art of conversation destined to a fading past? I think not.

At (W)right On, we deeply understand the importance of relationships in just about all endeavors. And at the heart of every developing and flourishing relationship is conversation. When we provide presentation training, media training, a social media program, and just about everything else we do, at the core of each is conversation. So while Celeste focuses on tips for conversations while you’re in them at networking events, say, I offer these thoughts as to how to get in – and out – of them.

  1. Go for it – Relax and let go of your fear, since there’s always something you can use to start a conversation. Ask a question, whether it’s for help, an opinion or advice. Make a provocative statement, or muse about a hypothetical situation. Noticing something about the other person (not too personal) or a mutual friend will usually pique their interest to talk with you. Having some topics in mind beforehand will let your sub conscience be doing some prep work for you.
  2. Be aware of timing – Catching someone with their mouth full or clearly with one foot out the door is likely to be unproductive. But noticing and approaching someone by themselves in a crowded room will usually be met with appreciation.
  3. Embrace diversity – Conversations are more interesting if they’re with someone less like yourself. So to switch things up, avoid the ‘comfort zone’ with your clone, and instead seek to converse with someone who knows things you don’t, be it a younger or older person or someone from another culture, societal background and/or education type and level. You’re less likely to find yourself drawing blanks since differences and new information are inherently more interesting than consistent agreement.
  4. Exit gracefully – Too much of a good thing can be just that, so it’s important to know when to move on. If at some point you’ve mentioned that you ‘have just a moment since you’re meeting friends’, for example, then you can deploy this when needed. It’s a social lubricant to help avoid awkward moments, and you can think of many others that are authentic to you. If needed, you can use a common excuse (‘have to get back to so-and-so’, ‘connect with [someone you met earlier] before they leave’, ‘take this call/text you’ve been waiting for’, etc). If needed, you can also pull someone else into the conversation to tactfully take over for you. If you’re there with a colleague, you may even have a pre-arranged cue to help you guard your time. In any case, listen for the natural transition, keep the ending on a positive note and recap follow-up actions (more social lubricant so it’s not so much a ‘good bye’ as it is a pause in the conversation to be picked up later).

The art of conversation is just that: an art. Though some seem to possess the gift of gab, it really isn’t something genetically programmed within a certain few. Great conversation skills must be taught, role modeled, and ultimately practiced and learned. Like many skills, becoming good at communicating is as much about attitude and willingness to put in the effort as it is about technique – if you continue to work hard and develop your abilities, before too long it becomes effortless.

 

PR Firms Are More Than Earned Media

PR firms looked a lot different a few years ago than they do today. Agencies were siloed and CMOs would sometimes spread their work across three or four different firms. Ad agencies, digital shops and PR firms all had different capabilities. And to be honest, some are still doing it that way today.

For many years, (W)right On Communications considered itself a PR firm.

funnelOver the years, we added video and graphic design capabilities, but PR was our bread and butter. Five or 10 years ago, that ‘siloed’ model worked for us. Back then, PR professionals focused on traditional PR strategies and measured earned media based on advertising value equivalencies (AVEs). PR work was largely focused on the top of the marketing funnel (awareness) and not focused enough at the bottom (action). Back then, communications often happened in a vacuum. Today, the lines are blurred.

Savvy PR Firms Today

Savvy PR experts recognize that they need to focus on ROI for client partners and help advance their business in proven, “bottom of the funnel” ways. We take our client partners’ bottom lines seriously, from leveraging our AMEC certification in measurement and evaluation, to integrating ourselves as a full-spectrum communications agency. We’ve blended PR with other marketing and communication strategies to address an array of needs and drive powerful outcomes from multiple outputs.

From media integrations with local broadcast news outlets to social media campaigns to engage and build communities, (W)right On Communications has a diverse toolbox to call upon for client partners.

We’ve always said, “Media hits are not a communications strategy.”

PR professionals need to know how paid social media ads, inbound or content marketing, paid advertising, social media for customer service, community partnerships, earned media, and native content all tie together. It’s important to take a holistic, unified approach allows for more meaningful campaigns, better measurement and, most importantly, greater success.

Want to learn more about how WOC rocks client partner projects with a unified approach? Check out WrightOnComm.com or drop us a line at info@wrightoncomm.com.