A good online reputation management campaign thrives on good copywriting. It’s that simple, really. Good copywriting will bring in traffic, and will lead to maximum user engagement. Good copywriting will yield natural, organic links, and it will go over well with Google and Bing, even in the post-Penguin era. Most importantly, good copywriting presents the client or brand in the best possible light—a must for any online reputation management campaign.
With that said, good copywriting is never easy. Even if you’ve been doing it for a good while now, there is always room for improvement. Read on for five basic tips, all designed to help you fine-tune your content writing skills.
Get Rid of the Clutter
One of the first things to do is read back through your copy and remove any unnecessary words. Some online reputation management pros think it’s all about maximizing word count, but that’s not the case at all. If your writing is dense with needless verbiage, it’s not going to work as well with readers, and that will burn you.
Remove anything that’s bogging your content down. Some examples might include cliché words, like “quality” or “excellent service.” These phrases really add nothing to your copy.
Hone in on What Matters
The inverse of eliminating the clutter, of course, is to focus on what’s really relevant to readers. What does that mean, exactly? It means honing in on the practical benefits, or values, that might matter to them as consumers. This is true for any content you write about businesses, but really, it applies to any written content. If you write a set of tips, or a how-to guide, make sure you focus on the benefits that your reader will receive, simply by reading your content!
Use Powerful Language
There are certain words that often make their way into online search queries. Online reputation management pros should seek to use these words in their writing. Some examples: Fast, cheapest, best, top, and online. Think about the ways in which you might search for products, or online content. Think about the words you’d use, and insert some of them into your copywriting.
Don’t Be Generic
How do you avoid writing the same kind of copy that everyone else is writing? Simple: Do some research into what competitors are writing, and avoid using their template. Standing out from the crowd is vital for online reputation management success.
Write a Strong Call to Action
The call to action is the part of your copy where you tell people what you want them to do. The call to action is most often used in marketing copy. It’s where you say, click here to buy this product now!
But a call to action also makes sense for online reputation management pros. It can be especially helpful if you’re trying to make your content go viral—which you should! Use a call to action to get readers to like, share, or tweet your content. That will make the entire online reputation management process that much easier!