TA #62: 🗣️ Brand Voice in a Time of Social Crisis; the One Brand That Schooled the Rest

Hey, you. You're doing great. .

Welcome to the 62nd issue of Total Annarchy, a fortnightly newsletter by me, Ann Handley, with a focus on writing, content, marketing, life. High-fives to recent subscribers, including those from the Search Engine Journal's online summit. Thank you for being here. 🙌 P.S. Was this email forwarded to you? You need your own!

Boston, Sunday, June 7, 2020

Hi, friend.

If the outrage and events of the past week have taught us anything, it's the importance of sharpening your voice.

Not just sharing your voice. Not just adding to the din and repeating the words of others—follow-the-bouncing-ball, karaoke-singalong style.

But actually doing the hard work of honing your own point of view. Owning it. Making your intent and your ideas crystal-clear to others.

The part about honing a point of view is important. Brands that have gotten into the most trouble this past week are the ones that are practicing messaging karaoke, singing along without really having internalized the words.

Chris Franklin nailed that here:

Yowch. I feel it, too.

* * *

Nothing in language is more powerful than a voice that doesn't pantomime other voices. That's true for brands; it's also true for people. Writers like you and me.

Consider the writing of pastor Ashlee Eiland. I bumped into her words on Instagram, reposted from Twitter:

It made me think about the power of language to convey a point of view. And, of course, it made me think about marketing, too. Because everything does.

* * *

As a marketer or a writer, your job is to move people's hearts, to use your voice to effect change.

With Ashlee Eiland's post as a guide, here are some practical thoughts on crafting your own voice, un-karaoke style:

1. Write to that one person scrolling on one platform. Ashlee doesn't imply "Hello everyone on Instagram!" Nope. She's talking to you and me, one on one: "Say what you need to on social media."

2. Vary the length of your sentences. One quick sentence. Then a slightly longer one. Then an impossibly long one. The way she tweets applies to all writing, too.

From writing teacher Gary Provost:

This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

3. Write a picture. "Put down your phone and pick up your life" works because it's actionable. It's specific. It doesn't say "get off social media." It says literally, "put down your phone." It says metaphorically, "take action."

The connection-contrast of that the parallel verb-noun combo paints a powerful picture—between actual object (phone) and metaphorical object (life).

4. Read it out loud. Say this sentence out loud: "Not many will see you learning, confessing, repenting, uprooting, re-tooling, forgiving, inviting, empowering."

Hear it? It's music. It has beats, flow, momentum. Long sentences need momentum. Otherwise a 13-word sentence can feel like a slog.

5. Swap out words. "The hidden work is the heart work is the hard work."

Hidden. Heart. Hard. That sentence rolls like a wave to shore.

The alliteration does it. And the similarity of "heart" and "hard," which sound alike enough to be fraternal twins. (RelatedWords.org is my fave swap-out-words source.)

6. Ditch needless words. Every word in Ashlee's post earns its keep. She doesn't say, "Most people will not;" she says "Not many will."

Hold your sentences to that standard. Boot out the slackers standing around taking up real estate but not doing the work. Like these (via Everybody Writes):

At which time → When
In order to → To
In spite of → Despite
A number of → Some
Moving forward → Later
In the event that → If
The majority of → Most
Has the opportunity to → Can
Despite the fact that → Although

* * *

Here are a few other things worth sharing this week.

1. Talk to the Brand

Big brands in the US are struggling with how to respond to widespread racial inequity—an issue that has been simmering on Low, but last week boiled over into the streets.

Actually, there's a better metaphor.

It's been stewing in a slow cooker in plain site, sitting right out in the open on the kitchen counter, for hundreds of years. We all caught a whiff of what was cooking, every once in a while. But a lot of us (non-Black, non-POC) went nose-blind.

Then one day two weeks ago the slow cooker suddenly exploded and the house caught fire and then the entire block caught fire and then suddenly everything everywhere is on fire. (But don't run out into the street, because there's a pandemic.)

It seemed without warning. But of course it wasn't.

A lot of brands whiffed. Who didn't: Ben & Jerry's. The ice cream maker (owned by Unilever) schooled everyone with its corporate response.

Rob Walker breaks down how. The biggest one: Ben & Jerry's has been talking about Black Lives Matter for four years already.

Related 👉 👉 👉 How to do cause-aligned marketing right. The fantastic Katie Martell on the MarketingProfs podcast.

2. A Weird Writing Trend

Several weeks ago, Tim Morral noticed a weird trend in his B2B content team's work: Social distancing is changing the way we write. And we need to fix it.

(P.S. Somewhere in here I wanted to write "the Morral of the story." Get it? The author's name? Tim Morral? I'm dead.)

3. WFH Without Destroying Your Team

MarketingProfs is an OG in our current Work From Home world; we've been virtual since I joined as a partner, in 2002. The folks at Monday.com invited me on this Facebook Live to talk about how we at 'Profs get stuff done.

Related 👉 👉 👉 The one thing your Marketing needs to thrive in a Covid-19 world.

TOOLS

✍️ Content Writing Jobs This looks like a rich resource for writers and the people who hire them. Includes the gamut: freelance, full-time, part-time, internships.

DEPARTMENT OF SHENANIGANS

I love this visualization by Tony Ruth, inspired by Shel Silverstein's 1964 classic, The Giving Tree. Tony uses the fruit tree metaphor to show what equality, access, and justice actually mean; Avinash Kaushik created the graphic.

Side note: It's interesting that Tony chose The Giving Tree as a foundation, since the story itself is fraught with controversy. It's about a boy who loves a tree. Yet as the boy grows, he uses up all the tree has to offer (apples, branches, the wood itself), reducing the once-majestic tree to a sawed-off stump.

The book has sold a zillion copies, but no one really can agree on its CTA: Some say its poignant and powerful; others say it's just depressing. I might be overthinking Tony's book choice. 😂

LOVE LETTERS will return next time.

Thanks for reading this far. Thanks for your kindness and generosity.

Stay safe. Stay healthy.

I'll be back on June 21.

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, buy a book. Or forward this newsletter to a friend with an invitation to subscribe right here: www.annhandley.com/newsletter.

SELECT PUBLIC EVENTS
NOTE: Many dates have changed; some events are now online only. Here's what I've confirmed so far. More to come.

📅 June 11: Being Human in B2B [Webeo webinar, FREE]

📅 July 29: Content Marketing in the Age of Uncertainty [SAS webinar, FREE]

📅 September 15-18: UBA Trends Day, Brussels, Belgium [now online]

📅 November 3-6: MarketingProfs B2B Forum is back in SF! Get in on early-bird pricing; code ANNLIKESME saves you $ (risk-free money-back guarantee)

📅 November 30-December 2: Digital Sales and Marketing World, Hartford, CT

📅 Your Date Here: Book me to speak

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Ann Handley is the author of Everybody Writes and other books.
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Ann Handley
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TA #62: 🗣️ Brand Voice in a Time of Social Crisis; the One Brand That Schooled the Rest

Older messages

TA #61: ✍️ A Masterclass in Empathy from an 11-Year-Old Writer; Social Media Pandemic Trends from 60+ Networks

TA #60: 👉 Market Like the NY Times, 17 Non-Obvious Copywriting Tips, Why Zoom Is Exhausting

TA #59: 🦄 A New Abnormal; 2 Free Writing + Storytelling Events

TA #58: 🐰 14 Life-Changing Habits for a Post-Covid World; Rewriting the CDC Guidelines

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