A blog without personalisation is like a message in a bottle, bobbing around, somewhere in the North Sea.
Maybe, if you’re lucky, a family of dolphins or the occasional crab might read your work.
Yes, technically, you can call this marketing – but is it worth the time it took to write and the price you paid for it?
We don’t think so.
Content like this is rudderless and pointless, yet mountains of it is churned out by marketing agencies across the UK, every single day.
It’s like screaming into the void and expecting an answer – it just isn’t going to happen.
We don’t follow this philosophy of more is better – quantity over quality – we focus on bringing our clients’ content to the right audience at the right time and using the right channels.
It’s what makes us different.
Turning your message in a bottle into a targeted piece of content
How do we change your audience from a few dolphins and a crustation to a collection of potential clients?
How do we target the people who are actually going to engage with your content?
You want your content to be seen by the people who are most likely to engage your services, the people who need accountants and solicitors!
The answer, as you’ve no doubt realised, is personalisation. Tailoring your content so it reaches the right audiences and hits the right demographic.
Companies that thrive at personalisation earn 40 per cent more money from their activities than their average competitor (McKinsey).
I think Jo, our Senior Director, said it best:
“Shouting in the town square might get a few people to listen to you, but speaking to people directly in their home, their place of work, at the gym, in the car or on their commute – that’s how to generate leads and conversions.
“The principle applies to professional services, just like anything else.
“Personalising content so that it makes an impact on a potential client and feels as though it speaks directly to them – that is the key.”
What do our copywriters think about personalisation?
Copywriters are often on the frontline of personalising our clients’ content. They’re the ones who are speaking directly to the audience, in most cases.
So, we asked them what approach they take when they write their respective articles and blogs:
- “I picture the reader, a businessperson, a construction worker, a social care worker – whoever it is – and then I put myself into their shoes. What am I (they) looking to learn from this article?”
- “I start by thinking about the client. If they’re a solicitor, I work out who they are looking to market to with this content. If it’s an accountant, what service are they looking to promote? I suppose this is a backwards way of thinking about it, but you always end up with a clear picture of who the content is for – and that’s what’s important.”
- “I think SEO considerations are my first port of call. I do my keyword research first. I look at what phrases will generate the most clicks and returns and then I reverse-engineer from there. If ‘how to do my tax returns’ is trending online and I think we can get out some quality content on it, that’s where I start.”
It was interesting (and reassuring) to learn how much they all differ.
The more they differ in their writing styles and approaches, the better the content, the more tailored, and the more personable it will become.
Personalisation does not come from the same content churned out over and over again, it comes from real-life copywriters talking to a real-life audience.
That’s where we take the advantage over other firms.
The technological side of personalisation
It’s all well and good having a crack team of content creators and copywriters who are genuinely talented and who publish some amazing things every week, but we’ve also invested in the technology side of marketing.
We are using advanced strategies for targeting specific demographics across all our media channels, campaigns, and websites.
SEO, data analytics, search history analysis, and email marketing are all part of our repertoire.
When you combine this with genuinely useful, engaging, and personalised content, the sky really is the limit.
Personalising your branding and website
The same can be said of your branding and your website. Without personalising either, you are dooming your marketing efforts to obscurity.
When a potential client clicks on your website, it should feel as though your branding is talking directly to them.
Studies suggest that you have less than a minute to make an impression with your website, so having images and graphics that address the audience’s needs and wants is essential.
For example, if your firm specialises in family matters, your branding might include images of children, domestic life, and elderly people.
Whereas if you primarily focus on the corporate world, you may wish to tailor your branding to images of offices, board rooms and business settings.
These are all part of your overarching personalisation strategy, but they nonetheless play a vital role in your marketing.
(We recently wrote a more in-depth article on the importance of high-quality web design which you can read here).
Why our personalisation is better than most
We have two distinct advantages over our competitors when it comes to personalisation.
- We have some of the most talented, well-informed, and knowledgeable copywriters in the UK. They are genuine experts in their field so all the content we produce is highly personalised to your audience.
- Our team takes the time to get to know you and your business. That way, we can personalise your graphics, images and branding to reflect your firm’s character as well as directly address your clients, and potential clients, with your marketing.
I believe – as does everyone at JE Consulting – that we are the best marketing agency for professional service firms in the UK when it comes to creating personalised content.
We have taken accountants and solicitors from little-known firms and made them into industry-leading and insightful content creators in their own rights. Their clients (and potential clients) flock to their blogs and articles for the truly useful information we post on their behalf.
Their personalised emails bring in conversions and leads and their websites feel as though they really are talking directly to the reader.
It’s a perfect storm of personalisation and it’s available to your firm too.
Please call 0121 355 4774 and ask to talk to one of our directors about having us write personalised content for your business.
