Good Content vs. Good Enough Content: Insights from Ann Handley at #INBOUND15

In case you missed our last article, here is a quick background to this series of articles.

Ann Handley (Author, Marketer, Chief Content Officer of Marketing Profs)

“The biggest missed opportunity with content is playing it too safe.” 

Ann Handley, author of “Everybody Writes”, was the world’s first Chief Content Officer; so you could say she knows a thing or two about content. In Ann’s talk she discussed how the biggest missed opportunity with content is playing it too safe. She pointed out the three things that every brand needs to bring content from good enough to really good and memorable content: bigger stories, braver marketing, and a bolder voice.  According to Ann:

BIGGER story puts your company in the larger context of what people care about. Use your bigger story to convert more people into your squad.

BRAVER marketing upends the status quo, telling a story that hits on specific challenges your audience has (but no one else is talking about in the right way for a certain audience).

BOLDER voice is a differentiator in a sea of mediocre content. Tone of voice is your gutsiest and bravest asset. Your voice reflects your culture, amplifies your story and communicates with empathy to the people you want to reach.

Ann’s presentation was full of inspiring examples of real companies who have used the three B’s to create engaging content. Ultimately, Ann tells the crowd: “everything that your customer or prospect touches is content. So, find ways to inject your brand’s personality and culture into anything and everything.” She challenges the crowd to think of their own marketing, “if you covered up your logo, would you recognize YOU?”

I loved how she closed with the following quote:

This quote speaks to creating bold and unique content. Sometimes, you have to steer away from the fairy tales and stories that are typical in your industry. Sometimes, you have to tell a different story, with a different point of view, in order to stand out from the crowd, and create a unique voice for your brand.