Copywriting doesn’t just differ between businesses – within a single brand, there should be a distinct copy strategy anywhere you communicate externally. Subtle nuances in speech are powerful tools to further entice, drawing in a larger audience and cementing your relationship with existing customers. Think of it this way: the way you talk to your friends is vastly different from how you talk to your boss. Are you a different person? Of course not. It’s called code-switching, and we do it all the time. It helps us blend seamlessly into different social contexts. Master it within advertising, and you will optimize communication to make every word count.

Social media: Talk like a person.

Social media is one of those rare places where a brand can interact directly with their audience. It strips away the red tape put up by traditional advertising and gives curious minds the chance to see who you really are. Your social media audience wants education, not a lecture. They want authenticity, not pandering. They want to be able to relate to you. Whatever you have to say, pretend like you’re talking to a real person in front of you. No legalese, no corporate mumbo jumbo. Be human. 

Website: Say it quickly.

Nobody goes to a website to read a dissertation. People want to know, with near immediacy, if they can count on you to deliver a service, product, or combination of the two. The average bounce rate for a website is 50%. An ideal range is somewhere between 25-40%, and you’ll only accomplish that if you convey information quickly. A website is the digital elevator pitch, so say it fast and say it well.

Blogs: Give us an outline. 

Blogs have notoriously poor bounce rates, rounding out to an average rate of 80%. If people do stumble over to your blog from your main website, it’s because they’re looking for a specific answer to a question, or checking out your corporate voice to see if they trust you. Whatever you write here, structure it so that your audience can get the gist with a quick scroll. Format it with headlines, subheads, or bullets. If they’re interested, they will take the time to read it through. But unless a reader can scan it quickly, they’ll move on. Make your content scannable, don’t bury information, and get to the point. 

Email marketing: Hit ‘em with a hook.

A good email boils down to one thing — a good subject line. You can have the most thoughtfully curated email, but if your subject line is lukewarm, your email is going straight to the trash. Your subject line should be built around two things: the content of the email, and fear.

Hear me out: what good is a sale without the threat of it ending? Why would I buy more products unless the new stock will sell out quickly? A scarcity mindset drives clicks, which lead to sales. I know this first-hand because I am a sucker. On several occasions, FOMO has been the devil on my shoulder telling me to open the email, add to cart, and spend, spend, spend. Be direct in your subject line and create urgency everywhere you can.

Conclusion: Let’s wrap it up.

If you want to get the most out of external communication, you have to modify your approach for each audience. The core of your brand never changes, but the subtle nuances of how you speak — whether it’s interpersonal for social or cut-to-the-wick on your website — should be nimble.