Spreading good ideas at Digital Northampton 2020
4 minute read
Hear the advice shared by our Chief Copywriter as he addressed 2020’s Digital Northampton event, talking all about how good ideas spread.
Good ideas are central to marketing. In fact, the bread and butter of what we do involves getting good ideas in front of the right people in order to prompt action. As a copywriter, I do that by writing in a way that convinces and informs.
But what does that look like in practice? I got invited to speak at Digital Northampton’s Tech at Ten event, delivered via good old Zoom, to discuss just that. If you couldn’t make the event, cast your gaze over this blog and learn more about how to spread good ideas.
Get distance from your subject matter
Good ideas spread widely as well as deeply. But as you deepen your understanding of a topic, immersing yourself for hours each day, you lose sight of that spark which got you interested in the first place.
Spreading ideas widely means being able to introduce as many people as possible to that spark. This can be hard when it’s old news to you. If you have junior members of staff, interns, or volunteers, bring them in on your messaging meetings and listen to them if they say something might go over people’s heads.
Family members are another top source of lay opinion. Collar your mum, show her the opening two or three paragraphs of your latest blog and ask her if it’s:
Engaging, does she want to read more?
Interesting, does it retain that initial engagement?
Clear, can she understand the idea being discussed?
Balance accuracy with clarity
Good ideas aren’t merely correct, they’re also easily understood. When you’re expressing technical concepts, it’s easy to talk around a topic until suddenly you can’t see the woods for the trees.
Building on the first point, getting outside opinions on your messaging helps distinguish between what’s important to you personally and what’s important to the message you’re trying to send right now.
If you find yourself penning enormous 2,500-word blogs which meander through three or four topics, what you really have are three or four blogs. And that’s a great problem to have…
Let each communication do one job
Good ideas exist in their own universes, bouncing off other good ideas to create grand narratives which ultimately change the world. This is inspiring, but a bit tricky to put in a tweet.
To help your idea find its place in the big picture, break it up into manageable chunks. Every communication you send should be doing one clearly defined job for one clearly defined audience.
It’s absolutely fine to put out two or more similar messages, each tweaked slightly for a specific crowd. That way, you’re playing the numbers game and ensuring that your message lands when it does find its way in front of the right people.
But beware that your audience might evolve, along with the world in which they live.
Adapt your messaging to new contexts
As organisations grow, certain ideas become entrenched. Some of these started life as good ideas, but are now past their prime and only retained because ‘that’s the way we’ve always done things.’
Bad and mediocre ideas stifle good ideas because they hide behind structure and hierarchy. Technical or medical contexts in particular are subject to so much scrutiny that it can feel like a chore to break from tradition and try something new.
This is a step you absolutely need to take. Be brave and, above all else, honest with yourself when a campaign, tagline, mascot, or even a set of brand values no longer pull their weight in a changing world.
Language is inseparable from context
Anyone who’s ever written so much as a sentence of content will be sick of hearing about ‘writing in plain language.’ Plain language is essential, but it’s also very difficult because, as I’ve written elsewhere, language is inseparable from context.
Don’t think of language as being like water, which takes the shape of whatever jug you pour it into. Language is the jug. Finding ‘plain language’ for your specific audience takes a lot of research.
There are two broad ways you can approach profiling your audience:
Identity. Think about how your audience identify as individuals in microcosm
Culture. Think about the wider societal context in which they exist
Lean on the tropes and memes which establish your message as meaningful in your audience’s eyes. Credit them with the intelligence to understand their own identity and culture. Because ultimately, it isn’t marketing that spreads good ideas; it’s people.
Spread your good idea with Sookio
There’s nothing we like more than taking to the stage (or the webcam) to share tips on how the brightest minds in healthcare, technology, and education can get their ideas heard.
Got some inspiration you want to share with the world? Let’s get started.