When you begin work on a new mobility or smart city project, a content strategy can help spread the word about how you’re helping the world become a better place. But if you use the same style, tone, and words as you do on internal communications, you’ll risk alienating the general public you’re trying to communicate with.
Whether you plan to write one or two blog posts and share the news a few times on social media, or you have a full content strategy developed, follow these guidelines to keep your content focused on the population your technology will be helping.
Tips for All Your Content
These suggestions apply to any content you create: blog posts, social media posts, email newsletters, pamphlets, etc.
- Avoid jargon. You want as many people as possible in your target audience to understand what you’re saying. The fewer words you have to define, the better.
- Use human-focused language. You will encounter supportive and dissenting comments as you publish your content. Keep the empathy high and the judgement non-existent.
- Avoid politics as much as possible unless it’s critical to your business plan.
- Ensure each piece of content has a purpose. Then write with only that purpose in mind.
These tips focus on overall tone and style of your content. Ensure everyone who writes content for your company follows these basic rules. They’ll support a consistent brand voice experience for your target market and help build familiarity with your company.
Writing Blog Posts and Email Newsletters
Blog posts and e-newsletters can provide more context to the project and educate readers on the pros and, yes, the cons of your work. Your blog posts will also provide ample content for your social media strategy, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
- Improve the relevancy of your blog posts and e-newsletters by answering questions you hear from the front lines.
- Address concerns upfront. Sidestepping them like a politician will most likely hurt you more than help.
- Where possible, attach the name and headshot of a member of the C-suite to any opinion pieces. This gives a human face to your content and builds credibility.
- Mix up the length of your blog posts: recommended guidelines for length vary year by year, so writing blog posts between 600 and 1,500 words can help insulate your hard work from the whims of search engines.
- Keep your e-newsletter length about the same each time. As you experiment with length and click-through rates, stick with what works.
Blog posts and e-newsletters created to educate the general public about smart cities and mobility can help readers better understand what’s happening in their area. You can also mine responses to both formats for questions to answer in future content.
Social Media
Social media functions as both awareness and engagement in your sales funnel. However, social media has its dark side, and navigating it can make anyone feel nervous. Know that you never need to respond to abusive comments. Furthermore, know that your company decides what’s abusive.
- Post consistently, whether that’s weekly, semi-weekly, or daily. Consistency is better than oscillating between frequent and infrequent posting.
- Answer comments as much as your time allows. This applies to both supportive and dissenting points of view.
- Consider hiding or even deleting abusive comments. Readers who wish to engage in civil discourse will likely stay away if they’re about to wander into a quagmire of insults.
You Are Humans Writing to Other Humans
Learning to write well does take time. You have to learn how to find and retain focus for any piece of content, write concisely, and structure your piece appropriately. But ultimately, remember this: you are writing for humans.
We emphasize that last point because writing for algorithms, or letting generative AI write for you, can leave your writing sounding cold and stilted. Even if you use generative AI for your draft, edit it thoroughly to ensure it still reflects your brand voice and messaging.
To learn more, book your free 30-minute consultation with us to get advice on keeping your communications human. Our contact form in in the footer.