1. Strategic - Online content has to connect to your business goals and brand. Hire writers that understand marketing strategy, and how to deliver copy that integrates across web, search, social and public relations strategies.

2. Brand Centric - Your brand is a sum of experiences and perceptions. Words, images and actions define your brand everyday, and with inbound marketing, your website and content may often serve as the first (and possibly only) opportunity to make an impression. Business copywriting must convey core brand messages, tell your organization’s story and create positive perceptions that motivate action.

3. Buyer Persona Focused - Great copywriting makes personal connections with readers. Copy needs to speak directly to buyer personas, address their pain points and bring value. Therefore, your copywriters — whether internal or outsourced — must have a clear understanding of your organization’s target audiences, and know how to engage them.

4. Optimized for Search Engines - Online content must be crafted for visitors, but optimized for search engines. Ideally, business copywriters will have core SEO knowledge and capabilities.

5. Technically Sound - Technically sound copy is concise and powerful. It uses proper grammar and is written at the appropriate reading level. It is also consistent in person, voice, tone and format. Copywriters need strong technical writing skills, and the ability to apply these skills whatever the task, medium or subject matter.

6. Creative - Never underestimate the value of quality creative writing. While many of the other elements we’ve discussed can be learned, business-savvy creative writers are in high demand and scarce supply, and can be an invaluable asset to your organization.

7. Results Driven - Copywriting needs to be tied to your organization’s objectives, and should play a key role in delivering results (e.g. generating leads, educating key audiences, positioning as an industry leader, etc.).

Copywriters should be invested in tracking the content’s success through metrics such as: pageviews, content downloads, leads and social media reach. This enables future content to be strategized based on past performance, and can encourage the incorporation of new ideas and topics, to drive traffic and capture audiences

Courtesy of Hubspot

As most brands sit up and watch Foursquare attempting to shift the FMCG paradigm with its location-based rewards and incentivization potential to encourage consumptions/conversions, Pepsi has did it a little differently by extending brand experience on its existing products and distribution through an existing piece of technology.

What if, a barcode can tell a story?

What if, a building can be made social?

How about, we let a product sell itself?

And lastly, why don’t more traditional media celebrate and embrace technologies to extend their experiential offerings?

On 25 June 2009, the world lost a legend. His name is Michael Joseph Jackson, the King of Pop.

A group of enthusiasts want to keep him in memory. By making his presence felt in the World Wide Web.

To mark his 1-year death anniversary, they’re transforming the mouse cursor into his trademark sequinned glove onto webpages. They hope you could do the same and join them in remembering Michael.

WHY THE GLOVE?
The glove was a symbol of his artistry, genius and magic. Their tribute is a beautiful and simple gesture to honour his music and contributions that made the world a better place.

WEAR THE GLOVE ON YOUR WEBSITE
If you have a website, portal or blog, we would love for you to join us in this movement.

Read more at http://www.thegloveliveson.com/

Instead of bright yellow, sunshine, teenage romance/bromance ‘lovin the moment, McDonald’s has been getting quite a lot of attention online with their recent gay TVC. Yes, getting attention. But is this TVC really worth talking about, passionately? Is there a story that really connects to our hearts? Probably not. Is this just an attempt for a big corporation trying to be socially relevant and also an attempt to produce a very safe “controversial ad”? Probably. While I applaud the increasing number of markets accepting the fact that social media is really more than just another channel for communications, or even as a platform for conversations (theoretically yes, but in reality, no one’s going to your website to talk to you unless you are the subservient chicken from Burger King.), however the next step to that is really to create relevant content that speaks to the heart. Seriously, who cares if a guy eating at McDonald’s is gay or not?

So why is it getting attention online? Poor sentiments spread too. Spoken about with alot of passion? Ho-Hum.

Projection mapping is the future of events and activation visuals. Leveraging on multiple LED projections and superior design mapping we are now able to create 3D interpretations from a flat 2D surface. Paired with other technologies like motion sensor, face tracking and custom optical flow. installation art is now brought to a whole new level beyond imagination.

Nokia Ovi Maps - Interactive Projection Mapping from seeper on Vimeo.

Have you ever heard about the story of a foolish Scottish boy who spent every single cent of his $500 inheritance from his deceased father on a broken grocery store?
Many shook their heads. Some mocked at his fate. Others scoffed at the idea of an inexperienced 14-year-old farm boy running a grocery store in the town of Kilmarnock. Undaunted, this boy turned his foolishness into bravery.
He kept walking.
That was his story. A beautiful one that established the heritage of one of the most recognized brand in the world – Johnnie Walker. A whisky brand famed for its big, bold, layered tastes that are inspired by John Walker’s son, Alexander, who experimented with applying tea blending techniques to the art of whisky blending. He gave us the distinctive smoky, layered flavours we recognize today as Johnnie Walker.
Stories like these birth the soul of a brand. And people tell these stories generation after generation. They transform them along the way. Injecting them with opinions and experiences. Like folklores, which still exist today and will exist forever. Why? Because they seduce the heart. They resonate with a common belief or passion that sits deeply rooted within our souls.
So how do we craft stories that can connect emotionally?
1.) Resonate with a common passion point
Forget conventional marketing segmentations. Disregard demographics, psychographics, geography, etc. People come together because of a common passion. To form a community and establish emotional relationships with one another. Nike Plus focused on one community: runners. They created engaging ideas and started conversations purely about running. Nothing else. Soon they found the world running along with them.

2.) Make interesting facts more interesting
If I say “Approximately 130 million bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label is sold in over 120 countries every year,” you will probably go “so what?” However, if I rephrase that to “An average of 5 bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label is consumed every second,” you will probably be more impressed. Narrating stories in a context that your audience can relate to helps stimulate the imagination.

3.) Paint a picture
Complex stories can be described vividly and emotively with a single image. National Geographic photographer, Steve McCurry shot a portrait of an Afghanistan girl in a Pakistan refugee camp in 1984. It captured deep yet mixed emotions within her. And it became a worldwide sensation. 17 years later, Steve McCurry went on a search for her because her image lives on in his memory. Strong visuals are unforgettable.

In the age of digitalization where 15 petabytes of data are created every day, companies are adopting data visualization techniques to help consumers digest information better. Last year, the US government launched www.recovery.gov to provide easy access to data related to the Recovery Act, which allows for the reporting of potential fraud, waste and abuse. The interactive data mapping helped people better understand the massive amount of information and complexities pertaining to Recovery funds and projects.

4.) Find the right moment
I recall piloting a tasting session aimed at teaching consumers how to bring out the flavours of an alcoholic beverage. We had everything right. An interactive tasting tool, beautiful female promoters, attractive giveaways, and free booze for all. The results weren’t great. We were there at the wrong time. We intruded into people’s spaces and tried to manufacture their behaviour instead of enhancing their experience with our offering. Stories engage better when introduced at the right moment. Tell a story only when people are ready to listen. And only at the right moment will brand experiences be enhanced.

5.) Stir the senses
A well thought-out multisensory environment can provide an experience that is immersive and personal. New Balance launched its first full experiential store in China that brings consumers on a journey of the brand’s rich past, present and future. Audio, visual and olfactory experiences add to the store’s unique character. The smell of natural wood, the comforting touch of leather, and a subtle fragrance actually sold more pairs of shoes at a higher premium as compared to stores with a conventional setting.

6.) Invite and involve your audience
In 2006, Pepsi fired up conversations with one of its most successful Internet advertising campaign in China. They invited consumers to write screenplays for the hugely popular singer-songwriter, Jay Chou. By choosing the right spokesperson consumers can connect to and leveraging the passion point of music, Pepsi pushed the boundaries further by making the inaccessible, accessible. Inviting millions of once passive viewers to participate in something larger than life, fulfil their own fantasies and make a difference.

Stories are an emotional force to be reckoned with. They make your brand alluring and most importantly, human. Craft it well and you will move your consumers. Just like Johnnie Walker, touching millions of people who have embraced the spirit that flows through the veins of the brand.
So what’s your story?

Personal thanks to Selwyn, for editing this.