There’s an ugly side to local search engine optimization through Google My Business (GMB). A major flaw in how GMB accounts work can compromise a brand’s reputation. Most organizations aren’t aware of the issue until it affects them. By then, it’s a complicated mess to resolve (if you’re lucky enough to settle the matter at all). So, what’s this 5-alarm fire raging over on the Google My Business platform? Well, did you know that anyone can create a GMB account for your business, even if they don’t work there or have any affiliation with it? Worse yet, that same person can then run the account, posting anything they’d like about your brand. Scary, innit? If this is news to you, then brace yourselves for the ugly truth. In this blog, we delve into this potential nightmare and offer tips on what to do if your organization becomes an unwitting victim. What is Google My Business?Google My Business is a free tool provided by search engine giant Google. It allows businesses to manage their online presence through Google, which includes how prospective customers find them through another popular Google service called Google Maps. By creating and verifying a business listing, you can update your information—address, hours of operation, phone number, website—and post other information like updates and photos. Customers can review your products or services and you can respond to those reviews. Google My Business guarantees your brand gets found during a Google search when industry-relevant keywords are used for your products or services. The GMB listing appears in the top right of the search engine page, helping your organization become front and center for searchers. Why do organizations need a Google My Business account?Brick-and-mortar businesses and other organizations that want to boost their local visibility on search engines rely on Google My Business to get found online. At least, that’s the trick if someone is using Google to search for a product or service your company provides. Rival search engines like Bing and Yahoo don’t bring up GMB accounts (imagine that!). Some of the benefits of creating and managing a GMB account for your brand include:
Who can create a Google My Business account for your brand?Before you can get the full benefits of a GMB account, you must either create one or take control of one already created by another person. Herein lies the rub. You might go through the steps to create an account, only to find out someone has already established one for your business. This recently happened with two of The Write Reflection’s clients. Navigating through this unfortunate situation felt like being trapped in the 9th circle of hell from Dante’s Inferno. If you’re lucky, it was one of Google’s bots that created the listing. Sometimes they do that because they think they’re being helpful little AIs. They come across your website or social media while crawling the web and discovering your information. A quick scan shows you don’t already have a GMB listing, so they create one for you. That’s the best-case scenario because it’s easier to claim the listing and control it. You’ll know if this is the case if you see a “Claim This Business” option on the GMB account. However, sometimes a direct competitor or disgruntled former employee or customer can create a GMB listing in your business’s name. When that happens, buckle up because you’re in for a bumpy ride. Navigating the 9th circle of GMB hellWhat can you do if you discover someone created a GMB listing for your business and Google denies you access to it? Contacting Google Help directly is highly recommended. You must speak to a real person at Google. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself banging your head off your desk in frustration. Here are two scenarios The Write Reflection’s clients recently encountered with GMB and how we resolved the issue. Scenario #1: Someone has created a listing in your name.Let’s take the worst-case scenario. A former employee who involuntarily left your company decides the best way to get some sweet revenge is to create a GMB listing and populate it with disinformation. To make matters worse, they convince a few of their friends to get onto the listing and create horrible reviews of your products or services. When Joe Schmo starts typing in an industry-relevant keyword for your brand, the GMB listing is the first thing they see. It doesn’t exactly leave a glowing impression of your business, so they keep scrolling until they find a competitor instead. This was the case for one of our clients who depends on local SEO to find new customers for his business. The GMB listing came up, but it was filled with incorrect information. So, searchers moved on to one of the three other businesses in the area that provide the same services. Our client was hemorrhaging new leads and needed to stop the bleeding. The solution We first tried to request access and verify our client as the authorized representative for the account. Google had us jump through several hoops in the name of verification, and finally granted us access. However, the victory was short-lived, because within a few minutes of authorizing our control, Google suspended the GMB listing without further explanation. As a final resort, we contacted Google Help directly. A detailed explanation of the situation, plus providing information that proved our client was the legitimate owner of the business, finally did the trick. Google reversed its suspension and handed over full control. Problem solved. Scenario #2: Someone has hijacked control of your account.Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s something even worse than having an unaffiliated person create a GMB listing in your business’s name. It’s possible to hijack a GMB account simply by asking Google for permission, and then hoping the authorized person doesn’t intervene in time to cancel the request. All someone must do is go to an existing GMB listing and request Google add them as an authorized manager. There’s a handy feature to make this super easy, which only encourages nefarious actors to engage in this kind of behavior. Once you request access, Google sends an email to the GMB account manager on record. Here’s where it can go downhill quickly. You only have 3 days to respond to that email to refute the request for access. If you don’t see the email in time, Google assumes your non-response is an A-OK sign and hands over the keys to the kingdom. The solution We had a local business come to us for assistance in this situation. The first thing we did was request access. However, the hijacker made sure they denied our request, so Google wouldn’t let us in. Because the information posted to the account was potentially damaging to our client’s reputation, we reached out to Google directly and explained the situation. Once again, we jumped through hoops to verify our client was the legitimate owner of the business. Google removed the other individual from the account and authorized our access. What are some other hidden issues with Google My Business?Unauthorized access to your account is just one issue you can experience with Google My Business. Failing to keep your GMB listing updated can prevent customers from finding your brick-and-mortar location or reaching out to you. If you have a phone number, address, or website change, it’s critical to update that information on your GMB listing immediately. Consumers get frustrated quickly when they can’t find you to do business with you. They’ll simply move on to a competitor who cares enough to keep their online information accurate. Another potential landmine is negative reviews and low ratings. Sometimes competitors and former employees get onto GMB listings and cause problems by leaving negative feedback. Failure to monitor and respond to this issue can harm your brand’s reputation. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words.
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It’s the age-old question most website content writers dread: which comes first, the copy or the design? Depending on who you ask, you can get wildly differing opinions on the matter. Prospective clients who ask me this question get a straightforward answer. Websites must lead with content, not design. It’s a bold statement. One that can be backed up with evidence for naysayers who argue that design is more important than content. Design needs to work for the content, not the other way around. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know that I believe in a “people first, SEO second” approach to content writing. Putting people first requires an emphasis on content over design. Now, I’m not going to argue that website design isn’t important. It’s part of creating a seamless user experience (which search engines like and reward). Websites must load fast. They need to be visually appealing. But none of that matters if the meat of the website – your content – is subpar. What role does design play in search engine ranking?Remember when I said I wouldn’t argue that website design wasn’t important? It’s because I know that a poorly-performing website hurts ranking with search engines like Google. Think about the last time you visited a website on your mobile device. Did it load quickly, or did you end up abandoning it because you spent far too much time watching that swirly “loading” icon on your screen? Even worse than a website page that loads slowly is one that is so jam-packed with visuals and text that it’s difficult to navigate or read. You need both a well-designed, user-friendly website design and high-quality content to perform well with search engines. Giving a website designer content to inspire the design is one of the most effective ways to ensure you have both. What is effective website content?Website content extends beyond the written word. Yes, your website needs an About Us section and a landing page that converts traffic to sales. However, effective website content can – and should – include graphics, photos, and videos that complement the words on the page. One of the quickest ways to boost engagement on your website (or social media) is with a high-quality video. That’s because the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Just one minute of a well-scripted video can replace 1.8 million words. Another way to boost engagement (and credibility) is with infographics that illustrate a point you’re making in your content. Visuals speed up processing time, which is crucial for decision-making. The sooner a visitor to your website (or social media) determines you’re credible, the quicker they’ll decide to do business with you. One caveat about graphics: go original when possible. Using stock photography and other graphics can hurt your search engine ranking because you may be using the same visuals that thousands of other companies are using on their websites. Custom photography and graphic design make your content stand out, increasing your brand’s credibility. What is the role of content on a website?Educating and informing visitors to your website is the role of content. Through blogs, case studies, and other content strategies, you can let people know what you stand for and how they can benefit from doing business with your brand. It’s not an exaggeration to say that content is the key to your marketing efforts. All forms of digital marketing—blogs, case studies, eBooks, infographics, videos—can be incorporated into a website that leads with content. Quality content:
What if the website is already designed?It can be trickier if you’re asked to create content for a website that’s already designed. I’ve been in this position more than once. While not ideal, it can be done with some consideration. First, if the website design looks and feels cluttered, don’t be afraid to make recommendations for necessary changes. No one wants to redesign their website from scratch, but sometimes there are practical adjustments that can be made to help your content streamline seamlessly with an already-designed site. One of the most important aspects of design that can easily be altered is graphics and videos. Too many can bog down the loading time for a web page, which frustrates visitors to your site. Graphics can be optimized for faster loading using website plug-ins (or by writing HTML code). For videos, stick to no more than one per page. While videos can draw attention quickly, they also can affect the user experience if they are awkwardly positioned on the page or take too long to load and play. Make sure all videos are compressed to prevent this mistake. Next, look at the visuals provided and craft content that complements it. Remember, when it comes to website content, more is not necessarily better. Keep your descriptions short and to the point. Use H2 headers to separate ideas if the website design lends itself to them. Doing so can boost your search engine ranking. Inverted pyramid methodOne of the most helpful tips for crafting content for your website is to use the inverted pyramid method. It works by placing the most essential pieces of information at the top of the page and declining in order of importance. Using a traditional storytelling method can help you organize your content in order of importance. Start with a catchy title that grabs visitors’ attention. Follow it with a compelling introduction to your brand that is clear and concise. Don’t forget to include a conflict and resolution section to demonstrate how your products or services add value. The conclusion of your story must feature a strong call-to-action that prompts visitors to take a specific action. What do you want them to do now that they’re hooked on your brand? Subscribe to a newsletter? Click the “learn more” option? Whatever it is, make it clear so you don’t lose a prospective customer who’s already on the hook. How do you get quality content for your website?Everyone thinks they can write—until they try. Then they quickly discover that creating compelling website content that converts is harder than it looks. Working with a content specialist can improve your chances of meeting your content marketing goals. Don’t leave your website content to chance. Reach out today to schedule your complimentary consultation to get your website content producing sustainable growth for your brand. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words. “I find it interesting you claim to have done SEO for more than 20 years when Google hasn’t been around that long.” That was the statement I was met with two weeks ago from someone claiming there was no such thing as an SEO copywriter. It came after I tried to explain what an SEO copywriter is (and is not) and how the most skilled in the trade work their magic. After my helpful explanation – which included my years of experience – I was challenged to prove my credentials. To make a long story short, I gave the person a brief history of search before Google came along. Yes, search engine optimization, or SEO for short, existed before search engine giant Google entered the scene in 1998. As hard as that is for some to imagine, Google isn’t the “OG” search engine. It got me thinking that maybe others truly do not understand how search worked before Google launched. Maybe they’re too young to remember the days of clunky dial-up internet and even clunkier search engines. Or maybe they simply never thought much about SEO because they don’t need to use it. If you fall into either of these categories, then this blog is for you. What is a search engine?Before we can talk about search engines, I should probably define them. If you want the techy explanation, here goes. According to our friends at techopedia, a search engine is, “a service that allows Internet users to search for content via the World Wide Web.” Here’s the more exciting explanation, courtesy of me. Users (that’s you) sit in front of their electronic devices that are connected to the internet. If you’re among 59.72% of internet users globally, that device is your cell phone. Let’s say you’re searching for an auto repair place to fix your car’s muffler. You might ask Google (or Bing or any other search engine) “find car repair places near me.” And just like magic – POOF – a list of mechanics close to your home pops right up. Neat, innit? You can thank search engines for that capability. They’re designed to scour the internet to find exactly what you’re looking for and deliver a handy list of possibilities right to your device. SEO copywriters also have a little something to do with how search engines work, but we’ll get to that later. Why do you need search engine optimization?Do you want to be found? If you answered no to that question, then you can stop reading this blog. However, I’m willing to bet if you own a business, I got a resounding yes to that query. You can’t scrimp on search engine optimization these days. With 85% of Americans going online daily for something, you’re missing the opportunity for new and repeat business if you’re not coming up in search. Search engine optimization is a complex beast. There’s SEO content strategy, link-building, local SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO (to name a few). It’s best to hire an SEO expert who can help your brand navigate through the SEO process if you want to achieve success. Now that we know what a search engine is and why you need to include search engine optimization in your digital marketing plan, let’s dive into how people managed to find anything before Google hit the search engine scene. How did people search before Google?It can be difficult to remember a time B.G. – Before Google. Alas, it existed, and people were searching for things online even back then. User intent isn’t a new concept in SEO. It’s always been a thing. However, how search engines ranked content was entirely different in those prehistoric days of the World Wide Web. Back then, it was all directory-driven. If you’re wondering what the heck that means, let me explain. Directories were human-driven. There were editorial teams for early search engines who decided on content ranking. They would manually explore website pages and other online content and classify it into a category. Directories were super for local search. You could call them the early version of Google My Business. There were more than a few early search engines. Some are worth mentioning. Others, not so much. Here are some of my personal favorites. AltaVistaAltaVista launched in December 1995. To this day, I have fond memories of this search engine. It was the first fully searchable, full-text database that was both accessible and user-friendly. Don’t get me wrong – AltaVista certainly wasn’t fancy. But it got the job done. The search engine was bought out twice – once by Overture, again by Yahoo – before it went offline around 2013. I could be wrong, but I often suspect Google’s creators were taking notes on how smooth the user experience was on AltaVista to incorporate some of those features into their search engine. ExciteExcite launched the same year as AltaVista. Designed by six students from Stanford University, it was one of the first search engines that did more than simple searches. It had portals for news and weather, an email service, an instant messaging service, and a fully-customizable homepage. Its creators continued to expand and improve services, including the 1996 purchase of WebCrawler and exclusive agreements with technology companies like Apple and Microsoft. Excite was bought out by AskJeeves (now Ask.com) in March 2004. It still exists in some form today but is not nearly as popular as it was during its heyday. Yahoo!Yahoo! was one of the most well-known search engines before Google became a household name. It went live online in 1995 and still survives to this day. Starting in 2021, it added other services to its search engine capabilities like Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Mail, and Yahoo News. It may not be Google, but Yahoo is still one of the most popular websites by web traffic in the world. The Wild, Wild West of SEOBack in the early days of SEO, it felt a lot like living in the Wild West. Competition was fierce. Someone was always challenging your brand to a duel online to see who would come out on top. What made it tricky was most of the SEO tools that exist today weren’t in play back then. You had on-page SEO and that was it. Unfortunately, the lack of SEO strategies contributed to shady practices like Black Hat SEO. SEO keyword stuffing was a big thing in those days. If a competitor used an SEO keyword for your industry 50 times in a piece of content, the only way to beat them was to use it 100 times (or more). You can thank those limited SEO practices of yesteryear for most of the spammy, crappy content floating around on search engines today. Thankfully, Google finally has seen the error of its ways and launched its Helpful Content Update. Thankfully, I never engaged in that nonsense, even back then. I knew then, as I know now, that quality content is the best way to rank well online. My early on-page content that’s still floating around on the interwebz today ranks just as well now as it did back then. Journalism: the key to SEO geniusOne of the things that made me so good at on-page SEO back then was my journalism background. I knew how to tell a story. People got hooked early and stayed until the call to action (even when the CTA was subtle). Research was my thing, so I didn’t spew random and unverified “facts” in my content. I regularly included industry experts in my pieces so that readers felt like they learned something from a person who had been there and done that. I still use my journalism skills to create top-ranking SEO content today. My clients are amazed at how fast I can get their pages ranking at the top without cheating the system. I don’t need luck to continue the winning streak. All I need to do is stay the course while producing high-quality content. Search engine algorithms are fickle. They change at the drop of a dime. It’s why while I pay attention to SEO industry trends, I never stray from the journalistic formula for creating content because it works. If you’re ready to stop paying SEO shillsters for subpar content that doesn’t convert, reach out to me today to schedule a free consultation. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words. Rules of Order, the latest offering from Jeff Vande Zande, evokes an eerie feeling of déjà vu for more than one reason. Firstly, it features a group of people forced to live together who can’t agree on, well, anything. Sound familiar? It’s like a real-life depiction of current events set against a dystopian backdrop. Secondly, fans that have read his previous work, The Neighborhood Division, recognize the characters and the storyline. The overarching theme in that collection of stories focused on battling with the instincts of the self vs. the community. One of the stories called “Load” left readers wanting more. Not one to leave his fans hanging, Vande Zande fulfilled their wishes by expanding the short into its own novel. In the shorter version, readers are introduced to the main character, Harvey Crowe. He has good intentions but struggles a bit with the execution. When we meet Crowe again in Rules of Order, he’s still busy trying to convince his neighbors that they must get on board with strict guidelines for weight limits in their individual apartments to protect the entire building from collapse. Although this time around, we gain more insight into his motives. If you’re asking why they couldn’t just move to a new building, readers get the impression that’s not an option in this dystopian future. Readers aren’t told exactly how it happened, but we’re led to believe that leaving the building and venturing into the outside world is akin to an immediate death sentence. It’s effective storytelling that Vande Zande leaves it up to the reader to fill in the blanks on how the outside world became so inhospitable to human life. “The bigger message I wanted to convey is that it was probably a good dose of capitalism that destroyed the outside world, and somehow, capitalism still found a way inside the building,” said Vande Zande. “It just became a microcosm of how the planet used to conduct itself. We want more for ourselves as individuals, even if we’re hurting the group.” The sky is falling…literallyWithout spoiling the storyline, it’s safe to say for most of the novel, Vande Zande taps into the reader’s anxiety with a sense of urgency about when – not if – the building will collapse. This sense of impending doom led to Falling Sky as the original title of the novel. “It was titled Falling Sky for a long time,” said Vande Zande. “But the publisher eventually decided it was too close to some other movie and book titles and that because of it, it just wasn’t grabbing him.” Vande Zande started brainstorming a new title and kept coming back to Robert’s Rules of Order, which he used as a frequent reference when writing the board room scenes for the book. “I thought about making the new title Rules of Order and the publisher loved it.” Of course, with Vande Zande, there always is a hidden meaning behind his book titles. Not only is Rules of Order a nod to Robert’s Rules, but it also is a play on words for how the order of society – rich vs. poor – was conducted within the building. The book title isn’t the only aspect of Rules of Order with a double entendre. Characters’ names also carried hidden meanings. One such character is the well-to-do Gerald LaMark, one of the newest and youngest members of the apartment building board. Vande Zande said he named LaMark after the character Lamarque in Les Miserables. “It’s kind of an homage to him because there’s a line in one of the songs that only Lamarque speaks for we people here below,” said Vande Zande. “It seemed a good parallel since LaMark speaks for the residents on the lower floors of the building.” Two of the most interesting characters in the book are the building supervisor, Sam, and his wife, Anya. Unfortunately for Crowe, he can hear every conversation the couple has through a leaky ventilation pipe between their apartments. Most of those arguments are about how much they dislike each other. “Some readers have shared with me that the super and his wife represent the oversharing that happens on social media these days,” said Vande Zande. “For me, they represent the existential threat of nuclear weapons that we can’t control among all the things that we try to do to protect ourselves and our planet. The whole planet can get annihilated only on our inability to get along.” It’s hardly a surprise the building in Rules of Order is an analogy for our planet. The world is facing an ongoing climate crisis, divisiveness, and authoritarianism – all things represented within the microcosm of Crowe’s building. Sam and Anya represent the overarching feeling that we’re in the palm of a hand we can’t control and that can crush us at any moment no matter what insignificant actions we take to prevent our demise. “The more we try, the harder we fail,” said Vande Zande. “We’re really botching it as a species.” Looking toward the futureReaders who enjoy The Rules of Order also may want to check out Vande Zande’s 50-page novelette, Parable of Weeds, which discusses the nuances of gated communities.
It may be a while before fans of Vande Zande’s brand of dystopian writing have a new story to immerse themselves in. After writing two novels in 2020, Vande Zande said he needs some time to restore his creative juices. Not to worry, though. He’ll be back to taking aspects of the real world, turning the volume up on them, and creating an amazing tale again in the future. For now, readers can get their copy of Rules of Order on Amazon. Building brand authority requires creating quality content that establishes your credibility. Think of it as street cred for the internet. Many organizations struggle with this part of establishing their bona fides because they try to take a short cut with their content creation. They get sucked into the game of producing SEO keyword stuffed drivel that prioritizes search engines over the humans reading it. It’s nearly impossible to shape a stellar impression of your brand if visitors to your website and social media feeds are greeted by inferior content. Google finally has realized the error of its algorithm’s ways and has set out to correct course. By now, most people have heard about Google’s Helpful Content Update. If you’re among the few who missed the newsflash, here’s the long and short of it: Google is going to start rewarding content that puts people first, not search engines. Good thing for me that my business motto is, “People First. SEO Second.” I’ve always put readers first when writing content for myself or any of my clients. Getting people to your website or other online content is only the first part of the battle. If your content sucks, they won’t stick around (or come back) for more. Building brand authority takes time and skill. One of the tools in your growth strategy should include HARO. We’ll talk more about that later. First, let’s break down why you should care about brand authority. What is brand authority?Brand authority is all about trust. Not just trust in your product or service, either. Brand authority should extend to include how your current and prospective customers view your organization as a trustworthy source of information. You may have heard branding strategists and other marketing professionals talk about establishing yourself as an industry leader or niche authority. That’s just a fancy way of saying when you post something online, people believe it. Let’s say you’re a physical therapist with a large customer base and online presence. If you create a social media post about a new product to help with stretching that can reduce the risk of injury, your followers won’t doubt your recommendation because they believe you’re an expert on the matter. That’s brand authority. Why do I need to build brand authority?Organizations that want to be successful care about brand authority. If no one trusts your brand or has doubts about buying your products or services, they’re going to spend their money elsewhere. Trust goes beyond encouraging people to try your brand. It’s a critical component of keeping customers once you have them in the fold. Brand authority mustn’t be confused with brand awareness. You can know a brand exists, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to buy their products. An organization can be stellar at getting their name and products out there. However, that doesn’t mean they have a good product or service that people trust and rely on. Unilever is a great example of brand authority. Under former CEO Paul Polman, the company redirected its focus from profitability to sustainability. The result was a positive social impact through its Unilever Sustainable Living Plan that reinforced the company’s business integrity and resonated with consumers. Although its focus wasn’t on profitability, Unilever managed to increase its earnings over the eight years it spent concentrating on profit through purpose. What is HARO?As previously mentioned, HARO is one of the most effective ways to build brand authority. If you’re wondering what the heck HARO is, let me explain. Help A Reporter Out – HARO for short – pairs journalists and other media outlets with reputable sources they can quote in their articles. Media outlets like ABC News, Chicago Tribune, Fox News, Reuters, The New York Times, Time, and Wall Street Journal all rely on HARO to find industry experts for their articles. You must sign up for a membership to reap the benefits but it’s worth the effort. There are four membership levels from which to choose:
How does HARO build brand authority?Now that you know what HARO is, you’re probably wondering how you can use it to build brand authority. It’s quite simple. Depending on the plan you’ve chosen, start looking for opportunities that fit your niche. Let’s say you’re a pediatrician interested in growing your practice. You could use HARO to find opportunities to speak to local reporters about health and wellness issues affecting children. Once you see a good fit, submit a response to their query through the platform and wait to see if they select you. The Write Reflection™ has had great success getting clients featured as industry experts using HARO. We’ve matched brands with journalists from high authority web domains, bloggers, and sites with the most interactive followers. Tips for increasing your chancesAs you can probably imagine, there are a lot of brands vying for attention on HARO. You must find a way to help your brand stand out in a crowd if you want to be chosen as the industry expert. Here are some tips for making it happen:
How do I use HARO to build brand authority?It’s all about the backlinks, baby. A lot of organizations take short cuts when trying to get backlinks, including using Black Hat SEO techniques. Quick results can end up hurting your brand authority in the long run. It’s best to avoid them and build links the right way. Some HARO journalists and media outlets provide backlinks to your business website or other online presence in their stories once published. Known as an earned backlink, it redirects their readers to your website or social media accounts to learn more about you. Not only can you use HARO to establish yourself as a brand authority, but you also can use it to boost your SEO rankings with Google the right way. It’s a win-win! How do I get started with HARO?While it’s entirely possible to set up your own account and pitch yourself to reporters in HARO, you might want to consider hiring a professional to help you navigate the platform to increase your chances of success.
The Write Reflection has helped other clients build brand authority using HARO and other reputable methods. Reach out today to schedule your no-obligation consultation. There’s a new sheriff in cyberspace, promising to rid our search results of low-quality content designed with one thing in mind: gaming the SEO ranking system. That’s right, y’all. Google’s coming for the SEO content mills of the internet and soon. Google’s been known to change its algorithm more than most of us change our underwear. It can be frustrating for SEO content pros to keep up with all the requirements for getting their clients’ content found online. One thing I’ve always hated about Google’s algorithm was its partiality to SEO keywords. You’re probably thinking about how weird that declaration is coming from an SEO content expert. Let me explain. When you write content for search engines like Google instead of for readers, you end up with a bunch of keyword-stuffed gobbledygook. I’ve fought it kicking and screaming for the last 25 years because I know it’s a recipe for inferior content. What’s the Google helpful content update?Google has finally realized the error of its ways with the forthcoming launch of what it’s dubbed the helpful content update. I nearly spit out my tea when I saw Google’s official press release on the update, using the description “focus on people-first content.” I’ve always put people first and search engines second in my content. Heck, my business motto is “People First. SEO Second” for good reason. It’s my mission in life to help your target audience do more than just find your brand online. I want them to discover value-added content that’s engaging and solves problems. That’s how you build brand loyalists. For those who don't live and breathe all things SEO, Google’s update finds websites with high volumes of content that were specifically written for Search Engines and not people. When it finds them, it's not going to treat them favorably. If you paid a content mill to produce mass quantities of SEO keyword-stuff content that otherwise is of poor quality, Google is about to ruin your day. Enjoy your page ranking now because it’s going to drop in a hurry when the changes become effective. What the heck is a content mill?A content mill is a service that produces subpar content. Sadly, there are quite a few of them operating globally. You’ve probably come across their ads that make bold claims like “Content that ranks for just $25!” Business owners trying to stick to a budget easily are swayed by those kinds of promises but soon come to regret falling for them. Content mills never add value to your brand. They may get you on the first page of search results, but they aren’t going to help you achieve sustainable growth because their content creators often use bad SEO practices. Keyword stuffing is one of the go-to strategies content mills use. Google used to reward websites that engaged in this Black Hat SEO technique. Not anymore. Choosing to rank sites with content that keyword-stuffed SEO terms for the sole purpose of driving traffic to a page caused a much greater problem than even Google probably anticipated. It led to an internet full of poorly-written content that didn’t provide any value to readers. Content mills thrived under that system, promising SEO content that ranked by drafting 600-word articles that contained plenty of SEO keywords but no real insights. How do you write for people first?Writing for people first isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. It comes down to basic storytelling 101. Depending on the content you’re creating, you can use one of four storytelling formulas.
Focus on user intentStorytelling builds a firm foundation for your content, ensuring it’s serving your readers first. Examining user intent perfects it for search engines during the second stage of creation. There are three types of user intent: informational, navigational, and transactions.
How do you find people-first content creators?People-first content creators are rare (at least right now). Those of us who understand the value of storytelling and connecting with your target audience are unicorns for sure. But we do exist, and you must ask the right questions to pick us out in the crowded field of content creators. Here are two important questions you can drop to make sure you’re not about to hire a pimped-out content mill. 1. How much do you charge for content? If you get an answer of $15 to $25 for 800 words, you’re talking to a content mill agency or provider. When writers are paid so little to create content, they tend to cut corners. You’ll end up with poorly-written content that doesn’t engage or connect your readers with your brand. 2. Do you interview subject experts? Content that doesn’t include extensive research or subject matter expert interviews is typical of a content mill. They instruct their writers to find similar pieces of content online and spin them into a new piece. Writers that aren’t great at this tactic often end up plagiarizing someone else’s content, which can spell bad news for your brand.When in doubt, ask to see samples of their previous work. If it looks and sounds just like everything else you’ve seen online about the topic, it’s content mill work. A final warning about content creationIf you're resisting a content strategy that provides value-added content for your readers, you need to rethink your plans and fast. Panicking because you're not sure what to do? Contact me today and we can have a chat about the best approach for your brand.
Business owners must do more to help their brands stand the test of time. Gone are the days of developing a useful product and providing excellent customer service as the only components of longevity. Case in point: visual branding. If you’re wondering what the heck visual branding is and why you need to add it to your business model, you’re in luck. I sat down with visual branding guru Tina Wolfe of Tina Wolfe Creative Business Solutions recently to talk about all things visual branding. Tina provided some valuable insights any size business can use to influence how their brand shows up in the marketplace. Check out her tips then reach out to her for any projects that require her expertise. What the heck is visual branding?I know what you must be thinking. So many marketing terms, so little time. Why must you throw one more at us, Shari? If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you already know I’m not a fan of jargon. All industries have unique lingo that drives the common folk mad. Since I’m all about providing useful information my readers can understand and apply to everyday situations, I avoid jargon like most people avoid meetings that could have been an email. Visual branding – sometimes called visual identity – is simply the fancy way of describing how you build your brand’s presence through visual imagery. There are four key elements of visual branding:
Now that you know what visual branding is, let’s break down how to do it the right way with some handy tips from Tina. Branding vs. visual identity: what’s the difference?Sometimes marketing professionals use these terms interchangeably. That’s a big no-no and can be confusing for the uninitiated. Branding and visual identity are two different things. Creating a strong, positive perception of a company’s products or services is branding. It includes communication strategies, brand archetypes, and values. Think of it as that one thing that sets your business apart from every other business out there. Visual branding promotes consistency of your brand through visual elements like colors, fonts, images, and logos. Plating these visual clues in every piece of content produced helps customers quickly and easily identify it with your brand. Here’s a simpler way to describe the difference between the two. If branding is the bridge to your ultimate customer, then think of visual branding as the paint for that bridge. “Visual branding is really just an extension of branding,” said Wolfe. “It takes it one step further and lets you do so much more with your ultimate customer.” How is a visual identity used?Before you can create a visual identity, you must familiarize yourself with all the ways it can be used across different platforms. Among the most common places businesses use visual branding include:
How do brands create a visual identity?When working with clients, Wolfe uses a questionnaire to help identify the core values that define all aspects of a business. “How do you, as a company, want to show up in the world? What is the most important thing to your business? Is your business service-minded? All these things come into play when you’re looking at crafting both written messages and the visual around those messages to attract your ultimate customer,” Wolfe said. “It’s just such a simple thing. It tells your audience that you care about how you run your business because you’re putting that attention to detail in all aspects of your business.” Identifying the ideal customerShe also takes her clients through the customer identification process. Some marketing professionals use what’s known as an ideal customer avatar. Wolfe said she dislikes using that terminology because customers are real people that are best served when businesses keep that in mind during the visual branding process. Regardless of what you call it, the process is the same. It creates a deep dive into the person behind a brand’s ideal customer to identify all the characteristics that make someone an ideal customer. “Who is your customer? Who are you serving? What’s important to them? Why do they want your product? Why do they need your product?” are some of the questions Wolfe said she asks her clients during the visual branding process. The answer to these questions helps Wolfe craft a visual representation of a client’s brand. Problem-solving with visual brandingVisual branding works best when it solves a problem, Wolfe said. Coca-Cola is an example of a company that has nailed the problem-solving aspect of its visual identities. You can find the company’s logo, color palette, signature font and imagery in every piece of content it produces. Moreover, Coca-Cola creates marketing campaigns that are pure visual identity genius, featuring their products as the solution to everyday problems. Take this ad produced for the 2021 holiday season. It takes problem-solving to a whole new level. The ad is chock full of visual identity, including a Coca-Cola box that puts the finishing touch on a community effort featured in the ad. “Every time you see the Coca-Cola symbol or a bear at Christmas time, you know that’s a Coca-Cola commercial,” Wolfe said. “You automatically identify it.” What visual elements make a brand stand out online?As previously mentioned, there are four key elements of visual branding. Let’s break each of them down and talk about their importance to a well-rounded visual identity. Color paletteColors evoke emotional responses. Warm colors like red can represent anger or hostility, while cooler tones like blue and green promote feelings of calm and relaxation. Before you choose a color palette to represent your brand, you must decide what emotions you want to provoke in your target audience. Once you decide on colors, you must be consistent with their use in all digital and printed materials for your brand. Logos, advertisements, and website banners must all incorporate your colors. Most people choose one main color, then form the rest of the palette around it. You can do this by choosing darker or lighter shades of the same color or complementary colors. Fonts and typographyFonts and typography are important components of your visual identity. Any graphic designer worth their salt explains this to their clients before they create a logo or a banner for a website. Big, block lettering exudes stability and strength. Swirly scripts tend to denote elegance and tradition. Headers should be distinguished from body copy in digital and print media. The key is to choose fonts and typography that bring a balanced look and feel to your brand. Graphic design and imageryGraphic design elements like icons, patterns, shapes, and textures can add dimension to your visual branding. They can be used on websites, social media platforms, and even printed marketing materials. Be sure to use your color palette and fonts and typography in any design elements for consistency. Illustrations and photos are part of this category. Custom graphics and photos must represent your brand voice. Custom illustrations should use your color palette when possible. A well-placed logo within an illustration also is advisable. When choosing photos, make sure the objects, people, and places within the photo communicate the right message. Marketing pros call this “on-brand” visual messaging. For instance, if you’re a travel agent focused on exotic locations, choosing imagery that clearly illustrates some of the cool places you can send your clients would be on brand. LogoLogos are arguably the most important visual branding item in your toolkit. All other elements should be shaped around your logo. Wolfe said one of her first clients – a chamber of commerce – had a logo but nothing else. While the logo was recognizable by everyone in the community it served, most people couldn’t explain the purpose of the organization. She took that logo and created a visual branding package around it by adding a color palette, fonts, a stylebook, and a visual branding guide for their logo. “Everything we put out was then consistent with their mission statement and brand. When people saw a billboard, they knew that it was the chamber of commerce. When people saw a flyer, it was designed in such a way that it was obvious that the chamber was behind it.” How does visual branding enhance the customer experience?Every company strives to build trust with its target audience. After all, loyal customers refer your products and services to others, helping to grow your base. Some of the other ways visual identity improves the customer experience include:
Tools for creating your own visual branding“Canva is a great tool for business owners with small budgets who want to incorporate visual branding,” said Wolfe. “When you’re a small business owner, you’re wearing all the hats. Canva can help with creating basic visuals for all your marketing campaigns.” Businesses can choose between a Canva free or pro account. User-friendly tools like a drag-and-drop editor and access to more than a million free graphics and images can make visual branding affordable. Another tool Wolfe recommends is Buffer for social media management. Like Canva, it has a basic free option, plus three other plans at increasing price ranges. Businesses can prepare and schedule social media posts consistent with their visual branding to maintain consistency. Use Canva to create the graphics, then schedule them in Buffer. Need more help with visual branding? Reach out to Wolfe today to schedule a hassle-free consultation. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words. Dishonest. Sneaky. Unethical. Call it whatever you want, but the strategy remains the same. When businesses manipulate SEO practices to deceive consumers, they risk harming their reputations and customer base. Unethical SEO practices extend far beyond Black Hat SEO techniques like keyword stuffing and paid backlinks. They are more duplicitous, often deliberately misdirecting consumers to websites or other digital content that have nothing to do with their user intent. These tactics blatantly violate search engine rules and best practices. What is SEO?SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. Great, so what does that even mean? To make it simple for those outside the industry, SEO just means you’re engaging in certain strategies to make your digital content more visible to your target audience. SEO keywords are one component of an overall solid SEO strategy. Using specialized software can help identify which SEO keywords you should be using for your brand. Long-tail keywords often correlate with questions consumers type into search engines when they’re looking to solve a problem. For instance, if you wanted to know if it was safe to take Tylenol and Advil together, you might ask Google, “How much Tylenol and Advil can I take together?” Why do businesses use bad SEO practices?Bad SEO practice cuts corners and cheats the accepted code of conduct with one goal in mind: to achieve immediate ranking results. Sometimes the purpose of bad SEO is even more nefarious. Some businesses use SEO keywords that have nothing to do with their industries to deceive consumers into thinking they’ve gone to a site that has what they need. What are popular bad SEO strategies?Like every industry, there are bad apples in SEO. They don’t want to take the time to organically rank well in search results. To do so requires content development, keyword research, and on-site optimization. There are many bad SEO strategies companies can use to cheat the system. Here are two of the most deployed tactics. Blackhat Google AdsGoogle Ads is a marketing service that allows businesses to pay to boost their rankings in search results. When you pay to boost an ad about your business, it can appear in Google search, Google Maps and across all partner sites. Google Ads clearly are marked as such; however, some consumers don’t notice or don’t understand the designation when they see it. They trust they’ve been directed to a reputable site with information relating to their search. The problem is that Blackhat SEO practitioners use a technique called cloaking. It tricks crawling bots on search engines into promoting sites containing specific keywords. Users can find themselves on a website that has nothing to do with their original search query because the website used cloaking to trick Google into sending them there. Clickbait titles are a perfect example of cloaking. A website may create an attractive headline about a specific topic to attract visitors. However, the content below the headline has nothing to do with the title. Negative SEO campaignsNegative SEO campaigns target competitors to tarnish their reputation and steal search engine rankings for important keywords. Sometimes this Blackhat SEO technique involves hijacking a website with questionable banner ads. Other times, it can be more complex and sophisticated. Here are a few other ways negative SEO campaigns work.
How do search engines spot bad SEO?Search engines like Bing and Google have ways to spot when a web page is deceiving an end user. We already discussed cloaking, which is one of the most common forms of deception. If search engines catch you cloaking your site, they can penalize you. In Google’s case, its PageRank algorithm can downgrade or delist your site from its search engine. Another way search engines discover bad SEO practices is through reports from end users. If you suspect clicking fraud, you can file a webspam report. Suspected negative SEO campaigns can be reported using the Disavow Links Tool. Sometimes businesses unintentionally cloak their websites. For instance, they may be using alt text for images on pages that do not accurately describe the content on the page. Check your alt tags to make sure you’re not an accidental offender. How can you spot deceptive SEO companies?Deceptive SEO companies exist, and they entice businesses with promises of quick results. When asked about their methods, they may mention some of the following bad SEO practices. Bolded textBolded text signifies to a search engine that the words are important for your readers. Maybe they answer a direct question. Maybe they are a critical SEO keyword. Using this technique isn’t bad unless you overuse it. If your SEO provider is bolding entire paragraphs or multiple sentences throughout the copy, it can ruin the user experience. Write for people first and search engines second. It’s our mantra here at The Write Reflection® for good reason. Complicated link schemesLinking schemes come in many variations. Any SEO company that guarantees they can get you thousands of links back to your site in a few days is using deceptive SEO practices. Some companies have networks of blogs that exist for the sole purpose of supporting these complex plots. Hidden linksAnother devious SEO technique is hiding links in the code or footer of a website. They’re hidden because coders make them the same color as the website background so they’re not visible to the naked eye. They often are unrelated to the website on which they appear and can get you banned by Google in a hurry. Keyword stuffingYes, my friends, there is such a thing as too many keywords on your site. How do you know if an SEO company you’ve hired (or are thinking of hiring) engages in keyword stuffing? Well, the practice seriously downgrades the quality of your copy. There are only so many times you can use the same long-tail keyword in a 600-word piece of copy before it becomes unnatural sounding. Keyword stuffing also makes it difficult to provide value to your end user. What’s the best way to use SEO?If you’ve found yourself involved with a company that does any of these things, run – don’t walk – away from them as quickly as you can. White Hat SEO may take longer to achieve results, but it’s worth the wait. Here are just a few of the ways The Write Reflection® uses SEO best practices to grow your audience and boost your search engine ranking. Claim and maintain a Google My Business listingIf local search is important for your brand, a great way to achieve results is by claiming your Google My Business (GMB) listing. Make sure all the information in the listing is accurate. It should include hours of operation, your website and contact information. GMB listings also can support customer reviews. That’s another White Hat SEO way to attract more visitors to your website. If you or someone from your business takes the time to respond to customer reviews, it can boost engagement and your brand reputation. Focus on mobile firstRoughly 90 percent of Americans access the internet from mobile devices. If your business hasn’t updated its website to prioritize mobile quality, you’re hurting your SEO ranking. Google has emphasized mobile-first websites in search results since 2016. Most website development platforms automatically optimize your website to provide a smooth experience for mobile users. If you’re not sure how yours is performing, access it from your own mobile device. If there are too many display ads or email opt-in pop-ups, you could be annoying the crap out of your website visitors. Prioritize people, not search enginesGoogle and other search engines have finally come around to the notion that it’s best to reward quality content over keyword-bloated drivel. Consumers don’t want to be directed to a website that is full of a keyword but doesn’t answer their query. At The Write Reflection®, we strike a delicate balance between using the appropriate number of keywords and crafting high-quality content that adds value. We satisfy user intent and leave your visitors eager to return to your site. Need help figuring all this SEO stuff out? You’ve come to the right place. Drop us a line. We’d be happy to schedule a hassle-free consultation to discuss your SEO needs. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words. SEO keyword stuffing happens. A lot. I should know because SEO copywriting is my forte. I’ve been doing it for more than 25 years. Every good SEO strategy requires the right combination of keywords to get your digital assets found online. Do you know what doesn’t work? Telling an SEO copywriter to use as many industry-relevant keywords as they can squeeze into every piece of copy written for your brand. It doesn’t help that many SEO keyword tools still push this narrative, forcing you to create copy that can sometimes be downright unreadable in the pursuit of squeezing the predetermined number of SEO keywords in. I’m not going to tell you that there wasn’t a time when keyword density mattered. Once upon a time, the king of all search engines – that would be Google, by the way – decided that if you wanted it to direct searchers to your website, you had to use the same three keywords in every sentence. OK, well maybe not every sentence, but close to it. If you wanted to rank, you had to play the game. There’s only so many times you can use the longtail keyword “car repairs Pittsburgh” before it becomes repetitive and boring. Yet, if your SEO copywriter followed Google’s old requirements, you likely ended up with gibberish that didn’t add much value to your target audience. Thankfully, Google has seen the error of its ways and no longer rewards websites that overuse keywords. Now, they value quality over quantity. The Write Reflection® already was ahead of the game on quality vs. quantity. As a trained journalist, I’ve always been keenly aware of the value of storytelling in any copy. My clients have been getting well-crafted copy that adds value to their target audience since I’ve been in business. Why do we need SEO keywords, anyway?SEO keywords refer to the single words and phrases people use when searching for something online. Maybe they’re looking for a new dining room table or the latest trends in fashion eyeglasses. They type in what they want to know, and Google spits out some possible places to find the information they seek. Single words or complex phrases can be used for SEO purposes depending on your industry. For instance, if you repair automobiles, you might want to include “mechanic,” “automobile repair near me” or “how do I find a mechanic to fix my car” strategically throughout your digital copy. SEO keywords still are a necessary component of any digital content. I’d be lying if I tried to convince you otherwise. The key is to balance SEO keywords with informative copy that converts. SEO keywords might help users find your content, but they won’t help you build a target audience or transform casual visitors into brand loyalists. For that, you need to understand user intent. What is user intent?User intent trumps SEO keyword stuffing every time. Why? Because (you guessed it), Google says so. I’m not shy about disagreeing with Google – which you know if you’ve read my blog or followed me on social media). However, this is one time we’re in agreement. Now that I’ve given you my trademark sarcastic quip, let me explain the real reason user intent matters. SEO obsesses over numbers and metrics. User intent focuses on the reasons behind why someone is searching for a particular product, service, or topic. After all, you can’t sell your brand if you don’t understand why someone might need it. There are three types of user intent you must consider: informational, navigational, and transactional. Informational User IntentInformational searches happen when someone seeks a specific piece of data. For instance, a student researching a paper on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution would type in a combination of keywords describing their need. Google would direct them to academic studies and other sources of information to answer their search query. Navigational User IntentAny time you’ve used Google Maps or another GPS, you’ve conducted a navigational search based on some location you needed to find. Maybe you’re visiting a new city during a job interview and have an urge to satisfy a caffeine craving. If you asked Google Maps to plot out coffee shops near you it would generate a list based on your location. Transactional User IntentTransactional searches happen when someone is looking for a specific product or service. Let’s say you need to buy a new swimsuit for vacation. You’d likely type “women’s swimsuits” into Google’s search bar and wait to get a list of all the brick-and-mortar and online retailers that sell swimsuits. Does ignoring user intent hurt your ranking?Some SEO experts would argue that it doesn’t, but I’d wholeheartedly disagree with them. Failing to consider user intent when crafting digital copy can weaken your SEO copywriting strategy. You’ll end up with catchall content that speaks to everyone and no one at the same time. Visitors to your webpages might end up confused. I frequently tell my clients that without user intent, I can’t structure a landing page experience that serves their target audience. Keywords are great, but you must understand why someone is typing in a specific keyword if you have any hope of creating content that speaks to them once they arrive on your page. Otherwise, it’s just another missed opportunity. Be realistic about SEO keyword stuffingLet me be very direct. You can’t fool Google’s algorithms. They’re so sophisticated they easily can spot SEO keyword stuffing junk vs quality content at a quick glance. That’s why at The Write Reflection® our motto is, “People first. SEO second.” We specialize in writing content for people, not search engines. Your digital content should never compromise on readability in favor of SEO keywords. It’s a recipe for failure every time. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words. “Who is the hero of your brand story?” I innocently asked this question one day on social media, complete with a cute graphic to illustrate my point. My intention was to tout the importance of storytelling when establishing brand authority. For the record, a company’s CEO or product is never the hero of a brand story. It’s the customer. There, I saved you a lot of Googling (and wondering). It wasn’t long before I got utterly thrashed by other content marketing professionals who disagreed that every brand story has a hero. I was reminded there are several different brand archetypes, and “The Hero” was only one of them. They insisted that a hero doesn’t fit neatly into the other archetypes. They’re wrong. Storytellers know that no matter what your brand’s personality may be, there always is a way to turn it into a compelling story with your customer as the hero. Don’t believe me? Keep reading, because I’m going to walk you through the other brand archetypes and create a compelling hero storyline for each of them. What is a brand archetype?Before I get into the nitty-gritty, some of you may be confused by the term brand archetype. To make a long story short, it’s marketing jargon. Brands associate with certain human characteristics to establish their brand personalities. Their personality then determines their brand archetype, which they use to guide their marketing strategies. Brand archetypes include:
The TraditionalistAlso known as “The Innocent,” brands that align with this archetype offer a product or service that caters to a simple way of life. One popular brand that does it and does it well is Coca-Cola. Their “Real Magic” campaign is a perfect example. If you watched the full commercial, you might be thinking the hero of this story is the little boy who encourages his neighbors to build the “gift shoot” to cheer up an elderly shut-in. I can see why you might think that, but you’d be wrong. The real hero of this brand story is the building security guard. He sees on the monitor the group is one box shy of its goal. He rushes to the rescue with his box (which just so happens to be an empty Coca-Cola container). Coke gets its brand recognition and turns this ordinary person into a hero in the process. It’s pure genius, really. The EverymanEveryman branding requires a marketing strategy that builds connections and promises a place where all belong. Its intent is to help customers find common ground with the brand. So, how do you find the hero in an everyman scenario? Let’s look to IKEA for the answer. In its “Fortune Favors the Frugal” ad campaign, IKEA appeals to every man, woman, and child in the world to do their part to stop global warming. We then see a montage of people using IKEA products to live in moderation – one of the greenest ways of living. The ad makes every person using an IKEA product a hero, saving the earth together. The NurturerNurturing brands encourage people to take care of others and themselves. Self-care products and services fit neatly into this brand archetype. You know what else suits this archetype well? Heroes. Just look at this 2018 commercial from Johnson and Johnson. Nurses are caring by nature. It’s what makes them valuable members of the healthcare community. This brilliant commercial from J&J goes through several health crises in history, showing how nurses advanced patient outcomes through their nurturing and compassion. Boom. Drop the mic. Heroes. Every last one of them. The CreatorBrands that want to make their mark on the world fancy themselves as creators. They often produce experimental marketing campaigns that push boundaries. Their products and services promise to unlock your creativity and encourage self-expression. One of the brands that do it best is none other than Lego. Check out this commercial from 2014, designed to inspire imagination and independence. If you’re thinking the little girl is the hero in this one, go back and look again. Her mom plays the role of caped crusader here. Unlike in other hero storylines, mom’s superpower is a little more subtle. Sure, she could swoop in and save the day every time her daughter struggles. Instead, she turns to the power of Legos to help her daughter become more independent. Mom’s superpower is giving her daughter the freedom to make mistakes and be the hero of her own journey. The tool she uses to do it is Legos. The ExplorerWho doesn’t like a good adventure? Products and services geared toward helping people make new discoveries and live their best lives tap into this brand archetype. A lot of outdoor and sports-related companies fit this archetype nicely. GoPro is your typical Explorer archetype brand. While most of its commercials feature athletes performing daring feats, one commercial from 2013 played the hero storyline perfectly. There’s no fanfare or fancy stunts. Just a fireman using a GoPro to find a tiny kitten in a housefire. It’s not looking good for the kitten, but the fireman doesn’t give up. Through the lens of the GoPro, we watch him bring the kitty back from the brink of death. Why? Cause that’s what heroes do. Well played, GoPro. Well played. The LoverDeep down, we all just want to be loved. Some brands build entire product lines and services around this deep-seated desire. They promise if you buy their stuff, you’ll instantly be more emotionally and physically attractive, helping you to get the love you so desperately seek. When most people think about love, Hallmark immediately comes to mind. Heck, they have an entire channel devoted to love story movies. Their commercials for their trademark greeting cards tap into our desire to belong and to be loved. This gem from 2018 has a very subtle hero storyline. Did you figure it out? It’s not the persistent family that continues to shower its grumpy neighbor with acts of kindness. The active hero in this commercial is the grumpy neighbor’s deceased wife. Every time he rebuffs his neighbors’ efforts to connect, she stares at him from the photo on the wall. It’s the memory of her that finally convinces him to stop being such an old crank. The VisionaryCutting-edge brands that want to change the world and the lives of everyone in it often pair their brand personality with a hero storyline. We don’t need to look any further than the iconic Disney to find the perfect example. Check out this quirky Disney Paris commercial from 2018 titled “The Little Duck.” It’s hard to imagine Donald Duck as a hero, but that’s exactly what he is in this short from Disney. Not only does he inspire the baby duck in the commercial to be the best duck he can be, but it also caters to the “meeting your childhood heroes” storyline when that same baby duck overcomes adversity to later meet Donald in person. The KingMost luxury brands fit into this archetype. They appeal to customers who expect only the very best in life. One of the best examples of a brand fitting this personality is Mercedes-Benz. In this extended ad from 2012, the luxury carmaker introduces a hero – doubling as an accomplice – for a little boy who keeps exercising his independence in the most unusual way. It’s not the first time they’ve tapped the hero’s journey for a commercial. This gem from 2010 turns the tables on Death himself when the car’s driver outsmarts him and saves his own life. How? Because he was smart enough to know he deserved the very best luxury car with brake assistant features. Want a third example? In this Mercedes-Benz ad, this woman literally has two heroes from which to choose to save the day. Clearly, the marketing department at Mercedes-Benz understands you can be king and a hero. The EntertainerIt doesn’t take a marketing guru to figure out what this brand archetype is all about. Helping people have a good time while bringing a little joy to their lives is the target for brands with this personality. Marketing efforts usually embrace adventure and humor, which makes it ideal for inserting a hero or two. A company that does both well is Skittles. This oldie but goodie from 2007 has a reluctant hero storyline. We’re introduced to a guy who can turn everything he touches into Skittles. Others think it’s the coolest superpower ever. Him, not so much. The SageSage personality brands position themselves as experts that appreciate truth and wisdom. Growth and knowledge go hand-in-hand in their marketing campaigns. They operate under the premise of keeping you informed. Google is one of the brands that play the Sage archetype well. In this 2021 ad, Google helps transform the dad of an easily bored child (with a slight obsession with octopus) into a hero in his son’s eyes. Find your brand archetype and its heroWho said you can’t have a hero in every archetype? Content marketers who don’t understand storytelling, that’s who. If you want to connect with your audience in a way that makes them the hero of your brand’s story, contact The Write Reflection today. We’ll be happy to help you craft your hero’s journey. AuthorShari Berg has known she wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and it’s her job to discover it. Shari owns The Write Reflection, a Pittsburgh-based copywriting and content writing company that empowers small business owners to wield the power of words. |
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