‘I don’t think sounding authentically you is the exclusive preserve of social media.‘
When I’m writing and commenting on social media, Grammarly grumbles at my word choice. Or rather, it points out that I overuse words such as ‘great’, ‘brilliant’, ‘really’ and ‘excellent’.
But when I am writing as myself, rather than for a client, those words are me. They are words I say—a lot.
I see social media as a conversational platform. It’s not a report or a brochure; it’s me talking to my connections, so I use the same words I’d use in a conversation.
They reflect who I am. Why hide my personality?
But I don’t think sounding authentically you is the exclusive preserve of social media.
Think of it another way. If you go to a networking event, how do you talk to people?
Do you talk in a manner that makes you sound like a PowerPoint presentation? I doubt it.
Can you imagine listening to someone who sounded like they were regurgitating a corporate brochure?
Finding connections
Networking isn’t just about talking business; it’s about finding connections, and personality plays a part.
This brings me back to my point about being authentically you, not being the exclusive preserve of social media. It’s important in your B2B content too.
Showing just an ankle’s-worth of personality will make your content more engaging.
Sounding human gives you a much better chance of connecting with your audience. And that is what you want from your B2B content.
Adding some personality helps people to get to know you and your business. Authenticity helps to build trust and understanding of what you do and your values.
Stand out from the crowd
It will also help you stand out from the crowd because you are uniquely you. There is an awful lot of B2B content written in a particular style that no one has officially prescribed.
You might worry about having to ‘sound professional’, but what does that mean in essence? Think of how we used to sign off business communications before the days of the internet: ‘yours sincerely’ or ‘yours faithfully’.
How many professional reputations have been destroyed because they didn’t sign off an email ‘yours sincerely’?
Virtually none, I’d say. The world of communication and messaging moved on a long time ago thanks to email, texts, instant messaging and social media. But B2B content has been slow to catch up.
Easier to read
Sounding human rather than corporate with your B2B content will not only make your content easier to read and more appealing, it will help you stand out because so many B2B businesses still write and choose words they would never use in a real conversation.
The bonus is that it’s much easier to write in a way closer to the real you than trying to be something you are not.
What words do you overuse?
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