Attracting audience engagement with your B2B content is getting harder, but we can learn a lesson from the man who set up a famous London music venue – and his use of lemons.
Let me explain. In the Summer, I saw a play based on the life of Simon Parkes, who, back in the 80s, turned an old, decrepit cinema into a well-known gig venue, the Brixton Academy.
It’s a fascinating true story, involving struggles to get bands to play, gangs and bomb threats.
But what was striking about Simon Parkes, aside from his determination and resilience, was that he didn’t follow the crowd.
When London’s established music venues were putting on themed club nights, he focused on a different type of music.
To get people through the door of the Academy, he sent out invites wrapped around lemons.
What he did stood out.
It helped put the Brixton Academy on the map, setting it apart from other music venues in London.
The result was that it became the place that people wanted to be and bands wanted to play.
And creating content that grabs your audience’s attention takes a similar approach. You don’t have to send out your articles wrapped around lemons, but think of different ways of approaching your writing to differentiate it and make it stand out.
Some examples of how to take a different approach
Use a different style of opening line from the usual. You could kick off with a quote, something incongruous (like lemons) or a relatable scenario.
Look at your competitors’ content and their typical style. Is there a different feature style or format you can use?
If you always write your content a certain way, are there different elements you can bring in, such as adding examples, anecdotes or personal experience?
There is far more B2B content now, but much of it is approached (and written) in the same way, which presents opportunities to stand out by doing something a little different.
So when it comes to content creation, what’s your lemon? 🍋
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