By Jill Pyle
The content we write for our clients can take many forms, including news releases, technology backgrounders, corporate backgrounders and bylined or contributed articles. To be able to write these kinds of pieces, we have to really understand our clients’ technology, market and audience. This is why we spend a lot of time at the beginning of a new client engagement just listening and learning.
During early conversations with new clients, we are never surprised to hear buzzwords. However, these buzzwords rarely, if ever, make it into the materials we write. That’s because we know the editors, writers, bloggers and analysts who receive these materials are numb to headlines about the latest, greatest, most revolutionary, innovative and ground-breaking new products to hit the market.
Being clear and concise when describing our clients’ technology is a huge priority. Our belief is that the benefits and business case for the technology will be apparent to the target audience if the materials are written in a way that is easy to comprehend, void of fluff and hyperbole.
While you won’t catch me jotting down buzzwords during a briefing, I’ll be listening carefully for the key terms and acronyms clients use when describing end users’ interactions with the technology. That’s because we want to make sure our materials include the terms that will resonate with the target audience and help them connect our client’s product with their situation or pain points.
With our diverse group of high tech clients, we find ourselves writing materials that capture the interest of journalists and analysts serving a wide array of targets, including IT managers, chief security officers, prosthetists, application developers and a host of others. If we want them to pay attention to our client’s story, we have no other choice than to write materials that speak to them, not confuse them.
