Get Your Ducks in a Row

Here are our top tips for startups:

1. Bring back the watercooler!
Today we’re less likely to just chat to our colleagues than the days of watercooler banter, but there’s huge value in talking to your people. Don’t be afraid that by opening the floor to discussion, you’ll just get people who will take it as an opportunity to complain. Treat your people as a resource (they are a human resource) and discover a world of insights and fresh, engaging content ideas.

2. Waste not, want not.
Every piece of content should exist for a reason. Before you click publish, double check it aligns with your vision and mission and serves a purpose. If it doesn’t – then it’s probably not worth publishing. We like to say, “If you only ever think ‘more, more, more!’ then it’s likely your reader will snore, snore, snore!” (Subject to variation, of course.)

3. Mirror, mirror, on the wall…
You’ll be more familiar with vanity content than you think. Those outdated awards from 2002, team photos with every extracurricular activity a person did at high school – it’s irrelevant content that often makes it seem as though a brand is overcompensating. Sometimes more is less and if you’re just having a brag – you’re not engaging your reader.

4. Beware the sands of time.
Be careful about creating content that will date. Unless you have a strong content editorial team who can regularly update content, steer clear of including content that gets old quickly. We call this ‘smelly content’ and it’s that slightly cringe feeling you get when you discover the last time a super-hip-insightful-energetic company updated their blog was three years ago with, “Hey, we love the iPhone 4!”. Build to last, people.

5. Take a walk on the wild side.
As quick as we are to publish anything and everything about our lives on social media, many of us can be self-editing and anxious over-thinkers. You don’t have to be rude or risqué to stand out as a brand. It might seem a bit risky at first to look at writing as you speak in your company, but focus on authenticity and you’ll find the unique tone of voice that brings your brand to life.