J. Michael BrowningIn the world of interactive media, writing has become as important as in any other area of advertising, marketing, and public relations. Advertisers now recognize that well-written copy can be just as compelling as an image or video in grabbing the audience's attention and communicating what they're trying to say in an entertaining, memorable way. So, if you are interested in breaking into the world of interactive media, here are some insights I've gained from my experience throughout my career and this past month.
Writing for School vs. Writing for Real
It's easy to get wrapped up in worrying about grades. But don't forget that you are writing for an audience of real people with real interests, not just your professor or classmates. Give them a reason to read your work, keep reading it and hopefully come back to read more. That means avoiding academic jargon (unless your professor wants you to use it) and writing in clear sentences using words that both sound good and mean something. Your writing should also be engaging, entertaining, or interesting—something readers can't find anywhere else but on your site or page.
Know Your Audience
The goal of interactive media is to establish a connection with your audience; to do that, you must know who your audience is. In an age when anyone can use an internet connection to interact with anyone, anytime, it's easy for things like demographic data and psychographics (types of people) to get overlooked. This can be detrimental. Your writing should identify at least one key group of people your information, product, or service will target. You need a rich understanding of their values, psychology, and demographics; you also need to understand how they discover what's new in their market and why they would choose one thing over another.
Remember, Social Media is Powerful
Social media is more than a passing fad. It's here to stay, and it's influential. The biggest mistake you can make as a writer who works in a communication field is to forget that. In other words, don't treat Facebook and Twitter as glorified business cards or brochures; you have honest conversations there, so be respectful of your audience and offer content they can enjoy and learn from. If all you ever post are links to your articles or direct calls to action such as buy now, then people will quickly tune out—and if they come across something you wrote on another site, they may not bother clicking because it appears that you just want them to click one more time.
Grabbing & Keeping Their Attention
Writing for interactive media is very different from writing for print. First, you need to register with an awareness of your audience and their preferences. For example, in a print magazine, you can rely on readers having enough of an attention span to finish a feature story before flipping over to another section; with interactive media, people may click away at any moment. This means you have to grab their attention immediately and ensure they are engaged every step of the way. Writing for interactive media forces you to think more like a writer and less like an editor—and it's an essential skill that all good writers need to master.
It's Never Over
You'll learn something new every day, no matter how long you've been writing. Don't get comfortable or assume you know everything there is to know about writing. You don't. Embrace that fact and learn from your mistakes. You won't get better unless you keep challenging yourself and striving to be a better writer tomorrow than you are today. Don't become complacent, and recognize when you need help! Find like-minded writers in your field; reach out to them with questions and ideas, collaborate, and grow together!