Content Creator’s Creed Line 2

We Believe…your work’s meaning and your company’s purpose are best shared through a human voice of storytelling

This conversation was used as the source material for a corresponding blog post.

Content Creator’s Creed Line 2

Grab the entire Content Creators Creed series (9 short episodes) on iTunes.

Transcript:

Shayla: I’m talking today with Dave Young from Shortcut Content and, Dave, we’ve talking about the Content Creator’s Creed and we broke down the first one the last podcast and we’re moving on to the second, which is your work’s meaning and your company’s purpose are best shared through a human voice. Why not the press release, why a human voice?

Dave: Well, people buy from people that they know, like and trust, right? And I’ve said in the previous one, there are some corporate voices that can be an exception to this rule, but, typically, in our day-to-day interactions, when we buy things that we’re going to use in our life, we’re going to go to somebody that we know, somebody that we like, somebody that we trust. That’s how we choose a doctor, that’s how we’ll choose a lawyer and if don’t know one, we’ll ask somebody else who they know, who they like or who they trust.

And so it’s never going to be, oh, well, I’m going to choose that company because I really like their logo. If we have heard their story, in a human voice and heard what they can do to help us, they’ve got a better shot at at least getting us to pick up the phone and call or come in the door, those kinds of things. And we do at Shortcut Content in podcasting and video, it can help people get to feel like they know you. One of the really cool things, several of our clients, and I’ve actually had this experience myself, where people have listened to you in a podcast or seen you in video and when they actually talk to you face-to-face and they hear your voice, they say, ‘oh my gosh, I feel like I know you,’ especially if you’ve been doing podcasting. I used one our clients as a good example. He’s a chiropractor and he’s been doing these podcast with us for about three years now and he said it happens every week. Somebody will come in and he’ll walk into the exam and meet them for the very first time and as soon as he opens his mouth, their reaction is, ‘I feel like I know you!’

Shayla: That’s great.

Dave: And so what a great advantage to have when the minute you walk in the door, you’ve got people that feel like they know you and like you and trust you as opposed to now you’ve got to build that with somebody that you’ve never spoken to. So that’s a really powerful thing.

I think the other thing is when it’s one person talk to another person and, by that, I mean, even in a podcast. I used to be in the radio business and one of the biggest mistakes that a radio announcer, especially somebody really early in their career, if they take the viewpoint that they’re speaking to a big audience of people, it’s not going to come across as real as it would if, in their mind, they jsut thought about, I’m talking to one other person.

Shayla: Right.

Dave: And so, my advice to beginning announcers is always, when that microphone comes on and you start to talk into it, make sure that you’re talking as if you’re speaking to one person sitting across the breakfast table, having a cup of coffee. And so it’s just like what we’re doing right now, recording this podcast. There may be hundreds of people listen to it, but as we create this, it’s just you and I. It’s just you and I having a conversation, telling some stories and what happens is, when we listen to those conversations, so when you’re listening to the radio and the announcer is delivering information in that manner, a person’s empathy is activated and, in your mind, you become a part of that conversation. And that’s what I think’s really cool about listening to podcasts is we can feel like we’re actually a part of it that we’re maybe not involved in the conversation, but we’re sitting at our chair at the same table enjoying that same conversation, just not necessarily taking an active part in it. But our empathy is activated by that kind of participation.

Now, of course, we take the podcast audio and we transcribe it and rewrite it as written content for our clients’ websites, which is just another way for people to enjoy that same story. They just prefer to read it or that’s the way it fits into their lifestyle or what they’re doing in the course of their business day. So it’s a good way to create lots of different kinds of pieces of content as well.

Shayla: And I know you would say, I’m seeing here, the why of the story is the most powerful of the story-telling. Is that because when I hear your why I take in on as my own?

Dave: Yeah, when we are advertising or talking about a business, the most important question that you can answer in an ad or any kind of persuasive type of communication is to answer the why; why should I care, why should I pick up the phone and call you, why should I fill out a form and download something? The why is the most powerful and we’re going to talk a little bit about that in our next segment, but just remember that when you start writing. Think about the why. Why should somebody care or why have you done what you’ve done. So if we were telling the story of Shortcut Content the biggest question we could ask or we could answer is, why did you create this company? Why should people care and why should they use it?

Shayla: And I’m looking forward to hearing more about that, Dave.

Dave: I’m looking forward to talking about it.

Shayla: Alright, great, we’ll get into more of the Content Creator’s Creed. Until then, Dave, how everybody get a hold of you because I know everyone has some questions?

Dave: ShortcutContent.com has all contact information you need. So phone, email, forms, it’s all there.

Shayla: Perfect. Thank you, Dave.