Take advantage of language to build your business.
Because if you strip everything away; at the heart of the PR tool bag is communication through words.
We talk a lot about the power of words.
Some PR professionals move more into the event and management world as a way of generating PRable content; but we tend to stick with words, story, social media and online real-estate, because as we see it; it’s a lot more evergreen and pushes budgets far further than they would otherwise go.
Plus we love to write. We love words. And we’re the type of PR consultants that seriously considered at one point of our careers; working in magazine feature story land and journalism.
As prominent journalist and editor Donald Horne put it, ‘one of the great delights of writing… is that it can give you a sense of freedom.’
As well as that words and writing also help to shape your opinions, clarity your messaging, tone-of-voice and reaffirm what you know as well as allow you to explore what you don’t know. The words you use in and around your business written or spoken also help shape perception. What you say about yourself and how others perceive you. This is one of the greatest powers of PR done well; perception management and influence. And this is what helps to unearth opportunity for you as an individual or as a business in whatever you’re pursuing.
I used to find myself saying “oh raraPR is still just a home-based business”. But this language immediately positions us under a grey cloud of not being where we want to be or not as capable as a big PR agency with a fancy CBD or inner urban residency.
For us being a home-based business in the outer suburbs is a conscious choice and perfect for right now, possibly always; and with a heap of benefits.
We don’t need a posh postcode and shiny boardroom with corporate catering to deliver world-class work. We love how free and easy parking minimises stress and improves mood and productivity, we have minimal overheads so more is invested into client service and team up-skilling, we have excellent lunches and an incredible market around the corner, minimal travel time which means more time with family or for doing the things we love outside of work, zero rent, and let’s be honest a few loads of washing here and there so that the world around rara is more organised – the list could go on.
Oh and it’s been great for Covid Life. We were made for a WFH and digital cloud-based world. And not to forget we love our studio styled just the way we like.
So by changing our language around where we work and how; it reaffirms that everything we are is everything we’re not. It helps clients get to know who we are and what we value. It also diffuses the wanting to be anything else, improving morale and comfort with what we have achieved, diffusing the curse of comparison.
So here’s a wrap up on all things words and the power of the words you choose in and around your business:
TIPS
- Start to explore and notice the type of words you use when you speak about your business to others and to yourself.
- Consider if you’re taking proper advantage of the language you use to punctuate your point-of-difference. There’s no one more YOU-er than you.
- Write down the 10 things you most want people to know about you or your business, repeat them as much as you can online and offline.
- Review all of your copy descriptors on social media and see if they’re consistent and in line with your key messaging. Repetition is important for cut-through and for creating a repeatable story.
- Be conscious of the phrases you use to describe your business and how it can provide value to others.
- Take time to reflect on whether the language you’ve been using is providing value to the audience you want to connect with.
- Keep you words clear and to the point. If your language is clear, you can more easily remain in the hearts and minds of those who need what you’ve got most. And you can articulate complex ideas that become easy to digest. To develop this skill, the skill of writing you need to practise and just write.
Words can take you from where you are to where you want to be. And one of the things we can’t help but notice is that the language around your business can really keep you stuck.
Language is how you cultivate the world around you and what is possible to manifest. The words you use help to create the type of world you want to live in. Words are what turn great businesses into enduring brands. Words are how people experience you, how people perceive you; how people hear you. Great words that engage, enlighten, inform or entertain allow your business to better be in the conversation, or better yet, start conversations.
So I’m inviting you as always, to explore and reflect on the language you use in and around your business (as well as your internal dialogue). Or perhaps at least how you talk about where your business is in your mind.
If you have any questions around how to cultivate a world that is different to the one you’re currently living through with the power of words be sure to get in touch.
Words by Jade Roberts
raraPR Founder and Creative Director
raraPR is above all the sum of people who together help build brands and share stories. We are present in our determination to make a positive difference to the world by representing individuals and businesses that are doing good. We are an extension of the personal stories within us, those that we exist for and those within you that need to be heard.
