I’m no copywriter, I have however written numerous press releases in my career that have been published. I can however distinguish between good writing and really crappy writing. People’s perceptions of themselves especially on paper astound me; here are a few things I have come across with the 100 or applications I have waded through.

Take into account, we are looking for a fairly experienced writer/editor/copyeditor or journalist, for those of you who are reading this with the thoughts of applying for this position, here are some tips.

• Sending a CV with spelling or grammatical errors for a WRITING position gets your CV chopped the quickest. You are writers for goodness sake; get your CV and cover letters edited, even if it’s your mate that does it for you.

• This position is for a creative person. This means you have a chance to show case your creativity – Not sending a cover letter or some kind of introduction in the email with your CV is immediate grounds for “THE CHOP!”

• The post said “MID-SENIOR” – So no, we are not taking on interns at this stage.

*Thandi, our office manager just came upstairs saying there were some really strange phone calls she was getting. This leads me to:

• READ THE REQUIREMENTS. If you don’t have a car or a license, then NO, don’t send your CV.

• Not giving enough detail in your CV means you are hiding something, merely listing the places you have worked at with dates is not enough: What happened to explaining; who? What? Why? When and Where?

• Conformity, conformity, conformity. Every cover letter starts with: “I am a young, hardworking, innovative, and creative…with great interpersonal skills…” I don’t care how many adjectives you have in your arsenal. It’s great to be confident, but a good CV should always begin with a description of your experience.

I think I have moaned enough about this. My suggestion for the people looking to apply for this position:

We, as the recruiters are your audience. Do you write a story with complete disregard for your audience? You have an entire brief (a good one at that) that tells you what we are looking for. You have access to the website. Use the website, look at the writing style, understand what we do, learn to use Google. RESEARCH your cover letter and CV and adapt it to your audience – us!

So far only one applicant has done that, and that person is the front runner for now.

My answer was simple:

Business-to-business social networking in South Africa is quickly becoming far more important for B2B marketers than for retail/consumer marketers. The number of potential customers is smaller for B2B companies. Therefore, the potential impact of a socially active customer is magnified. Social media allows you to interact with current and potential customers. More importantly those customers seek you out.

Businesses are also much more likely to thoroughly research purchases when compared to consumers. For example, a company does not go to the grocery store to buy enterprise software. Instead, several people research the purchase, several others approve it, and there are many input points. This translates to an increase in the likelihood that social channels (such as online comments and reviews) will be explored before purchase is made.

The more important thing for B2B marketers to remember when using social media is aligning the goals of your social media strategy with that of your marketing strategy. If you do not have a marketing strategy you are “flogging a dead horse” with ANY marketing activities you do.

“Every customer has the potential to change the way other customers think about your business in ways that individual B2C consumers do not. Every customer is more important in terms of down-stream perception.” – Jay Baer, President, Convince & Convert

Wearing the jaunty little cap of a JOURNALIST, the message is all about public interest – and the interests of the editor, the publisher, the key advertisers and so on…

With the floral confection, as worn by a PR CONSULTANT, the message is often about the client’s viewpoint, prettily disguised as public interest so the journo will bite & use the press release. But of course, freedom of the press dictates that they use it at their discretion to and your carefully crafted 700-word release may end up being a random, often misquoted, quote.

With a marketing or advertising COPYWRITER, sporting an arty little creation straight from the runway, the message is clearly targeted and you – as the client – can completely control the message. What you can’t control, is how your target audience will interpret the message…

THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & HOW OF GETTING IT RIGHT

And yes, you COULD blame the crafter of the message – be they journalist, spin doctor or copywriter – when the message blows up in your face. But, if you follow these simple steps, you will not only shoot the RIGHT message to the RIGHT target audience but eliminate the need to shoot the messenger (as you never know when you might need them again….)

Decide on WHAT to communicate.
Ask yourself, WHAT is your main objective? Is it to maintain or boost mindshare? Or to launch a new product/service?

Focus WHO you want to reach.
Do you want to go directly to the consumer or to the reseller or the whole channel?

Do your homework on WHERE to reach them.
Once your target audience has been decided on, you’ll need to research the best ways to reach them – your budget will also play a large role in this. Sure, you can splash out in all the big newspapers, on TV & radio – but do you have the budget and/or the time? Or will the immediacy of online /mobile or in-store work better for you?

Go straight to the HOW.
Okay, so you’ve decided on the medium – the where – of the message but what form will it take? Will it be in the form of a competition, a launch event or simply a radio or e-mail campaign?

That will give you a clearer idea of the deliverables.

Brief it right!
Now, you can compile a simple, straightforward brief to your designated messenger – the copywriter. If your brief contains all the above simple, but essential elements, he/she will have a clearer idea of what you want to achieve, who to target the message at and what the main message should be, such as for e.g. an event invitation, aimed at resellers, focusing on a new product.

If the copywriter is worth their salt, they will do their homework on your brand & product, the kind of messaging that will work well for the target audience, current social and reference trends and based that on, and other key elements, will craft the perfect communication that delivers the message succinctly, powerfully & hits the right note with the audience so that they answer your call to action.

If not, well then they deserve to be shot!

OPPORTUNITY       APPROACH           MESSAGE

There you have it. Marketing done well. On a shoestring and with a small budget, nogal! What more can anyone ask for? No wonder the average consumer is confronted with thousands of marketing messages every day. Most of it mere wallpaper as we navigate through the corridors of what to get and where to buy it.

Marketing is an investment that works only when based on a carefully crafted strategy, messaged with care and measured and adjusted over time. Efficient and cost-effective tools are just that. And anyone can use them – even your competitors. Never has it been more necessary to develop true differentiation. To shape the message you are sending. With easy and cheap tools, even the smallest of businesses now contribute to the layers of messages we, as consumers, receive every day. To stand out, to be consistent over time, the challenge is crafting and tuning the message. Now all you need is a message creator – available online and at a rock bottom price to produce messaging that is on strategy, articulate your objectives and deliver customers.

So next time you invest some of your own hard-earned cash, give it to the receptionist at your office. With an Internet connection and some easy-to-use tools available on the Internet, she too can provide for your retirement.