The person with the power to purchase technology, or influence it’s purchase, at an organization isn’t always someone with a deep-technical background. For this reason, it’s important to include educational content geared towards non-technical audiences on your company blog. Demonstrating the great value of your product without getting into the nitty gritty speeds and feeds can be a challenge for those with technical backgrounds, however, it is imperative. Here are some key tips for breaking technical talk down into a digestible blog:
Focus on Storytelling
Steer clear of going into “whitepaper mode” by focusing on storytelling. A critical component of good storytelling is educating your audience in a manner that is memorable. Emotions supercharge memory. While it might seem far-fetched to think of your product as eliciting any sort of emotion, think about how you can surprise the reader. Include facts and statistics about the size and extent of the threat(s) your product solves. If your team doesn’t have unique research to share, borrow and cite sources such as the annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. Once you introduce your shocking (aka memorable) statistics, move on to explaining the facts’ relevance to your customer and their experiences. Showing empathy for their pressing issues will get you a lot further than focusing on product, product, product!
Use Layman’s Terms
Never assume your audience will be familiar with industry jargon. There are several ways to address this without totally blacklisting ‘industry speak.’ For one, you can hyperlink a word or phrase to a resource that explains it. For example, ‘XYZ directly impacts your company’s SOC staffing needs.’ If the reader so chooses, they can quickly assess what a SOC is and does. Alternatively, if you opt to explain what a SOC is within the text of your blog, utilizing an analogy can be helpful for making the term more understandable to readers with beginner knowledge. You could write, “A company’s Security Operations Center, commonly referred to as a SOC, is the team at the heart of your company’s IT security systems, pumping out necessary measures that keep all the other systems secure.” A third option for breaking down jargon would be to include a vocabulary list at the end of the blog detailing the definitions of the terms.
Clear Structure
The use of headings is the name of the game when it comes to creating clear blog structure. Instead of a blob of words on a screen, break down the text into sections with a heading that captures the main point (as demonstrated within this blog). Headings allow readers to quickly skim the content of a blog and hone in on what matters most to them. Don’t forget to occasionally use bolded fonts. Lastly, include a call to action at the end of your blog to encourage the reader to stay on your website and explore!
Link to the Details
When writing about a technical topic it can be slightly soul crushing for a knowledgeable author to break it down to bare bone basics. To ease that pain, include hyperlinks to more in-depth resources on your website throughout the blog so that readers, who might be intermediately knowledgeable on the topic, can dig deeper if they so choose. It gives you as the author a chance to incorporate specifics without being overwhelming.
Bonus tip!
Run your draft by someone within the organization who isn’t necessarily ingrained in the product-side (maybe an intern or someone in Finance or Operations!) as a ‘test’ to see how your copy resonates. Ultimately, writing an engaging blog for non-technical audiences is important for ensuring your brand messages are well-received by individuals who play a role in the process of signing on vendors.
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LaunchTech Communications specializes in messaging and content amplification for companies in the tech and cybersecurity industries. If interested in learning more, contact us here! Not ready to say ‘hi’ just yet? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to learn more and receive business tips.