Show, Don’t Tell: You Need Creative Content - Here's How to Get It!

When working on their next great blog post or piece of content, I’ve learnt that our creative writers don’t like to follow too many rules – however there is one mantra that will always be playing in the back of their mind: ‘Show Don’t Tell’. For content marketers looking to breathe some new life into the material that they’re creating, this is perhaps one of the most important pieces of advice that we can borrow from the creative world; not only does it apply to almost every type of content you can produce, but with just those three little words you can capture the very essence of what it means to create incredible content.

I have learnt that creative content writers simply don’t like to be constrained – and often, it’s by letting them work in their own style that you get truly incredible results. It’s important to reach a compromise that allows the whole team to work effectively together, so I still like to tell my writers to ask themselves whether they would be proud of the content that they have written if it was going to go on their own personal Facebook page with their name put to it, however I let them decide how that should be done, and this is why we’ve adopted the ‘show, don’t tell’ philosophy! Allow me to tell you a little bit more about it, and how it can help you take your content to the next level.

The Meaning Behind ‘Show, Don’t Tell’

For writers of fiction, ‘show, don’t tell’ is about using visual language to evoke a world that the readers can imagine, rather than simply telling them what happens and hoping that they’ll fill in the details for themselves. For us as content marketers, the same idea of world-building applies: when you create content, your goal should be to create a narrative that explains who you are, or who your brand is; what you care about and what your values are; and what expertise you’re bringing to the table.

Simply telling people that you’re the best, that you’re the expert, that you have what they want – none of that’s going to make them believe you; they’ll only believe you if they can see it for themselves. Sometimes individuals and companies decide to try and sharpen their content marketing by setting up a blog, but then become too tempted to simply use that as a platform for shouting about their products and little else.

A better company blog is about creating a brand identity and building a relationship with your target demographic. You’re not selling them your product, you’re selling them yourselves, so that next time they need something from your industry they think of you first. At SearchQuest we have also implemented a process that allows us to educate our clients on how this works, as they often come on board expecting us to simply push their products. There’s so much truth behind the idea that nobody likes a bragger, so we help them to see how a different strategy can yield far better results.

This means creating content which unites you with your audience and invites them to think of you as ‘one of us’. Don’t tell people that your clothing is the best, show them that you are immersed in the fashion world and understand great design by creating style guides and trend posts… don’t tell people that your technical skills are better than those of your rivals, show them some of the great projects that you’ve worked on! Ultimately, it’s all about showing that you love what you do.

For a great example of how this can be done, check out the SearchQuest blog. Instead of making posts that push our services all the time, the blog is packed full of information about the technological world that the company inhabits, with updates about Google as well as tips to help other brands market themselves effectively. We’ve created a blog that is a mixture of social events, industry news and even posts about the interests of our team – which are as diverse as wrestling and knitting – to showcase the individuals behind the brand name. As one of the UK’s first digital marketing organisations, the SearchQuest blog is used to establish the company as both an authority and a personality, so that clients can see that we’re not just the right people for the job, but the right people for their job. 

Go Beyond the Written Word

Of course, there’s a far more literal way to practice the ‘show, don’t tell’ mantra – and one that’s equally important – and that’s by using visual content. Slideshares, infographics, videos, memes… it all counts as content, and it’s all crucial if you want to catch your audience’s attention and captivate their imaginations.

This also applies to social media – in today’s connected world you cannot afford to neglect the platforms which your clients are almost certainly using. I’ve already mentioned how important it is to show your consumer-base that you’re one of them, and if you use social media effectively it can be the best place to do it. Think about the specific reasons that people head to different networking sites: Facebook is a space for relaxing and building connections, while Twitter is often where people go if they want to see what’s going on in the world right now, so tailor your content accordingly.

As an example of a brand that has mastered the ‘show, don’t tell’ technique – whether or not they had that phrase in mind - I’d like to draw your attention to Innocent Smoothies. Over the past few years, Innocent have managed to share a story about their brand with the general public, a story which has been built out of adverts that showcase success stories from the charities that they support, bottles featuring knitted hats designed to raise awareness and catch the eye of consumers, an unplugged festival which focuses on inspiring people to disconnect from the internet and get back to basics for a weekend of good music and human interaction.

 This is a story which speaks to a young audience with an increasing desire to find ways to connect on a global scale without losing the personal touch, and sets Innocent up as a company which shares those values – the consumer is sent a message that, although any smoothie might taste great, an Innocent smoothie is the option that helps you give something back. Their success shows how important it can be to build an entire world around your brand.

Time to get Technical

Following the ‘show, don’t tell’ model and actually connecting with your audience is a fantastic way to get ahead on Google, so it’s also incredibly important for the technical side of content marketing. For years, I’ve been telling people just how important it is to listen to Google’s guidelines – sadly I still see far too many people being tempted to put on the ‘black hat’ of bad SEO practices because it seems quicker. Sure, you may see fast results, but as we all should know by now, those results will be incredibly short lived.

I think that often this is because people are mistakenly considering their ranking on Google the end goal – high rankings by any means necessary, right? This is not the best way of looking at things! I think that it would be far more productive for us to remember that the results we strive for on Google are really just the next part of an ongoing process, the real aim of which is to get our voices heard by the consumers who are ready to listen.

By reconfiguring how you think about content marketing in this way, you begin to realise that every rule and guideline that Google puts in place is designed to help, not hinder. The Webmaster Guidelines that they have provided are a fantastic case in point – if you look at the quality section then you’ll see that Google approves of companies who ‘spend their energies upholding the spirit’ of the principles they’ve put in place… and if you look at those principles then you’ll see that they’re exactly what I’ve been talking about here: ways to actually engage your customers.

All that being said, it’s also important to recognise that Google is just one of many avenues which can drive people to your website. If Google chooses to change their policies tomorrow, knocking your site down the rankings, this doesn’t necessarily have to mean that your traffic gets cut off; just as you need to be creative with your content, you also need to be creative about how you get that content out to people. While Google is certainly a crucial tool of the trade, it’s equally important to use options that bypass Google completely – such as social media, and marketing banners which follow users across the internet after they spend some time browsing your site.

A Quick Round Up

There are two important lessons that I think should be taken away from all of this. The first is to always keep content quality at the top of your mind. Today I’ve talked about one way in which you can start to inject some creativity into your content, setting it apart from that of your competitors, and making it genuinely engaging once readers actually find it. Creative content which is actually worthy of your site and your brand has a lot more value.

Secondly, you can always stay one step ahead of your competitors simply by following Google’s guidelines now, rather than later. Don’t wait until you’ve already been penalised to change your practices; get ahead of the game by doing it from the start. Equally, you need to keep thinking about alternative ways to get your audience’s attention – not everybody will find you because they’re searching for something relevant, and utilising other options will allow you to interact with more spontaneous consumers.

I like to think that we’re moving into a whole new era of SEO: Search Experience Optimisation – with a focus on the superior experience that the user has when you provide natural, organic content that they can enjoy and benefit from. Use these tips to bring your brand best-foot-first into the new age.

I am the CEO and founder of SearchQuest, one of the UK’s first internet marketing agencies, a company which helps businesses put these principles into practice with top quality content and a wide range of other strategies.