A writer is a lot like a lawyer.
Anyone can write, just like anyone has the right to defend themselves in court.
By choosing a lawyer or writer, you know the outcome is going to be better than going it on your own.
We both make beautiful arguments on your behalf. We defuse skepticism and introduce evidence in a way that shifts the beliefs of strangers. We bring them over to our side.
Unlike a lawyer, a writer may never get the whole story. There is no protected writer-client privilege.
And that’s too bad.
A writer’s job is, and always will be, to sell your product. A writer’s job is, and always will be, to find ways of convincing people that you are worth the investment. A writer’s job is, and always will be, to earn the loyalty of customers. The third part of the job – loyalty – cannot be obtained without a consistent foundation of trust. Under the foundation of trust is a bedrock of honesty.
If you fail to tell your writer flaws about your organization, how can a writer defend you?
Here’s what I mean:
Pretend you own a small cuckoo clock shop. As the owner, you hand-make every clock. And they’re truly beautiful. You ask your writer to tell people about your beautiful, hand-crafted clocks. You also recommend that the writer include statements that your clocks are made in America.
For a while, everything is going great. Your social media page is buzzing. You’re getting press. You’re completely booked out for the next six months.
All of a sudden, someone discovers the gears in your clocks are made overseas. That one person starts a firestorm on your social media account by claiming that your clocks are not made in America. They might not realize your gears are made in Europe, but just by hearing that your gears are made overseas, they assume some impoverished child is slaving away for 13 hours a day in a sweatshop making your gears. Because they are anonymous and on the Internet, they can say pretty much whatever they want. The rumor is started. It’s out there. There’s no going back.
Instead of working on back orders, you’re bending over backwards to save business.
Something as small as gears severely wounded the brand.
Had your writer known about this in advance, they would’ve omitted the “Made in America” line or put together something about how you assemble the clocks in America. The gears could have been a selling point. Your writer may have written about the tradition of clock making in Europe and how your clocks celebrate that heritage with an American twist.
Years ago, shortcomings could be offset by a consistent barrage of messaging and advertising. Brands could weave a beautiful rug and blanket the airwaves until the issue was addressed or forgotten altogether. Companies rarely had to fess up about problems. Social media changed all that.
For years, companies and marketers alike have been conditioned to focus on messaging that highlights strength. That hasn’t changed, per se, but with consumer input becoming more and more accessible, the time will come when organizations will need to acknowledge weakness and develop ways to address it. Savvy companies educate writers and marketers on their pitfalls, allowing their hired guns to prepare for any backlash. If something happens online, the company can be proactive.
A person’s doubt and built-up resilience against advertising works to blast apart your brand on the stand (or the shelf). Every exposure to a brand is a cross-examination. Writers craft answers for every objection. Be sure your company gives your writer the tools to prepare for a surprise witness (blogger). Let your writer tell your closing arguments with the heart-tugging, emphatic and animated dialogue you see in the Hollywood films. Let your writer defend you and do what they were meant to do – sway a jury of consumers.