Copywriting is an important aspect in design communication. Regrettably, copywriting gets overlooked in most marketing collaterals that we encounter. The neglect of good copywriting will often cause the finished marketing collateral to suffer as much or more that a poor design. On the other hand, good copywriting will greatly improve the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. Because words are powerful, great copywriting is important in design.
In marketing, content is king and distribution is queen. When we consider the distribution of a marketing campaign, we are concerned about how the marketing message is being shared out, the frequency of sharing the message and how much audience the message will reach. When we mention content, we are talking about the two elements that compose a marketing message – design and copy. Let’s delve deeper to see why copy is important and beneficial in graphic design.
The Copy Guides the Audience
The copy with proper hierarchy will guide the audience through the entire visual. It facilitates the dissemination of information. The copy tells the audience what action to perform. This is the most important reason for copywriting. Brand stewards desire their audience to act to their call. A call to action may be to click a link, fill up an online form, purchase a product or recommend a service.
The Copy is Part of Your Branding Effort
The copy is a symbol that represents your brand name. A company’s vision and mission statement, slogans and core values are defined with words. These words steer brand stewards toward the ultimate brand or business goal. Brand stewards define perceivable promises that people can interpret. A good copy is capable of associating a product in the audiences’ minds.
The copy sets the brand persona. What personality are you trying to establish for your brand? If your audience is a young crowd, you may want to speak young. Speak their #lingo! YOLO! Do it right or not at all! Speaking the same lingo establishes a relationship with your audience. You get the idea.
Understand branding. It’ll give you a clearer picture of how you’d use copywriting to improve your marketing campaign.
The Copy and Visual Work in Unison
In design, words and visuals are inseparable. They work in unison. They have a very intimate relationship and how much spark they create depends on the capability of the designer. If the idea of a marketing collateral is being carried by a bent headline, a straight visual acts as a juxtaposition that surprises the audience. If the idea of a marketing collateral is being carried by some creative twist (bent) in the visual, a straight headline helps the audience in comprehending the marketing proposition. Two straights is a common and conservative way of design. To some, it may be boring and forgettable. Two bents make a design piece incomprehensible. A straight and bent probably evokes the most ideal response on audiences. It creates juxtaposition, amazes the audience and imprints the proposition on them.
The Copy Evokes an Emotion
In communication, before your audience perform the desired action, you must make them feel an emotion – one that compels them to heed your call to action. Consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Write a copy that promises to satisfy your audience’s needs. When you provide for them emotionally, they will most likely to heed your call to action.
The Copy Conveys Your Marketing Message
A good copy can communicate in a more precise manner compared to imageries. Marketing collaterals communicated predominantly through copy is a plenty. On the other hand, we can hardly catch a marketing campaign that relies solely on graphical visuals (without the use of words). The understanding of words relies on linguistic competence and is impartial whereas the comprehension of images relies on semiotic competence which is subjective. This is why copy is important and it is a more precise way to convey your marketing message.
The Copy Matters in the Online World
You may have the best product or service and great looking website for your company. But if you do not use the correct words on your website, you won’t rank well on Search Engine Ranked Pages. Do you understand your audience well enough? What keywords do they use when they search for your trade? Google Adwords is a great tool that helps you understand what people are searching. Your webpage URLs, the textual content of your webpage, the file name of your images. They are all part of a search engine’s algorithm to rank your webpage in searches.
Copywriting is essential in design communication. Think about what you want to say in your next marketing campaign. Consider a capable copywriter who can improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
