How to create content that leads with value
When we create an organization or business, it starts with an aspiration or a vision of what we want to create in the world. We see a gap in service or a problem we can uniquely offer a solution to, and underlying it is often a set of values or big-picture truths we hold important.
It’s through these values that we have the potential to build connection and resonance with others. For example, company values often serve as a way to create alignment within an organization, inspiring staff to work from a place of shared purpose. When it comes to marketing and communications, leading with value works to build a deep and meaningful connection with an audience that shares your values or aligns with your vision.
Unfortunately, it’s extremely common for organizations and individuals to do marketing and communication from their perspective: here’s what we do and how we do it. It’s also easy, over time, to disconnect from our original intention or our vision. But if we can instead flip that script, we have the opportunity to connect with our audience from a deeper place of inspiration or an understanding of their greatest pain points.
Values-based communications framework
The concept of values-based messaging is universal and it works the same across different types of content, regardless of whether you’re writing a blog post, an email or a piece of content. We also use it as the foundation for our organizational narrative and messaging frameworks.
The equation is simple, and we credit it to The Opportunity Agenda, a non-profit communications lab that supports social justice organizations in developing compelling narratives and messages.
Here are your writing prompts:
Value
Is there a timeliness to what you’re writing about?
What is the bigger picture and the goals we’re aligned with?
Are there certain values or truths that underly why your organization exists?
Are there aspirations for what you hope to accomplish?
Problem
What is the current situation that needs to be addressed?
What are the problems or challenges preventing us from achieving these goals or aspirations?
Solutions
What are your solutions to these problems?
How are you uniquely equipped to solve these challenges?
What are the ways in which you’re doing it?
Action
What does your audience do next and how do they take action?
The structure is simple, but we may have several messages for each, depending on what you’re writing about.
If we’re helping you with your organizational narrative, for example, you may have several underlying values and problems, and the solution is you and how you do your work. Once you’ve fleshed out these key messages, though, you can create a streamlined framework for how you talk about your brand.
If you’re writing a blog post or an email calling someone to take, there may be a certain timeliness to the issue or a bigger picture goal that hooks your audience. From there, it’s acknowledging the barriers that prevent us from achieving this goal, and the solutions you’re offering to move us through these challenges.
The values of your audience
Another key part of this process is to really understand who your audience is and what they care about. We may think we know their pain points and aspirations, but until we do our research to truly understand them, our messages may be a shot in the dark.
The sweet spot of communications is the intersection between your values and an understanding of your audience’s values – and doing this research can make your messages even more compelling.
Connecting others to your authentic and wholehearted voice
Again, we love this structure because it makes for communications that build connection and resonance with your audience, but we also strongly believe in the underlying values and aspirations that drive entrepreneurs, and especially women, to create solutions to some of our greatest problems. Creating content that leads from a place of value allows you to emanate your authentic and wholehearted voice.
Want support in creating your organizational narrative and messaging framework and getting a better understanding of your audience? Let’s chat!
