Page 67 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

27 HOW WEB 2.0 CHANGES
YOUR COPY

Web 2.0 is all about user-generated content, social networks, new
ways of hooking up with people, and, inevitably, new ways of making
money. It also places a premium on truth over hype. Integrity over
gloss. Real people over corporate flacks. (Or, to put it another way,
the lunatics have taken over the asylum.)

Now this doesn’t mean you have to redesign and rewrite your website
to emulate the near chaos of many blogs and shared community
sites. But maybe you should take a long hard look at your site and
ask a few questions.

The idea

From several slick corporate websites
Surf the web for a few minutes and you’ll inevitably come across
dozens of beautiful yet strangely uncompelling websites. They are
too slick, too old-school corporate communications and definitely
not Web 2.0 in tone. Here are some questions to run against your
own site.

Have we used a slick library image of someone beautiful? (Hint,
most people don’t relate to these shots because they portray an
unrealistic world where every managing director, IT manager, and
indeed carpenter is straight out of central casting.)

Have we hidden any trace of humanity? (Hint, without photos of
your staff, your principals, or your customers, people are going
to start wondering who’s really behind your business. Without
engaging copy that sounds like a real person wrote it, you’re

58 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS