Wow. What a year it’s been! 

Even though this unprecedented year has led to a new normal for most of us, here at Acrolinx we’re taking the time to look back at some of our content highlights of 2020. 

So grab a cup of tea or coffee, settle into a comfy chair, and get some inspiration for your 2021 content goals.

Content Insiders

For the first time in 2020 Acrolinx powered a podcast series! Content Insiders brings you the scoop on how — with better content — business can differentiate and surpass their goals. Over 10 episodes, Acrolinx CEO Volker Smid interviewed Acrolinx customers and content leaders from IBM, Nestle, Ericsson, Citrix, and more. They shared important insights about how they’re improving their content asset and the great results they’re seeing.

If over the holiday period you’re having some Netflix fatigue, make sure to check out our Content Insiders homepage where you can listen or watch all 10 episodes. Content provides huge value to an enterprise, so it’s a vital aspect of any business strategy. And it’s time to unleash the full potential of your content asset!

“When business is digital, content is critical.”

Colleen Jones, Founder of Content Science, on Content Insiders

Here’s a taste of some of the awesome episodes that you really don’t want to miss:

Emotive Writing

Let’s talk about feelings!

Emotive language elevates your content to the next level — it resonates with your audience and motivates them to respond. However, emotional marketing isn’t manufacturing “fake” feelings or keyword stuffing emotive words. It’s using emotive language to help your customers feel understood. We wrote a blog post that outlines a four-step process for How to Use Emotion to Write With Purpose, to help content creators understand the role emotion plays in the reader’s experience. 

Emotive writing is such an important topic that one blog post wasn’t enough! You can learn how to make your content more effective and memorable by mapping it to the right emotions in our webinar, Emotive Writing: How to Create Content That Resonates With Your Audience. Grab some popcorn (or maybe some holiday leftover snacks) and explore how emotion relates to content, why it’s important, and how you can apply it. 

If this is a topic you’re really interested in, also make sure to check out our Writing With Feeling: A Guide to Emotive Language for More Effective Content, for a more in-depth and technical perspective. 

Empathy in the Workplace

As content creators become increasingly focused on how to write with emotion, many brands are shifting their tone of voice to show more compassion and mindfulness. As such, it’s crucial to understand empathy and why it’s important at work. Our blog post, What is Empathy and Why is it Important at Work includes our top five tips for communicating with empathy in business. 

In workplace and enterprise communication, empathetic language fosters a culture of respect and inclusion. But having a basic understanding of empathy and actually putting it into practice in your content are two very different things. In the Acrolinx guide Empathy in the Workplace: Humanizing Content for a Better World you’ll learn about:

  • The role of machine learning in empathetic communication
  • Some surprising examples of empathetic language 
  • The importance of ethics in AI empathy analysis

Communicating with empathy has never been more important than in 2020. Whether you’ve adapted to a new work-from-home environment or had to start a new profession entirely, we’ve all had a lot on our plate this year. But one thing’s clear — business priorities are changing. Digital transformation has increased the need for digital skills. And companies are making upskilling and reskilling initiatives a priority. 

Learn how you can incorporate inclusive e-Learning solutions into your business strategy to help create the workforce of tomorrow in our blog Upskilling and e-Learning: Critical Tools for a Changing Workforce.

Inclusive Language 

Acrolinx is on a mission to help global companies eradicate exclusionary language from their content. And one of the highlights of our content calendar was the much anticipated Inclusive Language: The Path to Respectful Content, Connections, and Companies webinar! 

We discussed how to pair inclusive language with meaningful action, with two expert panelists Vivian Acquah (she/her) and Theresa Hein (she/her). We likewise explored the challenges that global companies face when creating inclusive content and how the right technology can help. This is one webinar you really don’t want to miss!

Acrolinx also interviewed DEI advocate and webinar panelist Vivian Acquah in a recent blog. Vivian answered all of your burning questions on diversity, inclusion, and inclusive language. As well as sharing some common misconceptions about diversity and inclusion, Vivian also explains how you can measure the success of your diversity and inclusion initiative.  

But, if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty of inclusive language, such as examples of inclusive language (and how to do it best), the role of design in inclusive content, and the capabilities of diversity and inclusion technology, look no further than the Acrolinx Inclusive Language Guide. It’s the ultimate companion to help your enterprise bring inclusivity into your content strategy. 

Content Marketing and Brand Voice

Content marketing strategy — think you’ve heard it all before? Think again.

Learn how to build a winning content marketing strategy (that’s cost effective and efficient) in just seven steps in our blog Turn Your Content Marketing Strategy into Content Marketing Success. What’s more, it’s also time to start building greater synergy between content creation and SEO. If you’re still optimizing content for search after it’s written, you’re missing a trick! Check out these five steps for creating high-ranking content your customers will love to read. 

Successful content marketing centers around a recognizable brand voice. And building a great brand voice is tricky. But what’s even more challenging? Maintaining that brand voice consistently across all customer touchpoints. Acrolinx’s award winning blog You’ve Built a Great Brand Voice. Here’s How to Maintain It explores this and much more. Start 2021 on the right foot by focusing on alignment, consistency, and compliance when it comes to brand voice. 

It’s also worth remembering that your brand isn’t static. And with the coming of the new year you might be considering a refresh. Rebranding can redefine your entire brand identity, or simply update aspects of it. Learn how you can successfully rebrand in eight steps in our guide: Revitalize and Refresh! A Guide to Smart Rebranding!

Customer Experience

Combining a successful content marketing strategy with a consistent brand voice, results in awesome experiences for your customers. But where does customer experience begin? Here’s a clue — it starts with your content. Poorly crafted content ruins customer experiences every day and our guide Where Does Customer Experience Begin? shows you why you need to adopt an integrated approach to content metrics and content creation. You’ll learn about:

  • The importance of data in content creation
  • Why holistically created content leads to better customer experiences
  • A four-step process for building content that supports the right customer journey

If putting your customers first is one of your new year resolutions, you’ll want to download our eBook: Customer Experience Matters! The Content Guide to Better CX. This extensive eBook explores why content can make your CX better, faster! We’ll show you the content qualities that’ll give your customers the best experience and how to create a content operation that delivers great CX. 

For some lighter CX reading, take a look at our blog Microcopy — Small Words of Big Importance. Microcopy is an integral part of the digital marketing landscape. Read on to learn how you can enhance your customer experience by focusing on the little details! 

2020 has been the year of digital experiences. 

Whether you’re connecting with family and friends virtually over the holidays or buying products and services online, our customer experiences are increasingly digital. It’s only natural that as more of our lives take place online that we hunger for something more genuine. As such, the role of authenticity and truth is occupying a larger space in marketing. Check out our blog The Role of Authenticity and Truth in Marketing to learn how and why brands need to adapt to the changing desires of their customers to provide more honest and transparent experiences. 

Terminology

Whether it’s improving customer experiences or ensuring accurate translations of content, there are lots of benefits when using clear and consistent terminology. Earlier in the year, our blog Terminology: Putting the Concept into Practice took an in-depth look at the role of terminology in enterprise content from a linguistic perspective. Often an unsung hero, terminology is a major component of brand voice, content marketing strategy, and customer experience. 

Building on our first terminology blog, we wanted to explore the importance of a terminology council. The Role of the Enterprise Terminology Council looks at what a terminology council should do and how to make it successful. Considering the benefits include a consistent brand voice, reduced confusion, and lower translation costs, you won’t want to miss this one!

And That’s a Wrap!

We hope that you’re able to use some of the awesome resources we created this year and incorporate them into your content goals for 2021. Keep an eye out for what’s to come next year and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook so you don’t miss a thing! And if you want to learn more about how Acrolinx can help improve your content in 2021, let’s talk. 

From all of us here at Acrolinx, we wish you a Happy Holiday and all the best for the New Year!