You’re Repeating Yourself (but It’s Okay)
No one – no one – likes to hear those words. But we hear them a lot, for reasons that you might not expect. I’m here to tell you that some repetition is pretty important, as long as you use it to your advantage. And it’s also really effective.
Need proof? Think about how you learned your times tables, or how to write cursive, or the way you learn a song simply from hearing it over and over again. Aristotle said “frequent repetition produces a natural tendency,” and that “natural tendency” is what we aim to create when it comes to your marketing. We want people to naturally associate your firm’s name with resourcefulness and helpfulness. Repetition is the most valuable tool marketing has, and I can prove it to you right now.
Fill in the blanks: “We are Farmers, ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___!”
(You hummed, didn’t you? It’s okay. I hummed it while I typed it.)
The benefits of reinforcement
There are certain structures that we repeat from piece to piece: the use of H2s, the need for a call-to-action, the hyperlinked “contact us,” the use of key phrases based on your area of practice and where your firm is located. But there are two other kinds of repetition that I use, ah, repeatedly, to in order to make a point.
The first is definitions. Every time I write a blog on, say, car insurance, I make it a point to repeat what kind of regulations your state has in place. When a client reads a handful of my blogs in a row, I usually end up getting some questions like, “Why do you keep explaining what comparative fault is in each blog?” (Provided, of course, that you’re in a comparative fault state. But you get the idea.)
The reason is this: while I hope every person online reads every blog we write for you every day, I know that’s not realistic. So I put that definition in every insurance blog I write, because I never know which one is going to be read by whom. I also don’t know how much knowledge your potential clients have about the topic of fault. My job is to make sure that when someone comes to your site looking for help, he or she gets the right information, which will then lead to the right choice of calling you. I’d rather put it in over and over again just to make sure.
The other kind of repetition I use comes in the form of my sources. Whenever possible, I try to use at least two, maybe three, trusted sources in a blog to back up my point. It’s a holdover from my long-ago days as a student, yes – but it also shows that more than one person or entity is talking about a subject. This is crucial, because people tend to believe something is important when more than one person is talking about it, and joining in that conversation makes us feel better about ourselves.
(See what I did there?)
I think that we all accept a certain amount of repetition in content is bound to happen, even when we’re not sure how or why. I just wanted to remind you that it’s okay to repeat yourself every now and then, as long as you’re doing it in a way that exemplifies your brand. And if you need a little social proof of your own, I’ve got you covered.
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Still not sold on the benefits of reinforcement? Give Digital Law Marketing, Inc. a call and discuss it with us. You can fill out this contact form or call us at 877-916-0644 and learn more about how we can help.