By Joshua Nite

Never underestimate the corporate world’s ability to take something that should be intuitive, and make it weird by overthinking it.

Case in point: We used to say, “B2B doesn’t have to be boring.” Which indicates that for a long time, folks truly believed that B2B did have to be boring — that B2B buyers were a unique species of creature that operated without emotion and wanted the driest content possible.

Now we’re talking about how we need to “humanize” B2B content.  And doesn’t that sound like some kind of filter you run your content through after you make it? I picture something that looks like a fax machine, where you load the content in the top, and push a big red button marked “HUMANIZE.”

“We’re ready to ship that blog post, Johnson — wait! Don’t forget to humanize it!”

Now, I get that B2B brands are dealing with millions of dollars worth of business. It makes sense to be mindful about how you represent the brand. But there’s a difference between caution, and so much second-guessing that you end up having to relearn how to talk like people.

We can’t make content first, and then “humanize” it as an afterthought. Content should be about humans, by humans, and for humans, from the early planning stages to publication and beyond.

Here are a few ways you can make your content more relatable.

5 (More) Ways to Humanize Your Content

Nearly all of the marketers I know are actual humans (I’m still convinced Brian Solis is a highly advanced android from the future, but that’s beside the point). We’re all capable of making content for and by humans — we just need to unlearn some misconceptions and give ourselves permission to do it. These tips can help you start.

1 — Talk Like a Person

Corporate jargon is a language all its own, with its own vocabulary, cliches, and even sentence structure. It can sound stiff, dry and deeply unnatural to your audience.

For example, we might say: “Going forward, our software solution can be used by busy sales professionals to activate their data and achieve more meaningful results.”

When what we mean is: “You can find more potential prospects in your data with our solution.”

There are a few elements that set corporate-speak apart from actual human language:

• • Passive voice. For example, “This article was written by me” is passive. “I wrote this article” is active. Active voice is more powerful, more emotionally compelling, and far more natural.

• Lack of “I” and “you.” I blame high school English class for this one. Every piece of marketing content should have an actual author who is …read more

  Source:: Top Rank Blog