Beware of Marketing Hype: Even the “greats like Apple” fall into this trap
Good website copywriting means really espousing the features and benefits of your product so that your consumers can make an educated decision (from their computers) about whether they should buy your product or not. But look at this massive #Fail by Apple.
A bit of background (iPhone vs. Nexus):
The iPhone enjoys a huge market share, but Google's Nexus smartphone is bringing heat to the game. You probably know someone with an iPhone 5. Most of the people I know who have an iPhone 5 have had previous incantations of the same phone, or competitor smartphones (e.g. Blackberry, etc.) and were switched to iPhone 5 last year for work (i.e. not a personal choice). Other people in my network are very excited about the Nexus 5, and having held and played with their phones, I can see what attracts them.
I’m usually a big Apple proponent, but in the last 18 months, there have been a few things happening that decrease the quality of product in my experience and so my loyalty has become less entrenched. And then a few really nice features stand out on the iPhone's chief competitor, like the fact that the Nexus phone is so light in my hands, it doesn't present the same ergonomic pains I have with reading on my iPhone. The Nexus also has a processor stronger than most laptops, I'm told, and you can notice this in the zero hang-time between heavy apps and videos opening, or trying to do multiple things at once (e.g. email a webpage to someone).
But the reason I'm telling you all of this is because my phone contract is coming up in a few months, so like most consumers, I went online to complete some research.
Apple's website copy for the iPhone 5:
Have a look at the underlined phrases in this copy. None of the points help me decide whether I should buy Nexus 5 or iPhone 5 next. Apple's copywriters are simply assuming we will buy on the belief that Apple is simply wonderful. But not only is that a bit cocky, it can really backfire.
Every time you write to your audience, you have a chance to reinforce why your product is the best. But they aren't telling us anything with this marketing copy about what the product is, does or excels in.
This copy expects me to buy into the hype of the Apple brand.
That's pretty risky in the tech industry where big competitors have the capacity to catch up to Apple. Lesson #1 is not to rely on brand history and customer loyalty in your online content marketing. The iPhone’s main page website copywriting takes customer loyalty for granted and doesn't arm me with any reason to "stay loyal."
But I still love many other Apple products, even if the iPhone 5 has been labelled a 'lunch bag letdown' by so many in my life. And on that point, the iPhone 5's sales copy on this Apple page just seems very “un-Apple” - to the iPhone 5's detriment.
Is this marketing copy purposely vague, as if to cover up the flaws with the iPhone 5?
Look at the bursting features and benefit confidence for the MacBook Pro - a product that is well reviewed and untouchable in its space for quality.
vs Google’s Nexus 5 Marketing Copy
Instead, look at how a company - who is looking to win more brand evangelists - uses their marketing copy opportunity to convert you (see the red underlines).
They don’t waste your precious reading energy with empty sentences. Instead, every sentences is jam-packed with features and the associated benefit so you know what you’re buying and what you're getting.
At the end of the day, when it comes to companies marketing competitive smartphones, Google has a massive win over Apple here. Your website copywriting matters, don’t rely on marketing hype to sell your product online - it’s a waste of eager customers’ time.
