Okay, Okay Not Okay Enough in Business Blogging

Besides being innovative and funny, the Progresso Soup ads are onto something,
I think, that needs to be top of mind for Indianapolis blog writers. The commercial teaches us to tailor our message to those people who won’t be saying “O-kay” in a bored tone of voice.

I confess that I really love all the Progresso Soup ads.  Since I’m a writer of SEO marketing blogs and a corporate blogging trainer, there’s one that really hit me between the eyes. This lady calls a Progresso chef to express her delight that she’s lost weight and now fits into her old jeans.  Each time she tries to tell him how excited she is about this, the chef merely replies “O-kay” in a bored way, like “So what?” – he doesn’t get it. Finally the caller says “Is there a woman I can talk to?”

My point is that anyone who does blog content writing needs to accept that not every reader who arrives at your business blog is going to “get it”.  In corporate blog posts, you target a particular audience and work to address their needs. As time passes, you continually hone your content in light of your own deepening understanding of what makes that group of people “tick”.

Before I write a Say It For You blog post, I noodle around the Internet for info and comments, and, in this one instance, I was thinking about Progresso.  I found a blog post that reinforced my point about not every reader “getting” it. This blog was posted by a lady who absolutely hates the very same Progresso ad I’ve been praising. She says it “grinds her gears” “How $-%-^-&-0-* (don’t read her post if you hate bad language) depressing that the commercial lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that men don’t have to go through dieting hell to achieve anything…”

Progresso hadn’t started their wonderful ad series yet, but four years ago I was talking about the same “getting it” idea in a Say It For You post about the Alice Cooper rock band.  When the band decided to have a man dressed in tattered women’s clothing and makeup, their motto was “If the parents hate it, the kids will love it.”

Narrow down your target market, I advise business owners in corporate blogging training
sessions.  Figure out what you have that those people want and need. Then speak to that audience through your blog. If the “wrong” readers hate your business blog, or just say “O-kay. O-kay.” in a bored kind of voice – that’s OK! The right readers will love it!