How COVID-19 is reshaping the art—and science—of business writing

It’s one thing to reach out to customers with AI-based targeting, and another to achieve an emotional connection — especially in the era of COVID-19, judging by Leveraging the Power of Language, a study from Phrasee, conducted by Dynata.

Of the companies polled, 64% say language has never been more important than it is now. But it’s not clear that they are cultivating empathy and compassion.

For example, 32% feel the importance of language is the same as before COVID-19, and 4% say there is no impact. Why bother trying to change?

Yet 30% of the respondents say their CEO now pays more attention to the power of language.

For beleaguered email copywriters, that could mean a barrage of 2 a.m. copy corrections. Or it could lead to additional deployment of technology, and loss of copywriting jobs.

As things stand now, 36% of brands have an insufficient number of staff writers. And 37% complain of a lack of funds invested in content creation.

Moreover, 37% say too little time is spent on content. And 51% are unable to create “consistent messaging across all channels, at scale, and aligned to their brand,” the study says.

The bottom line is that 82% are struggling to create high-quality content.