Accessible Expertise: Balancing Brand Messaging and Technical Detail in Climate Tech Web Copy

How to ensure technological benefits don’t drown out your brand’s narrative

Until AI-powered search totally devours the web, a brand’s site is still the cornerstone of any content strategy. Social and email campaigns are essential parts of the climate tech marketing toolbox, but each channel has its own constraints. A website on the other hand has almost limitless potential, which unfortunately is not matched by audience attention. That’s why it’s so important to find the right balance between telling a compelling brand story and delivering the in-depth technical details that make it believable. Here’s a few tips that you can use to achieve that equilibrium.

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Tailor each page’s content to the intended audience

Different groups will visit your website for different reasons. You can ensure each one finds what they’re looking for by adjusting the depth of detail on different sections of your site. Sections that most visitors are likely to visit, like the home, team, or about page, should tell the brand’s core story without going overboard on the details. Focus on delivering the key messages that everyone needs to understand about the brand, then back them up with supporting evidence to demonstrate expertise. This lets lay people grasp the big picture while proving credibility for more technical visitors.

As you get to more specialized pages, like those focused specifically on products or technologies, it’s time to switch things up. The audience for these pages skews more technical, and they’re looking to see whether you can back up your high-level claims. You still need to keep brand-level messaging in mind, but it’s not the priority. Lay out your solution’s unique benefits, dive into why you’re the best option, and how you’ll solve the problem. Even here, though, it’s important not to dive too deeply into the nitty gritty. You’re still on the web, and even technical experts and decision makers don’t spend that much time reading websites. Instead, use this as a place to invite deeper inquiry from potential prospects and justify the decision to purchase your product. 

Integrate technical and narrative elements

When you’re trying to convey both a brand story and in-depth details, it can be easy to wind up with two distinct content streams that don’t really complement each other. Ensuring the technical story supports the overall brand narrative doesn’t just simplify the reading experience for your audience, it strengthens your entire messaging framework. 

One easy way to do this is by emphasizing your brand message in headlines, then bringing in the crunchy stuff via supporting copy. This creates built-in reasons for your audience to believe the messages in each headline, while still allowing casual readers to grasp the story. It also creates opportunities to tie key product features directly to brand–level benefits, planting the seeds for future campaigns.

Use analogy to create familiarity

When you’re trying to get people to understand something new, one of the best tricks is to compare it to something old. A good analogy is like a bridge, connecting two distinct ideas and creating a path between what your audience knows and what you want them to understand. One classic example is the idea of horsepower, which created an obvious way for equestrian understanders to grasp the potential impact of an internal combustion engine (ICE). 

Horsepower also shows us how analogies can evolve over time and allow for new types of understanding. Electric motors are fundamentally different from ICEs and most appropriately measured in kilowatts, not horsepower. To simplify this difference for buyers, EV manufacturers did the math to determine that each kilowatt is equivalent to approximately 1.34 horsepower. So now car buyers can accurately compare the power of their EV to an ICE via a metric based on the strength of an animal that many of them likely have no real frame of reference for – all through the power of analogy.

In summary

If we’re going to preserve the livability of our planet, it’s not enough to create brilliant new technological solutions – we need people to use them. Climate solutions have to be accessible and approachable precisely because the climate crisis is so overwhelming. Clear, engaging web copy is one of the simplest ways to cut through the noise and ensure that climate-smart solutions aren’t just available, but enthusiastically adopted. Using the techniques outlined above is one way to build an inspiring brand presence and deliver the impact our planet needs.

At Alder, we believe even the most complex climate tech solutions can be conveyed in simple, evocative language that moves audiences and drives adoption. If you're interested in seeing how we can streamline your communications and make sure your message gets across, book a time on our calendar and let’s talk about a potential partnership.