SmartDraw’s Visual Grammar for Business shows how to take your content marketing to the next level by providing genuinely insightful user information.

A lot of what passes for content marketing and white papers is often generic capabilities and benefits, combined with strategy and tactical information based on the vendor’s key product attributes.

That’s not the case, as you’ll see when you download SmartDraw’s Visual Grammar for Business: Bridging the Visual Language Barrier that you can view as a presentation or download as a PDF.

Creating a brand by taking a stand

After discussing the advantages of visual communications, Visual Grammar for Business shows how the unrestrained use of visual tools can confuse, rather than enhance, the message.

Then, on page 7, SmartDraw takes a stand by issuing a 2-rule manifesto that can be universally applied to all types of business graphics, helping authors and business marketers avoid many common problems. In the language of Visual Grammar for Business:

All business graphics, including flowcharts, mind maps, organization charts, and other visuals that involve shapes and lines, must follow these 2 simple rules:

1. The Consistency Rule
2. The 1-Page Rule
   

The remainder of Visual Grammar for Business describes the 2 rules in greater detail, showing how they apply to several different types of graphics. Before and after illustrations drive home the importance of the 2 rules.

When you finish the 17 page report, you not only have a better understanding of what SmartDraw’s software is all about, plus you’re grateful to the brand for providing information you can implement with any software.

Sparking conversation

Equally important, in today’s social media world, something else happens when you issue a manifesto or set of rules: you spark a conversation.

Issuing 2 rules begs a reaction; Who says? Why aren’t there 3 rules? Here’s an exception! etc.

Manifestos and rules build dialog, and dialog builds engagement. So, even if some people take exception to the rules, the content marketer ultimately benefits!

Does your content marketing really educate your users?

The wealth of quality content marketing options on the web are raising the level of customer and prospect expectations. The content bar is constantly being raised. SmartDraw’s Visual Grammar for Business does an excellent of taking content marketing to the next level by sharing valuable, universal principles. What do you think? More important, can you share any other examples of similar content marketing excellence?