Content Voice Lessons from ‘Girl in a Country Song’
I am not a country music fan. Oh sure, there is the occasional song that makes me laugh, smile and sing along. I am, however, a fan of Tae and Maddie, a new blonde country duo that penned “Girl in a Country Song.” And I think the song offers some invaluable lessons for businesses on finding your content voice.
Content Voice
Here is Why I Love This Song and Why I think Businesses Can Learn From it
1. Find your content voice. Agree or disagree – it doesn’t matter. Fed up with the depiction of women in country music, these two take that issue head on and unabashedly. This song is fun, smart, and has a powerful point of view. And these young women fit certainly fit the mold of women in country music – only they aren’t having it. So, businesses, find your voice and definitive point of view.
2. Challenge the status quo. Challenging the marketing status quo is a great thing if you are committed to it. Tae and Maddie represent a point of view that is rare in country music – that of a young, self-actualized, modern female audience. Outside of Taylor Swift, there are few voices here. and fewer still who are willing to turn accepted practices upside down and do it in a fun way. Challenge what’s just ‘simply’ accepted out there. Be committed and don’t be afraid to poke holes in conventional practice.
3. Have a sense of humor! I LOVE not only that these two young women question the status quo of female depiction in country music, they do it with humor and do it well. Humor is a great device for making your point heard – especially when you are telling the status quo to shove it! These young women use a role reversal (they even flip a ‘role reversal’ switch in the video to make the point) or what’s called a ‘status shift’ in improv, to turn the tables on the guys.
Screen Shot from Girl in a Country Song
Once the switch is hit, three men – now dressed as women in full-on sexy daisy dukes shorts – are having to pose, preen, and mug for the camera in women’s clothes while men whistle, ogle and make comments.
Screen shot from Girl in a Country Song video
ant to turn things upside down? Elevate the status of a group that is under-represented in your business. This is something I’ve written about before, most recently in my ebook on Amazon.com on how to add humor to your content marketing. Raise the status of voices who don’t dominate and lower the status of the dominant majority – it’s fun and non-threatening way to convey the sense of imbalanced equity: “hey, if the scales were tipped the other way, here’s the world we’d see.”
What do you think about the video? What do you think makes a great content voice?
