Choose the Right Point of View

Great quality content is one of the most crucial ingredients for a successful website and a lucrative business. The phrase content is king might be terribly clichéd, but it is nonetheless true. Readers and potential customers have high expectations of the websites they view. Failing to impress means losing site visitors and the potential income they represent.

Point of view is one of the major considerations in producing impressive content of a textual nature. Choosing the right POV sets the tone for a piece of web content and determines how well readers connect with the piece and the organization. There are three points of view from which to choose.

First Person POV

This one tends to be casual and personal. Pieces in this point of view use pronouns such as “I” or “We” for the subject. The narrative is from the perspective of the author.

“I think you will enjoy this brief piece about choosing a point of view.”

(or)

“I tested this digital media product thoroughly, and it ranked highly in several categories.”

In these examples, the point of view is that of the author. They express the author’s personal thoughts. As seen in the second example, the first person POV can be great for reviews. For most business purposes, though, the first person point of view is not appropriate. It lacks a professional tone, and it often fails to connect the reader to the business. A more meaningful and productive connection usually comes from the second person POV.

Second Person POV

In this point of view, a piece is written from the perspective of the reader. It uses “you” and “your” to establish the point of view. This is the perspective that has the best chance of connecting the reader to the business and its purpose.

“You will see better results in connecting to readers when you use this POV.”

(or)

“You are more likely to enjoy an article if you feel it was written with your perspective and experiences in mind.”

This POV can be confused at times with the first person POV because there is an occasional “we” or “our” sprinkled into the text. Look at this next example, for instance.

“You will understand this more clearly when you purchase one of our content creation packages.”

In the example above, the perspective is still with the reader, but the sentence references the business providing the text. The key is to stay with the second person point of view while still mentioning the role of the business. It can be a little tricky, but experienced content writers understand how to adhere to the correct point of view.

Third Person POV

When the desire is to create an authoritative voice, third person is the best POV to apply. This point of view is inherently objective in it presentation, making it ideal as a perspective for providing information with a ring of authority. Content classified as articles will generally use a third person POV. The third person POV typically uses “they” or “it” to establish the perspective, if a perspective is explicitly expressed at all.

“Most organizations will use the third person POV to convey objectivity and unbiased professionalism.”

The point of view in this example is generalized, with the pronoun of “they” being implied through the use of “most organizations” in this case. The information in the text could apply to any organization, and it is presented as factual.

That same sentence can be rewritten in three ways, depending on the point of view chosen.

First Person: “I will use the third person POV to convey objectivity and unbiased professionalism.”

(or)

Second Person: “You will use the third person POV to convey objectivity and unbiased professionalism.”

(or as originally presented)

Third Person: “Most organizations will use the third person POV to convey objectivity and unbiased professionalism.”

Making a Final Decision

Ultimately, the choice for point of view in a piece of content will depend on the goals for the page. The type of connection desired is the foundation of the decision. Understand that, and the best selection becomes a little clearer.

Contact us for a quote on providing quality content for your website needs.