Creating content is extremely important. Seems obvious, right? Well, many companies struggle with not only creating content but creating the right content. And without the right content, how do you attract customers? How do people know who you are?
I like to think that content is queen. While data is king, content is the other piece of the puzzle when it comes to connecting to your consumers. Content helps consumers establish trust with your brand – it is the bridge from leads to sales. But there is one problem: people hate sponsored content.
Think about it, when was the last time you were genuinely excited about an ad that popped up in the middle of your favorite TV show? Or during the middle of your online shopping spree? My guess is probably never, or at least not for a while.
So how do you break through the noise and get people to see and engage with your content?
Let’s look at four key strategies you should incorporate into your content to get consumers knocking at your door.
1. Make it meaningful
Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you are lucky enough to get people to pay attention to your content, you can’t waste time with filler words. Keep it simple, and make the focus of your content what you want your consumers to take away.
A great way to do this is by creating action steps. Tell your consumers what to do and why in a short, simple way. For example, a post that says “Stop eating dairy, it causes breakouts” compared to a post that includes an entire article citing all the studies that tell you dairy causes breakouts will get your audience’s attention faster and get them to start thinking.
Keep it short, sweet and directional. As consumers, we need some direction.
2. Make it visual
In addition to being meaningful, your content needs to be easy on the eye. Think about the last example with the dairy posts — the social media post works better than the article isn’t just because it’s short, but because an Instagram infographic is easier on the eye than an entire article.
If I am scrolling on social media, I am not looking to read an entire article. If you are trying to sell me something, catch my eye, and tell me what I need to know.
3. Make it trendy and original
This sounds like a juxtaposition, I know. How can something be both on trend and original? What I mean by this is your content should at least be up to date. For example, if your target market is high fashion corporate workers and they’re really into long gloves, you don’t have to start selling long gloves, but you could create content that showcases your products that would complement that new trend.
You don’t have to drop everything to get on the trending bandwagon. But your content should reflect your cognizance of the market you’re in. That is also why I stress being original — if you constantly change your company’s identity to whatever’s trending, no one will trust or buy from you. Know who you are, know what your company can offer and know that you can combine market trends with your authentic brand.
4. Make it alluring
Lastly, your content shouldn’t give everything away. Your content should leave your consumers wanting more. In other words, wait to deliver the punchline. If you put everything on the table, you won’t have anything more to offer your consumers once they engage further with your brand. Put some value on the table up front, but don’t be too generous.
For example, I send content with tons of value and advice to my clients. But I don’t give them all of my knowledge — I exhibit my authority in the field, create trust with my clients and form genuine relationships, but I don’t just tell them everything they need to succeed and send them away. I show them that if they can learn this much from me in a 20-minute client call, they can learn much more by partnering with me.
Content creation is hard. Creating an engaging, informative and effective marketing piece is no easy task. But if you keep it short, informative and alluring, your consumers will put the work in to find you. And that is right where you want to be.
