I think we can all agree that most businesses and organisations need to be paying actual attention social media and content marketing these days. It was fine to put it on the back burner early on; to see how this whole digital thing was all gonna shake out. But with the impact and effectiveness of digital now well and truly established, that will no longer suffice.
The time is now! If you haven’t already started flexing your digital reach or you want to expand it, make sure you read our earlier tips and then come back here for a few more tips for creating the best content you can.
Get reading.
To write great content, READ great content. You will start picking up patterns, ideas and rhythms that inform your own work.
Find YOUR voice.
Other writing is for inspiration and ideas, not mimicking. Authenticity in content marketing – and social media, for that matter – are crucial. Your audience can’t respond to you if ‘you’ are not there.
GRAB the reader.
There is a lot of content out there, a lot of sites to visit – all within one click’s reach. It’s far too easy for your audience to be elsewhere so hook them right away with a headline they can’t ignore.
Numbers, digits, lists, questions…
Looks matter.
Formatting makes reading easier and helps keep people engaged. People do not read online the same way they do on paper, so it is important to avoid long blocks of text and endless paragraphs. Here are some ways to do that:
- Sub-headers – like headlines – draw attention but also provide visual breathing room so use them to break up text you feel might be getting a bit lengthy.
- Lists are your friend so make use of bullet points
- Images boost engagement – use them liberally in social media and in content marketing of all kinds. They can be photos, illustrations, charts, diagrams, infographics, etc. But use them.
Quality Also Matters.
Edit, proofread and edit again. This does not mean using spellcheck. It means another set of eyes – belonging ideally to someone who didn’t write it – checking it over.
Now, a lot of this may sound like common sense to you – especially if you’ve already dipped your communications toes in the digital water. But – let’s be honest. It’s the kind of thing that can get missed or overlooked when content and social media are just one of many things you need to do while running your business.
If this is the year you’ve decided to get serious about social media and content marketing – to make it someone’s actual job, get in touch and let’s see if we can’t come up with a strategy and plan to get you and your target audience together.