As marketers, we know that content is king in today's digital marketing world. Another familiar buzz word is engagement. All marketers want to create engaging content. Engagement means that we want to communicate with our readers. We want them to be interested in what they read, we want them to identify with our content and we want our content to compel the readers into an engaging action. We want their reaction and feedback to what we write. Here are a few tips on how to achieve that goal:
1 - Put yourself in the readers shoes
If we want our readers to be interested in what they read, then we need to think what will interest them. If we want readers to identify with our content, then we need to put ourselves in their place and try to understand what drives them. What will make or break them? What problems do they have and what solution and assistant we can offer them through the content we provide? what do they need to know in order to be compelled into engagement with our content? Who is the target audience and what do they want and need? We want feedback from our readers, we should be able to check ourselves and give our own feedback, to make the content even better.
2 - KISS - Keep it short and simple
In the era of the world wide web, people have a very short attention span. Patience is almost non existent. this means we need to keep our messages and our content short and simple. Over elaboration will cause a loss of interest in our readers. Lack of focus will cause confusion. Before you set about to write your content make sure you have defined your target. What do you want the readers to learn from your content? What is the main message? What activity should the reader undertake after reading your content? How can you achieve these goals? If you know the answers, you will be able to write focused and simple content that is engaging and is thus efficient for your business.
3 -"If you have to shoot, then shoot. Don't talk" - Start your content with a big bang!
The short attention span of readers today has already been mentioned. The first paragraph is paramount to peaking the readers interest, so put all the big guns right at the beginning. Focus your first few sentences on the needs of the reader and push all the buttons you think will make readers react to your content the way you want them to. readers need to understand what is wanted of them right att he start. If they wish to comply, they will stay to read the rest. then at the end you remind them of the action you want to take and provide closure to your content that way.
4 - Do not over sell
Yes, we are all marketers. Yes, our readers know this. still if we over do it with selling and marketing jargon, readers will be put off. To many exclamation marks and bold or colored font will also annoy our readers rather then serve the emphasis purpose. Readers what to know that they are getting value for their time. Our content needs to provide them with that value. the WIN WIN situation occurs when both the reader and the writer get value from the content and the engagement it has spurred.
5 - Be professional and organized
Write using correct language and grammar. check your spelling. Organize the content into understandable paragraphs and headings for easy reading. Make the reader feel that this content was written by a professional. Good professional content created a reputation that is transferred also to the product you are marketing. Making a good impression is always conductive to good marketing content.
Remember that you need to provide great text, but images can also help enhance your content. There are many ways to present content today, like info-graphs and videos. But even so, the basis of all content formats is a well thought message and a great script. So the above tips are always relevant. I hope you will find them helpful.
