Digital Marketing Insights

It is disappointing when you spend so much time working on a piece of content and it ends up receiving a pathetic response, isn’t it? While you may think you did everything right in promoting it, it still failed to capture people’s interest and attention.

Whether you are blogger or a brand, in a world where people are bombarded with content, you need to make sure yours stands out and gets users to read and share it. Here are 6 hacks to create content that people actually want to read –

Choose an Interesting Topic

Creating great content starts with choosing an interesting topic. While this requires solid brainstorming, there is a smart way to go around it.

For starters, you must stay updated on the happenings in the world and in your industry. Piggybacking on topical, relevant content and offering your fresh and unique perspective on it is often well received.

While plagiarism and replicating topics is never the answer, it is always advisable to be aware of what your competitors are talking about. This can help you brainstorm as well.

You can also make use of tools such as Buzzsumo, Google Trends and HubSpot to generate topic ideas.

Know your Readers

Your readers need to be at the heart of any content you produce. Understand what they want and identify a pain-point you can address.

They say, ‘when in doubt, ask’, and you must do exactly that. Conduct a poll on your social media page or send a survey via e-mail to your readers asking them what they would like to read about.

You must also pay attention to the questions or comments you receive on your posts – they may just inspire to create your next piece of content. Inspiration is everywhere – all you need to do is keep your eyes open.

Make it Valuable

People have no time to waste on content that is difficult to comprehend, impractical and filled with jargon. For your content to be clickable, it needs to first entice readers with a compelling, powerful headline.

Once you have got their attention, follow it up with value-driven content. The idea is to connect with your readers and empathize with them. Great content is one that evokes emotion, imparts value and answers questions.

Unfortunately, it does not matter how great a writer you are, if you are unable to strike a chord with your reader, it is nothing but a lost opportunity.

Keep it Conversational

From a young age, we were always taught to write in a formal tone of voice but in reality, what captures people’s attention and builds a connection with readers is the conversational tone.

Simply put, conversational form of writing refers to writing how you speak. Using words such as ‘you’, ‘I’, ‘we’ helps build a rapport with the reader. It requires using simple words, incorporating examples, writing in active voice and asking rhetorical questions, thereby making content more relatable and engaging.

So, adopt a more conversational way of writing and you are sure to see a rise in your readership.

Infuse Humor

Humor is a great way to engage readers. Think about it – you are more likely to recall the funny commercials rather than the boring, run-of-the-mill ones. Aren’t you?

If used responsibly and smartly, humor can do wonders in delivering a point. Whether it is the use of cartoons, GIFs, funny stories or even laughing at yourself – humor bridges gaps and gets readers hooked.

However, ensure you don’t end up hurting your readers’ sentiments in the process – there is a thin line between being funny and offensive.

Incorporate Visuals

Did you know that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text? Going by these statistics, it makes complete sense to incorporate visuals in your content strategy.

From infographics, images and memes to videos and GIFs – visuals tend to be more impactful and appealing. What’s more, in a world where your content is as good as its shareability quotient, visuals are also more easily shareable! So, use a good mix of visual and text content to boost your storytelling.

Adela Belin

Adela Belin is a Social Media expert and a writer at Writers Per Hour. She creates content surrounding marketing with a focus on social media and digital marketing. Feel free to contact Adela on G+.