Content Is ‘It’. Period.
Time to Read: 2m 45s
But You Have to Do It Right
You’ve heard that content is ‘it’ before - but ‘it’ is just so ambiguous and probably even boring to some of my readers. I love discussing the importance of web marketing content. But creating engaging content isn’t always easy. Most of my pages consist of a manufacturing company’s product photos, design and engineering information, production process management and industry jargon. How do I make that interesting? Who’s got time for this? Patience; it will all come together. As a manufacturing company your blog, website, visual and social content should inform and convince prospects and customers of your expertise, trustworthiness and ability to deliver on their professional needs. Some items to keep in mind when creating content will make your job easier:
- Plot your content development by subject, breaking down specifics of your subject matter into easily-digested pieces of unforgettable wisdom. If you do that, people might just ‘hear’ what you have to say.
- Do it when you’re ‘on’; take advantage of ‘in-the-zone’ research and writing. I know some of you are like me: you have a tendency to ‘get into the zone,’ when research and information gathering feels effortless and you are capable of producing great chunks of useful stuff, several weekly (months) blog posts, articles, white papers, whatever. Churn it out when you’re feeling ‘on’ and review just before posting to make sure it stands up to your initial scrutiny.
- Build trust, offer value to new visitors that requires little or no investment on their part to benefit from the information on your site.
- Involve your readers both professionally and emotionally by soliciting their input by asking questions relative to your topic. Get their input on topics and issues that may be important to their businesses, including asking them to relate their past experiences or any current challenges they face. Sometimes even asking for advice can be a real ice breaker.
- When possible, make your presentation available for consumption in different formats. People ingest information more effectively in different formats depending on their preferred learning method. Making content available as an article, PowerPoint presentation and video has the potential to engage your audience more effectively than just making the information available in one format. Adding a slide presentation to the mix could possibly invite more participation as well as the ability to ‘share’ with an influencer’s following.
- Consider how much time a typical user has and structure your blogs, articles, videos, webinars, infographics, etc. accordingly. Utilizing a natural ‘segmentation’ to your media presentations will break up material into easier time commitments for your viewers. Also, easily ‘skimmed’ text content such as bullet points and numbered items make it easier for viewers to take away the important elements of your presentation.