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6 Steps For Creating Engaging Content
Creating engaging content is one of the top content marketing struggles face today. In fact, a study led by Moz and BuzzSumo revealed that up to 75% of a million online articles they analyzed had zero external links – meaning they are not engaging enough to get shared across the online sphere. In a separate study, 60% of content marketers say that their biggest challenge in this endeavor is how to create enough engaging content.
These statistics are quite upsetting due to the fact that content that failed to engage with its target audience means no conversion ever took place – conversion that will convert a mere reader into a lead or high-paying customer.
For this reason, creating more engaging and compelling content has become a top priority among companies nowadays. However, it’s vital to understand that creating “more” content is different from creating “compelling” content.
Quality defeats quantity, so even if you have a gazillion content that could fill up several websites over, if they are not reliable, engaging, and compelling enough that your targeted audiences would want to read and be genuinely interested in, then all your efforts would come to naught.
A study conducted by maaz and Buzz Sumo revealed that up to 75% of a million online articles the analyzed for not engaging content.
This is alarming because content that failed to engage with your readers means no transformation ever took place-transformation that will convert your readers into either leads or sales.
Top priorities for B2C Content Creators
Creating more engaging content 73%
Better understanding of what content is effective and what isn’t 58%
Finding more or better ways to repurpose content 44%
Content optimization 43%
That is why creating more engaging content has become a top priority among digital marketers as shown in the diagram above, but 60% of these Market or say that their biggest challenge in this endeavor is how to create enough engaging content.
But don’t get confused with all this as you might miss interpret the term “creating enough engaging content” and focus only in the term “enough” and think that what this implies is to simply create several content tons and tons of content.
Even if you have a gazillion content that could fill up several websites over, if they are not high-quality and engaging content that your targeted audienceswould want to read and be genuinely interested in, then all your efforts would come to naught.
So, hold your horses and follow us in this journey of discovering the steps in creating engaging content.
1. Focus on current trends
People just love Trends and following Trends is simply within their inherent human nature. Many are not only interested in friends but actually crave hot trending topics that usually go viral-and devour all types of content that deals about the topic.
Well not all juicy trans people go gaga over at social networks would be applicable to your brand or business, there are definitely trending news available in your particular industry that you can take advantage of when creating engaging content.
You can use Google Trends or other channels available where you can track all the latest viral Trends online.
Take note that trends do have expiration dates and it would be best for you to act fast and create engaging content before your competitors and before the topic reaches its saturation point, and people lose interest.
But don’t jump in blindly. Do diligent research about the trend before turning out content.
While you’re at it, you should also create unique but attention-grabbing titles, headlines, and subheadings based on your trending topic.
Again, you should always do research and use terms and keywords in your titles and descriptions that people actually search for in relation to that trending topic.
2. Write stories that appeal to readers emotions
A previous study performed at buffer social demonstrated the power of Storytelling. They studied the reaction of readers to two versions of a post that had exactly the same content, except one is introduced with a narrative.
The post with the narrative generated 300% more readership, with readers run all the way to the end of the post and staying on the page up to five times longer.
People love stories and it is one of the best ways to create content that can keep your readers hooked enough to generate engagement.
There is actually a science behind this that can explain why stories are great for creating engaging content.
People’s brains positively react to stories, becoming more active, making the person reading or hearing the story think and feel they are actually living in the store.
3. Drive engagement with visual elements
Adding visual elements to your content as a sure-fire way to drive engagement.
This is been proven effective time and time again, as attested to by the 65% increase and engagement Brands experience with the addition of visual content to the Facebook timeline.
The reason behind this is for the simple fact that people are visual creatures. They actually spend more time looking at images on the page than the text content.
On top of that, they retain as much as 65% of information they hear up to 3 days later if that piece of information is paired with a relevant Image.
Without images, only 10% of that similar information will be retained and people’s minds within the same period.
That is why up to 74% of social media marketers make use of visual Assets in their campaigns.
Next to blogging, 37% of market and their business and you should follow the same strategywhen creating engaging content.
4. Support your content with facts and links
In an age where people can generate their own content and publish it in a multitude of channels, they’re also Rose the emergence of content creators whose only purpose is to mislead the public with fake news and errorneous content.
That is why it is vital that your content as well researched and credible links to generate engagement from targeted readers.
Citing factual sources such as credible news agencies, research firms, and other validated resources The credibility and engagement capacity of your content.
In doing so, you may even build relationships and rapport from these sources.
Some of these may include influencers, Market leaders, and other respected voices in your industry which you can invite one day to share their content on your website that’s boosting your credibility even more.
5. Diversify your types of content
People have a natural inclination to diversity and this applies to the types of content they would like to consume.
It would do your digital marketing good if you try to diversify your content portfolio and create various types of engaging content that your target audiences would actually be interested in.
You can spice up your content with photos, infographics, videos, games, and other forms of depending on what interests your targeted audiences.
Explore the power of infographics to actually gets three times more than other forms of content.
Video content is also very important form that is expected to be consumed way much more than all other content types in the near future.
Check and see for yourself what types will drive the most engagement.
6. Give them something to takeaway
When people consume, it means their need or Curiosity has been satiated by what you have offered.
Delight them even more by offering them a Content take away for free and you will be on your way to winning fans from your satisfied readers.
Takeaways here not only refer to the lessons they can gain from your engaging content, but it also refers to free content that you can give away which may include an ebook, white paper, and app, presentation, or even software.
They can learn more about your products or services with these freebies.
Just don’t forget to ask your readers to fill a registration form with pertinent data you can use before they can download their free take aways.
Writing creating content as an art form but the real trick here is to make your content as engaging, informative, and interesting as possible.
The six steps described here or not very exhaustive, but it can guide you in the right direction to developing high-quality, engaging content that your targeted audiences will really be interested in.
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