Grabbing attention is what content marketing is all about. Being able to come up with content people like to share is what it all comes down to. But point to note here is that the road to grabbing attention and keeping your fan following engaged is getting rockier by the day.
Why is it so difficult to capture that sort of attention now? What is the reason that a brief blog post isn’t enough anymore?
Why is it getting harder
As content grows on the internet, so does the demand of well written context and information. Low content standards are not acceptable anymore, and people have started to expect more for free.
There is a huge increase in the amount of information being created due to more people having the right to publish self-generated content easily for free, which in turn is because of widespread access to the internet and various social networks. So you will find a lot of content, yes but the kind of content people like to share is greatly varied across, platforms, reading habits, cultures and languages.
How to win
Two things have to be taken care of in order to win and produce content that people like to share. Produce the best content you can, and work on the expansion of its online distribution.
According to Bullas, a few objectives need to be achieved in order for the content to be shared. These include:
Inform. Entertain. Educate. Inspire.
The type of content, however, varies between different platforms. For example, blogs require a certain variety of content. On the other hand, platforms like Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram focus mainly on images.
Some content marketing tips that will help in getting your content shared are listed below:
How to’s might be a Goldie but it still shines
An old, but gold, technique is to share “how-to-do-something” content. It might not necessarily go viral, but will cause your reader to share it with their peers if they find the value in it.
Listing content makes for a fun skim-through
These lists can either be funny or serious, positive or negative, or even plain silly. They always do the trick. For easy reading, what’s better than a quick list to go through.
Everyone likes to share stats and facts
Digging deeper in almost any industry, you are bound to find amazing facts and figures that people would love to share and know about. Use these facts to generate interesting content.
Infographics have got the visual game going
Increasing in popularity, infographics are a great way to up your content marketing game, since they are not only fun to look at, but also manage to convey useful information in a fast and easy-to-digest format.
People like to see other people
Using raw, but real photos in your content can appeal to a greater number of people/audience than you think. You might find this is the kind of content people like to share more than kinds.
Personal touches make your content stand out
Since the advent of social media, revealing private content can sometimes be used for indirect marketing through fans and followers who share it for you.
Visual is growing by leaps and bounds
Since the end of 2013, this new visual feature of Twitter is very effective in reaching out to your audience.
Curiosity works like a charm especially in a headlines
Headlines that get you curious can work marvelously in grabbing attention.
Long form content has its own perks
Long articles, even up to 1500 words, will not become easily viral, but if they are written well enough, they will become a good resource for your forte and can end up being printed and landing on even the CEO’s desk.
Articles with multiple images tend to attract attention
This is a very useful tactic because you are using a lot of visual content, which helps connect with your audience on a greater level in a more efficient way. Coupled with the added technology of quick share buttons, it is a very effective way of getting your content shared quickly and easily.
Quotes as images are always going to work
With information becoming more visual these days, mixing up text tweets with visual tweets, for example, is a great option for getting your content shared.
Instead of sharing quotes simply as text, they can be incorporated into images to attract more attention. Quotes of course are one of the most popular form of content people like to share with their friends and colleagues.
Optimizing your content
After you are done creating the perfect content people like to share, what is the next step? Publish it, of course, but before you do that, it is a good idea to consider the following factors that you can use to fine tune your product and optimize it for bigger and better results:
Short attention spans: Use catchy text mixed with visuals to grab attention.
Readability: Use simple, user-friendly language that is easy to understand and establish a rhythm in your structure. It is also a good idea to use subtitles with your images.
Sharing: Make sure that you use these social media sharing buttons and shortcuts, making it easier for your audience to share your content.
Search engines: Make sure your content is optimized for search engines.
Mobile: Ensure that your content can be viewed on mobiles, since that is where 50% of traffic is coming from.
Did you find this article on the kind of content people like to share useful? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below.
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