Creating Content People Will Love and Share
In today’s world, getting your name out there is a must if you want to succeed. Consumer-focused and B2B companies alike leverage content marketing as an essential vehicle to doing just this. However, simply creating content—no matter how great it is—really doesn’t matter. What does matter is getting it seen and sharing is the way to really make that happen.
So, how do you create content that people want to share? It’s a mix of your topic, title and ultimate content. Let the following tips be a guide for you to do this.
Start with Interesting Topics
Writing about the same old thing that everyone else seems to be writing about is not the way to garner great attention let alone shares. Instead, look for new things or twists on old ideas that can be of interest to readers. This could be some just-announced news pertinent to your business and customers.
Don’t be afraid to write about things that others in your industry seem to want to avoid. A little controversy can be good for the soul. In most cases, you may want to “play Switzerland” and remain neutral in your position on an issue while putting forth different ideas about it in an effort to get people thinking. This is a great way to show your thought leadership without offending anyone.
A good type of article that lets you give some opinions in a non-controversial way is one that provides your predictions for the coming year, five years or some other span of time. While the end or beginning of the year can be logical times for these articles, consider publishing them at other points in the year when there is not a deluge of them available. This will help yours to stand out.
Nail Your Title
Your content won’t be shared if it isn’t opened to begin with. Hence, the critical importance of your title. While a title does need to tell people what a particular article is about, it should also be used to generate some excitement. There’s a big difference between “Meals for Kids” and “Top 10 Meals Your Kids Will Love”.
You can also leverage the header-subhead setup to carry this one step further. For example, the above could be set like this:
Top 10 Kid-Friendly Foods
or
Meals Kids Love to Eat and Moms Love to Make
Make it Meaty
Content full of fluff will not only leave your readers still hungry for real content but it will turn them off of your future offerings faster than you want to know. Spend the time to research your topic and ensure that you’re providing useful and interesting information. If appropriate, cite a source or two. This can give you added credibility especially if your source is highly respected and known.
Put it All Together
When all of the elements in your content marketing work together toward the goal of getting recognized—which means opened, read and shared—you can realize the full benefit of this marketing activity. Certainly the means by which you promote your content matters as well but we will leave that topic for a future post. For now, let the above tips help you generate content that’s ready to make its mark.
