I’m back, and this time to put a blog focus on a recent Tweet that I sent out when I took over Anicca’s Twitter account for the day, sharing some content for #WednesdayWisdom. Why? It’s a simple way to keep a focus on why you choose to produce a piece of content. Everybody can lose sight of this and whether you are an agency, a business or a freelancer, this simple yet useful pneumonic checklist is a fantastic starting point.
Customer
The sole reason for creating any piece of content is for one person and one person only ─ the customer. Whether it is part of an optimization exercise to help people find your services, a blog or an educative white paper, the end goal is helping your customer AND knowing your customer.
Original
When I say original I don’t mean trying too hard to be ‘cool’ only for it to fall flat on its face. It means writing in your own voice and offering something Newsworthy. The Skyscraper Technique is one of many ways to do that. What is the Skyscraper Technique? Find a popular piece of content relating to your topic and go ‘one storey’ higher by finding the gaps.
Trustworthy
Trust is probably one of the major players when it comes to establishing online relationships with customers. Take booking a holiday for example. You may take a risk with a last minute deal and be prepared to face the consequences, but ultimately you look to testimonials and evidence to make you feel safe and secure in the fact that you will have an enjoyable holiday, and if you don’t, then you will not make the same mistake again.
Engaging
Does your content hold the attention of the reader? This doesn’t mean throwing in a gratuitous GIF or an obligatory image, (although according to Hubspot, content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images). It means, proving that your content is as helpful as promised. Is it set out in a skimmable F-Shape Format (in the case of written content)?
Niche
The more specific that you get with your content, the better the chances that your customer will engage. It also showcases you as a potential thought leader. If you know your stuff and can make your customers feel that their time has been paid well, that could be a golden opportunity and a golden ticket to Costa Del Conversion.
Timely
Be prepared with your content. Plan ahead. Know key events that tie in with your services and plan your content to factor that in. On the other hand, be prepared to be spontaneous — there’s a reason Honey G articles are popping up left, right and centre. Like her not, we are all slightly intrigued by this charismatic, some might say, novelty X Factor Act.
There are many more tactics, strategies and simple ways to produce great content for your customers. Take a look at some of our upcoming boot camp courses to see how we can help you further with your content and SEO work.
