Internet users generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily. The data runs the gamut from millions of blog posts to countless hours of video on YouTube. In such a busy space, a recurring question in business owners’ minds is how to create online content that converts.
Well, a good place to start is by creating a checklist to help you narrow down on what works. Note that writing a blog post every other day or posting a video on YouTube per month may not be effective. You have to be intentional about the content you make. Take a look at the proven content tips below.
1. Take the Time to Understand Your Audience
Until you understand your customer’s needs, any content you create goes up in smoke because your customer won’t find it relevant. One way to do this is to create a survey. In it, come up with questions that will help you identify:
● Age range, income, education, occupation, location, and any other demographic.
● The customer’s greatest desire.
● The kind of content the customers want from the business and how they consume that content (is it video, blog posts, or audio?)
Send the survey to your email list, ask for their help, and explain why it is important. Note that you can always add an incentive that will motivate those in your email list to participate. With the information you gather, you will be in a better position to create content that your potential customer will respond to.
2. Have a Strategy
Online content creation that lacks a strategy makes it impossible for you to track what is working and what isn’t. When developing a strategy, lean into the information you gathered either from the survey or any other source.
For instance, let’s assume that you found out the majority of your client base is below 30 years old and that they use phones a lot. Your strategy will thus involve a lot of social media content that is not only engaging but also shareable.
3. Understand the Three Key Benchmarks That Govern Valuable Content
Creating content for your brand will demand that you keep in mind the following three benchmarks that govern valuable content.
Readability
This should be the first thing in your content writing checklist. Use headings & subheadings to break up blocks of text. Aim for short sentences and paragraphs (to increase white space), and use bullets.
Understandability
Your content should be presented in such a simple manner that every reader will understand. Determine which medium best suits your message. Complex information, for instance, might be easier to understand in video form as opposed to written form.
Is It Actionable?
Actionable content moves the reader, viewer, or listener to take action. That means including a call to action but also making it easier for consumers to comment, ask questions, and engage.
4. Be Consistent
75% of consumers expect consistency, and if they do not get it, most of them are likely to switch brands. When creating content, aim to be consistent in sharing your content. For written content the more you blog, the more the traffic. Experts advise publishing two to four times per week to get the best results.
As for social media content, posting once per day is ideal. Note that social media content that includes video attracts more views.
5. Increase Visibility Online
Until consumers find your content, no leads or sales can be generated. To help potential customers find your content consider doing the following.
- Use H1 and H2 tags to improve your search engine rankings.
- Customize your meta-data to make sure it describes the content on your page in line with your keywords.
- Add links to authoritative sites to increase value for your reader.
- Add alt-tags to your images—descriptions of your image.
- Spy on your competition to find out which keywords they are ranking for and incorporate that into your keyword research.
Finally, for audio content, try and distribute it in multiple formats such as MP3, WIFF, and WAV to cater to different preferences.
6. Do Not Focus on One Medium: Diversify
Not all consumers use one medium. For those who prefer written content, you can reach them via blog posts. However, some consumers only consume video content, and unless you create videos, you will never reach them. So, in addition to writing, create videos as well.
There are also who are visually-challenged and will thus opt for audio content. Aim to use various media to get your message across.
Conclusion
The above checklist will go a long way in ensuring any content you create generates leads. However, if you are too busy or need help with some aspects of content creation, you can ask for help from a content marketing agency.
