Lots of companies invest significant time and expense in blogs, videos, and other digital content. But how much of it gets viewed, and shared?
A surprising amount: For example, there are over 600 million active blogs currently online, counting ours, of course. And two million new blog posts go up every day. Add to that more than one BILLION stories and 350 million photos daily on Facebook alone, not counting the many other social media platforms.
It’s a little daunting when you think about all that volume and you wonder if what you post will be viewed (and hopefully remembered). But there are things you can do to get yourself noticed, and to show the audiences who matter to you that they should pay attention.
To give you some tips, we asked our in-house blogging and social content specialist, Samantha Gluck, to share some of the things she does daily for our clients. Here are techniques she uses to get digital content viewed:
- Write For Your Audience, Not Yourself
Before creating digital content, it’s crucial to understand your target audience’s preferences, interests, and behaviors. Research your audience demographics, including age, gender, location, skills, and activities. Use language they use, including industry terms if you’re writing for a B to B audience, or “insider” terms if you’re writing to sports enthusiasts or hobbyists. But avoid buzzwords and overused expressions–they’re a turnoff.
- Don’t Just Report. Tell Stories.
People acknowledge reporting. They REMEMBER stories.
Which do you think will stick with you longer: An announcement of your new product that collects and archives physicians’ notes and hospital administrator call logs. Or the story of a patient whose insurance claim was denied, causing her to forego critical surgery–until your new product was able to quickly produce a conversation with the insurance company where they first approved the surgery, but later said they didn’t have a record of it?
People enjoy stories that evoke emotion, inspire action, or spark curiosity. Story ideas include customer success stories, behind-the-scenes glimpses into business operations, or personal anecdotes.
How many story-based posts or memes do you share with your friends and colleagues? Research suggests that it’s quite a few, even if you take out the ones with cat videos (Pretty much all of us share cat videos).
- A Picture (Or Video, Or Graphic) Is Worth A Thousand Words
Pay attention to the visual content you include, like images, videos, infographics, and animations. Stock photography and video sources have given us new abilities to make material attractive, but don’t think that just because you pick a nice stock image, you’ve finished the job.
Everybody has access to stock imagery. If you use stock, use something that drives home your point. Better yet, enhance stock imagery with graphics that personalize it. (Here are some examples.)
Visually appealing content grabs your audience’s attention and conveys your message quickly and effectively. Done right, it makes your content stand out in the crowded social media feeds.
- Provide A Benefit To Your Viewers. What’s In It For Them?
Focus on providing value and utility to your audience. Whether it’s educational resources, helpful tips, and tutorials, or entertaining content, create things that enrich your audience’s lives in some way. Valuable and useful content will establish you as a trusted authority in your niche and increase share rates.
Linked In and other social media suggest the “4-1-1 Rule,” which says that for every piece of content you share about your organization, you should share an update from another source and four pieces of information written by others. Of course, this material has to be pertinent to your target audience. Surrounding your content with quality content from other sources suggests that your expertise is on the same level as other important organizations in your area of business.
- Make It Easy For People To Share On Social Media
Make it easy for your audience to share your content by optimizing for social media. Include prominent social sharing buttons on your website and blog posts, making it simple for visitors to share it with just a few clicks.
- Don’t Be Afraid To Make It A Two-Way Street: Engage and Interact
Engage with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and mentions on social media and actively participate in conversations related to your content. By fostering a sense of community and connection with your audience, you can encourage them to share your content with their networks and amplify your reach organically.
You might need to grit your teeth once in a while if someone responds with a less-than-positive comment. But if you acknowledge these comments and provide information that shows you’re resolving or clarifying issues, your credibility goes way up.
