Bill Gates wrote this powerful essay in 1996, which talked about the importance of content in various media.
In it, he spoke of the revolution brought about by the invention of TV, and that those who truly benefited from it are those who deliver information and entertainment.
News outlets and soap operas might not have enjoyed this much success if not for the TV.
He also compared the TV example to the internet, where ‘content’ takes a broader definition.
With a computer, anyone can produce content and make it more accessible at a lower cost. The transition of TV-based media to the web – such as blogs and online videos – best explains how critical the internet is.
It was not easy for the first several years, but as technology has developed, online content now poses a real threat to traditional media such as TV and cinema.
The place of quality content in digital marketing cannot be disputed; now, more so than ever.
More consumers opt for a personalized experience, expecting brands to know what they would want based on what they bought before.
And with lockdowns still in effect due to the pandemic, more interactions have to be performed online.
How to create good content?
Your content is now at the forefront of pushing your brand to greater heights. If “content is king,” then it’s safe to say that great content is godlike.
Here are several effective ways to make content that’ll be a buzzword among your consumers for a long time:
#1. Determining Buyer Personas
Creating quality content is only half the story; knowing the audience the content will be designed for is equally important. As mentioned earlier, consumers are opting for a personalized experience; in other words, they want content that speaks to them.
Before any effort to produce content, determine your brand’s buyer personas—traits and qualities shared among the target audience. Analytics and a reliable sales team are vital in getting accurate assessments and defining your content’s tone, style, format, and length. For example, a blog post must be long enough for the customer to read word-for-word, from start to end.
Integrating buyer insights into the content is one effective method. Instead of describing a low-rise apartment that won’t cost a pretty penny to low-income individuals, market it as a three-story loft that costs no more than $40,000 and is a five-minute walk from most essential services. Reducing vagueness wherever possible translates to quality content.
#2. Persuasive Copywriting
A copywriting service recently published an article about appealing to more customers by making copywriting tick. Persuasion can be a powerful tool in marketing, especially when it is in the form of these four mediums.
- Tapping into Emotions – Taking advantage of the customer’s various desires like saving on a purchase, doing their part for the environment, or improving their appearance. It is the most common method of copywriting.
- Providing Evidence – Showing reviews of satisfied customers and third-party advocacies, or findings from peer-reviewed studies, helps increase the brand’s credibility among the competition.
- Inclusive and Exclusive Language – Copywriting using first and third-person language establishes a sense of authority and makes for a more personalized experience. An example involves using pronouns like “we/they” and “you.”
- Rhetorical Question – Asking such questions won’t necessarily produce answers, but they can make customers think things through. It establishes the impression that not purchasing the product or service will be a poor decision.
A piece’s persuasion power is proportional to its consistency. Copywriting should make customers agree to every detail presented until he’s inspired to make the purchase. A single inconsistency in the piece can derail your marketing efforts.
#3. Repurposing Old Content
Thinking of new ideas for your next blog post or video isn’t easy, but your brand needs to remain alive with regular content. If you find yourself stuck in a rut, consider digging up some older posts and reposting them in various channels.
According to Google’s head of search spam Matt Cutts, repurposing content won’t get your brand in trouble with search engines. More than a quarter of online content is duplicate content but not flagged as spam. The search engine instead clusters the duplicates and places the best ones on the top of search results.
However, keep in mind that not all content is ideal for repurposing. Prioritize content that will still be relevant even with a few updates or changes (e.g., guides and tips). You can also turn old content into another form; divide a long webinar into a series of tutorial videos or convert a blog post full of statistics into an easy-to-read infographic.
Posting repurposed content also has the benefit of attracting new customers to your brand. It saves them the trouble of back reading or delving deep into your page to find great content.
#4. Improving Your Writing
The most basic spelling and grammar mistakes can be embarrassing for any brand—and even those who speak English natively are as susceptible as those who don’t. All it takes is a missing letter or poor punctuation for a brand’s message to be taken out of context and cause a PR disaster.
As thinking of new content ideas involves checking on the competition, it is an opportunity to learn about how other brands produce their content. Consider taking a writing course online or picking up a stylebook for consistency in your content. If possible, maintain a personal blog where you can write about anything while improving your writing skills.
Before releasing your content, always give it a thorough check to catch any errors. Not only on the grammar and spelling side but also the content itself. The time you invest in a read-through is incredibly valuable.
Conclusion
As more forms of media become available, so will the kinds of online content. However, quality is a constant in content creation; today’s trending posts and videos must be consistent, persuasive, relatable to readers, and free from embarrassing errors. Quality content will preserve the internet’s world-changing role – a vast, low-cost medium for storing and sharing knowledge – far into the future.