Some businesses are great at publishing this on their website. Others use it to showcase their best products. And a few build their entire brand this way. Can you guess what it is?
Great Content.
Anyone who has been on the internet knows that engaging content will keep your visitor interested and could even turn a regular internet ‘browser’ into a new customer. Writing good content for internet use can be achieved by adhering to a few basic principles.
1. Understanding Your Audience Is Key
The secret of excellent communication is knowing who you are speaking to. Paying attention to your audience will help you to understand their behaviour, use of language and where they find the latest news. It’s easier for you to communicate with someone that you know very well than when you meet someone for the first time.
2. Consistency Is The Name Of The Game
Sometimes it’s not about what you do, it’s how you do it. People are drawn to content that looks good, is easy to understand and inspires action. Building your own online community starts here. Employing voice, branding and content that is consistent with your corporate identity will help you to position yourself as a reputable company in the mind of your audience.
3. Go Easy On The Jargon
The aim of publishing content on one of your owned media channels is to engage with your target audience. It is widely understood that internet users are easily distracted on the internet. Boring them with words that only you know will only put them off. A useful tip,write for your audience, not your colleague.
4. Mix Up The Content With Images To Keep Your Audience Entertained
We live in a world where everything needs to be fast and a speedy delivery is required.
Producing engaging content for your audience needs to entice them to want more. Even the most brilliant writers need to mix up their written content with some video, infographics and images to awaken the reader’s curiosity.
5. Make It Easy To Read
Pleasing your audience comes with a combination of producing quality content and making it easy for your reader to consume. Research shows that users are likely to read a page in the following shape, commonly referred to as an F-shaped pattern.
- Users start by reading the heading and majority of the first paragraph, resulting in an initial horizontal movement. This forms the first part of the letter ‘F’.
- Subsequently, readers find another section down the page that catches their attention and they read a little bit more here; this results in another shortened horizontal movement, forming the second bar of the letter ‘F’.
- As users move down the page their eyes typically catch the first words of a line or parts thereof, this forms the vertical stem of the letter ‘F’.
Providing important information early on in your blog or website page means that you can communicate the core message better. As a result of information and shortened attention spans, experts suggest sticking to short, simple sentences written in the active voice. Engaging one’s audience in this manner means that you are able to get your message across in a succinct yet effective way.
6. Bring It Together With A Call To Action
The internet has become an effective communications tool for businesses all around the world. As users increasingly look online for new information and solutions to suit their lifestyle. Business owners would do well to produce content that focuses on driving interaction with their audience. Interacting with your target market could be adding a call to action to fill in a form, visit a product page on your website or even a PDF download.
7. Shareable Content Is Social Media Gold
The majority of internet users are also active on social media. People love to share content and what better way of being recognised than being shared by your target market.
The compelling to getting shared is posting good content with a mixture of exciting copy, relevant multimedia and easily grasped snippets of content. Secondly, adding a sharing function on your site will increase the chances of users sharing your blog with their co-workers.
8. Be A Problem Solver
Internet behaviour shows that users spend time on particular websites or read articles because of the added value. Similarly, content that is relevant can answer a specific question is likely to be the one that wins. Create engaging content by giving a step-by-step solution or highlighting product benefits.
As the internet becomes an increasingly competitive marketplace, creating exciting content will help your business communicate with your audience. Your website and online channels can be useful tools with which to build your brand and drive sales for your business, contact Azapi today to find out how you can use engaging content to boost your business. Talk to us on support@azapi.co.za or 087 820 0780.