New year, new content rush?
Are you determined to put pen to paper and get your most passionate business, branding and organisational thoughts “out there” for the wider world to see?
We’re content crazy in 2016, obsessed with posting things, via blogs, a website or social media.
The truth is, the majority of what we see or don’t see isn’t actually that good and has probably been forced out with very little thought or planning.
Without mentioning any names, we’ve already seen the odd brand and business jump unsuccessfully on the 2016 health bandwagon or more recently #BlueMonday.
What you’ll find is that this secures a few “quick wins” and satisfies short-term targets; but are you really making your content memorable for the audience so that they come back for more?
Rather than be consumed with the content you could produce, our advice is that you take a step back and focus on the plan before the content. What happens first?
Perfect it, take time with it, think about it, talk about and most importantly, don ‘t rush it!
Here’s our top 10 guide for you to use before, during and after your content is published.
1. Pick a work related topic you are passionate about – easy isn’t it? Well no, actually. Try to identify a need, picture your reader(s) or better still create a solution to a problem.
2. Spend time crafting the title/headline of your blog – add power words like free (who doesn’t like free things), stunning (humungous claim), discover (we like new things, right?), secrets (yes, you’re nosey) and easy (minimum effort, maximum return).
3. Make a great impression in your opening line – hit them with the point you are trying to deliver. The fluffy stuff, theory or explanation can all play a part in later paragraphs.
4. Plan the main points you want to discuss beneath the opening line – do exactly what it says on the tin. Don’t deviate from your initial idea.
5. Call to action – provoke your audience into making an immediate response. They might have a suggestion about your article or be able to offer an alternative point of view.
6. Add depth and explanation – opinions are great but if that’s all they are then they may fall on deaf ears. Add theory and the reasoning behind what you are posting. Even if people don’t agree, you’ve provided them with an explanation on how you arrived at that particular conclusion.
7. Monitor and add – there’s nothing worse than seeing a post with grammatical errors (have you spotted our deliberate one yet?). If the story develops add to the original post or create a new blog.
8. Time to publish – listen and understand who is reading your work. Is 5pm on a Friday really a good time to post?
9. Promote your posts – do you have a budget? Speak to your SEO specialist for further advice. They’re quite good, you know.
10. Conversation – then the fun starts! Monitor, interact and speak to your audience through the multitude of ways that are available to us online.
If you’d like any further information on the above or have any questions about any of our work then give us a call today, we’d love to hear from you.
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