Worried about your content game?

5 tips to up the ante in 2018

We anticipate that 2018 will be the year of content. Video, blog posts, webinars, e-guides, white papers and other forms of content will take center stage. People consume content in various forms daily and whittle away that which doesn’t resonate or help them.

How, then, can companies properly plan their content strategies to successfully appeal to audiences when social media platforms regularly evolve, mobility is at an all-time high and it feels challenging simply to keep up?

1. Have a voice.

Does your content tell a good story? Is your content relatable or is it too “business-y”? Content provides an opportunity to infuse personality. Determine first how you want your audience to perceive your company and express yourself in a way that elicits emotional responses, engages your audiences through storytelling and delivers easily defined calls to action. Your voice will become the basis of influence and trust.

2. Deliver new, updated content.

To maximize the benefit of their content, some companies tend to reuse it over and over again. However, audiences demand new material rather than stale content they consumed last month. Keep content fresh. Deliver new perspectives, sources and graphics so that even repurposed content won’t look repurposed.

3. Captivate with creativity.

Facebook announced an algorithm change that impacts businesses by driving organic social reach (likes/shares) – unless, of course, you’ve got an advertising budget already in place. The sky is the limit for engaging and creative content that will organically reach audiences. The more useful the content, the more people will share it. The more captivating or riveting, the more likely it will go viral. The most shared videos on Facebook, for example, often involve adorable animals, helpful tips and, of course, music.

4. Make sure content is visually appealing.

The popularity of social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest proves that we all enjoy pretty pictures. Twitter, Facebook and SnapChat have built in ways for you to incorporate video, GIFs and photos, along with a host of options, like live feed, highlight reels and even custom frames. For written content, consider length, layout (bullets, italics, pull quotes, links), headlines and graphics. All must work well together to create optimal appeal, just like on the pages of newspapers.

5. Make it mobile-friendly.

According to social thinking agency We Are Social, more than half the world’s web traffic now comes from mobile. Given this statistic, you should optimize content for mobile viewing to reach the broadest audience. Strategies might entail more thoughtful formatting, shortened written text (no more than 500-800 words), more visuals and even detailed website coding. People on the move typically have limited time to digest information, therefore, make it easy to obtain, visually appealing on mobile devices and, most importantly, shareable.

Are you ready to up your content game? Download Axia Public Relations’ e-book on inbound marketing to learn about the importance of content and how shifts in marketing, PR and communications are more reliant on content development and distribution.

Clients love Wendy’s compelling writing. She has nearly 20 years of experience in technology, business, consumer and nonprofit public relations. She serves on the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress PR Task Force and is a culinary enthusiast and champion for the special needs community. Wendy has worked with Axia Public Relations since September 2014. Learn more about Wendy.

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