Great lengths of text in your content are not attractive – it is only when someone starts reading that they come to life and potentially capture your audience. That takes an investment of time that many visitors may not want to make.
Too much uninterrupted text in your content will put potential readers off.
There are many ways to break up long stretches of text, but by far the most powerful is to use images.
Unlike text, images are processed almost immediately by the brain, and instantly capture someone’s attention. A great image will hold that attention and convert the visitor to a reader.A great image is simple to understand, striking, relevant to the content and should create an emotional response in the viewer. It should be of high quality, that is to say, in-focus, colour-balanced, in an appropriate resolution for the medium and not too dark or too light.
For more on images here’s a blog I wrote on how to Attract business by using more images in it I talk about using unique images, images that you have either created or have a sole right to use. If that’s not possible then here’s How to search for images and some tips on using Stock images for B2B websites
There is nothing worse than reading paragraph after paragraph of dry, boring, characterless copy.
Of course, some technical copy may have to be more formal than say, a layman’s overview, but then its appeal is the depth of essential information it contains. It will be interesting to those technical experts who desperately need it.
For the rest of us though, we prefer to read something a little lighter, even mildly entertaining, when consuming content.
At the very least your writing should contain some character, some flavour. That’s actually quite difficult to do deliberately as it’s a very subtle effect. The best way to inject some flavour into your content is to write naturally, to write as if you were talking to somebody – that way, your natural character should make its way into the writing. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grammar and proof check it, as well as remove any spoken phrases that feel uncomfortable in print. It’s all about your tone of voice.
The most shared and liked content on social media is usually humorous. Funny or amusing content engages people and makes them more receptive to new ideas and learning new things. If you can add some humour into your content it will have an impact.
However, humour is very subjective, so it’s a dangerous weapon, get it wrong and the impact that you make will be all negative. This is especially true in B2B where a more serious tone is often expected. Even so, the injection of some subtle humour – or humorous examples – can be very effective.
Setting aside written B2B content, humour is easier to add to videos and webcasts, seminar presentations and images. Some of the best presentations and videos are those with an appropriate sense of humour. And certainly, they are the most shared and talked about.
Look at the pictures in tabloid newspapers – what is in almost every single one?
People.
Nearly every picture in the newspapers features people. Because image editors know that people relate to other people. They have a strong emotional reaction to their fellow human beings that they don’t have to objects, concepts, products or things.
So adding real people to your content, whether that be in the form of images, stories, interviews, even quotes, will make it more likely to invoke a response.
When people tell a story or relate an experience in their own words it’s more authentic, more believable and more likely to trigger a response. It also adds that all-important character to your content.
In today’s world of fake news, honesty and authenticity are more important than ever in your marketing. Your audience is more sceptical than ever, so featuring real people speaking with their own voice, is very effective.
We know that one of the most effective types of content is the case study. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense, as you should be creating content that is appropriate to your audience – content they find relevant and useful. By telling the story of someone in a similar situation to them, you are creating directly relevant and relatable content.
Examples are really stories, and storytelling should be at the heart of your content. Powerful stories are ones that touch a nerve in the reader, so try and give examples that are relevant to your audience. If you know your audience well, you should know what they struggle with, what issues they face, what questions they are likely to have. If you can address these elements in a good example from your customers, you have the makings of the most powerful marketing content you can publish.
There are many ways to improve your content, and it’s something you should be constantly looking at – reviewing the results, looking at improvements and refining your output. If you aren’t currently doing any of these four things, start with at least one and build from there.