6 Things Your Content Needs that You Might Have Neglected
As a millennial, I have a perpetual need for more work (read: more money). I'm not ashamed to admit it. I have multiple freelance clients with a wide range of needs and goals. I have noticed, however, that I am often hired to handle goals before those needs are addressed. So before I get started, I'm going to clue you all in on something.
A social media strategy is only as good as the content it's provided with. I mean it. I can get more impressions by posting more, no problem. But a quality strategy will result in increased engagement, increased click-throughs, and lower bounce rates. Those only come if the content being promoted is interesting, thought provoking, professional, and trustworthy.
So how do you make sure your content will perform on social media?
Don't abandon the basics. You can technically write about whatever you want. But if you're trying to give advice or make a point, you need to set up a foundation first. A solid set of articles on the basics of managing personal finance, for example, will be liked, read, and passed around much more than an article about the financial setbacks of owning a chinchilla.
Think about what your market wants to see, not what you want to show. Maybe you've always wanted to own a chinchilla. That's why you want to write about it. But has your audience ever wanted to own a chinchilla? Is that their most pressing concern? They're cute, but they're probably not having a crisis over whether or not buying one is financially responsible.
Check your spelling and grammar. I love to read. I love to read books, magazines, short stories, poems, and anything else I can get my hands on. Including content. Nothing gets me to leave a site faster than an obvious spelling or grammar mistake. How am I supposed to trust the writer as an authority if they don't even proofread their work?
Include images every 300 words. Illustrate your points. Every 300 words might be too much, but you get the idea. Images create context. Show people why they should keep reading by introducing the theme of the next thought or paragraph with a relevant image. Without visuals, people only remember about 20% of the text they read, and people are becoming more and more reliant on images and videos every day.
Be design-minded. Content and websites that look unprofessional, patched together or downright shady will send people running from your website before it even has the chance to fully load. If your site is easy to navigate, clean, and well-designed people will feel more comfortable browsing around your content. Take the extra time to make sure the way your content looks the way you want your content to feel.
Ask what your readers want to hear about! Add a suggestion box. Ask the question at the end of each post. Let it fill up your comments section. Make sure you listen to what your readers want. They have tons of thoughts and ideas that they're perfectly willing to share with you and that you know they want to hear about. USE THEM.
Do you agree? Do you have something to add? Tell me about it! We're all here to improve.
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