Every day, Internet users publish and share countless bits of information. Additionally, practically every article has links to additional content. Meanwhile, social media has an endless stream of content vying for attention. In the end, the people you want to reach with your material might never see it amidst all the noise.
For this reason, the job of getting your content noticed by your desired audience can seem like a daunting task. After all, people are already limited on the account of their time and attention span. Consequently, even if you create high-quality material, you still might not adequately communicate your message.
Being that the success of your content affects the performance of your business, you must take decisive action. For starters, consider the following four easy tactics to make your content stand out from the crowd.
1. Write a Strong Headline
Most people will read a headline, but only about twenty percent of them will read an entire article. With this in mind, you must create an intriguing headline to captivate your readers. In other words, your headline influences the success of everything you publish.
Try including numeric or statistical data. Similarly, articles in the form of lists, so-called listicles, appeal to readers because these announce that the content discusses a certain number of facts or tips. You can also boost your headlines by including emotionally charged adjectives and by asking questions that begin with how or why.
As you write, challenge your reader to react by providing a clear call to take definite and immediate action. Also, without making unrealistic promises, make sure you explain how your readers will benefit from their response.
2. Educate and Entertain with Interactive Content
Interactive content is more attractive to casual viewers. Do everything possible to create a personalized experience that keeps your readers engaged from the time they open your page until the time they leave.
To achieve an educational and entertaining experience for your readers, create content that induces dialog. Regardless of whether you publish blog content or send marketing emails, make sure you give your audience a chance to interact with buttons, text boxes, videos and other tools.
Overall, customers want to get value from their online experience. As a result, if you make sure that your content informs and entertains, your content will stand out. Regardless of whether your content simplifies life, resolves a question or supplies information, it adds value to your audience by delivering immediate, relevant and personalized results.
3. Use Infographics to Grab Your Reader’s Attention
Communicate your messages visually by encapsulating complex ideas in an easy to read graphic. Not only will this add to the information value of your content but also give you a chance to make your content more entertaining and fun to read.
As you begin creating your infographics, however, make sure that you also compose a complementary text. Doing so can create synergy between the two content types and improve your results. In other words, make sure that your infographics and text concisely communicate your message and compel action.
Infographics will continue to work for you long after your readers have left your website or social media page. In the first place, people tend to remember images more accurately and longer than they do words in print. Furthermore, people often share this type of content and thereby extend your reach over the course of time.
4. Impress Your Audience with Video Content
High bandwidth mobile Internet connections have driven the popularity of video content. You can now quickly and affordably produce video content that attracts and fascinates audiences as you tell your story. Regardless of whether you create video tutorials and “how-to” clips or if you use video to demonstrate your goods and services, you can create a unique look and feel for your brand.
Of course, in many cases, the appeal of video content attracts more traffic to your website or blog, so it should play a major role in any marketing effort. Not all video content is equal, however, so use your creativity to make an experience for your viewers that is as entertaining as it is informative.
When it comes to your videos, make sure you make them long enough to concisely accomplish your goals yet short enough to keep the attention of your viewers. Moreover, you can add links to related videos and other material at the end of each clip to make sure people can always learn more.
Conclusion
The selling ranks of digital publishers have caused an abundance of information online. Additionally, most people face a deluge of information in their inboxes. As competition for the attention of Internet users increases, you must deliver value through your strategic use of headlines as well as your text-based, graphic and video content. As a result, you will stand out from the crowd.
Author bio: Ashley Wilson is a freelance writer interested in business, marketing, and tech topics. She has been known to reference Harry Potter quotes in casual conversation and enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. Connect with Ashley via Twitter.