9 Important Factors When Creating Content
Study after study shows that when done correctly, content marketing offers a much higher return on investment (ROI) than paid ads. This is why 90% of marketers use content marketing to generate leads and drive sales. But there are important factors to keep in mind when developing content for your business.
9 Important Factors For Creating Content
Here’s a look at nine important factors you should keep in mind if you want to create content that gets noticed:
1. Length of Content
There is much debate among content marketing experts as to the perfect length for a blog post. Some experts argue that longer posts (1,000-2,000 words) generate the best results. Others believe that shorter blogs (400-600 words) hold the reader’s attention just long enough to take action.
Results vary from campaign to campaign, but one thing is for certain: do not add words to a blog just for the sake of making it longer. If you can say what you need to in 500 words, don’t stretch it to 1,000. You’re more likely to lose your audience before they ever get to your call-to-action. The most important thing to consider is the subject matter. Then determine how much space you need to explain it properly.
2. Value to the Reader
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When creating content, ask yourself, “does this provide real value to the reader?” Value is not only what creates clicks for your content, but it also keeps your reader’s attention. There are many ways to provide value to the reader, such as offering a solution to a problem, explaining a complex issue, providing advice, and giving instructions. Developing high-level content can portray your company as a thought leader in the industry, enhance customer engagement, improve conversion rates, and boost the company’s overall reputation.
3. Visuals are Important
You want to create content that really grabs the reader’s attention and encourages action. That’s why it’s important to not just have the right words but the right visuals too. This includes all types of graphics and video content. Visual content helps get your point across to the reader. For example, if you are talking about step-by-step instructions, corresponding pictures or video can help the reader better understand the information.
4. Infographics Are Powerful
Designing an infographic when creating content can help generate more attention to your post. An infographic allows you to display a large amount of information, data, or statistics in an easy-to-read format. When done right, an infographic can tell your story more effectively than any other medium. In fact, infographics are shared more than three times as often as plain text.
5. Mobile-Friendly Is a Must
It should be no surprise that the surge in smartphone ownership has increased the percentage of mobile online searches. This means that you must create mobile-friendly content, including text, images, video, and audio, or you will lose a large volume of your potential audience. To help with that, it’s important to double-check your webpages and content before publishing. Most website hosting services provide a way to check the mobile preview of your page, which can show you if you need to make adjustments.
6. Keywords Still Rule
There is no getting around the importance of keywords. Keywords are how search engines connect readers with relevant content. It is vital that you assess which keywords your target audience is most likely to search for and which keywords provide the best results. The increase in voice-command searches has a significant impact on the value of specific keywords. You must continuously track keyword ranking to determine the best keywords and phrases to use for your content.
CopyPress’ own content marketing analysis tool shows you the “low-hanging fruit” your business should be developing content for. Our unique list of keywords for each of our client also shows what competitors are ranking for. Use the results to produce content that can keep you competitive in search engines.
7. Check and Recheck Spelling and Grammar
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Blogs posted with multiple spelling and grammar mistakes can diminish the value of your content in the eyes of the reader. If readers find your content to be of lesser quality, they’re not going to stick around to read it. That can severely impact your SERP ranking. Low-quality content can heavily damage your brand reputation. That’s why it’s important to proof-read your content thoroughly to ensure it’s helpful and engaging to readers, and that it’s free of errors.
8. Easy-to-Read Format
Online users love easy-to-read content. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use some technical jargon or that you shouldn’t provide intelligent content. But you should publish your content in an easy-to-view format. You want to make sure the reader can scan your content easily by using subheadings to break larger blocks of text into smaller parts. Include visual content that catches your reader’s eye. Use bullet points to create scannable lists. These tricks help your content feel more approachable and keep your readers on the page.
9. Entice the Reader to Take Action
This may seem apparent, yet many businesses still underestimate the value of a good call-to-action (CTA). Keep in mind that you do not have to be pushy to get your point across. zIf your content engages with your reader, relates to their struggles, and offers them value, your CTA should feel like a welcomed invitation. But that’s where companies often have the most trouble.
The problem that many companies face isn’t that they don’t understand the value of content marketing. But they don’t know how to create pieces that provide their audience value and stand out among the millions of other pieces of content published online every day. Effective content marketing isn’t as easy as posting some blogs on your website throughout the year. Instead, content marketing requires a comprehensive strategy and a thorough understanding of your target audience.
That’s where CopyPress comes in. Through our proprietary software, Thematical, we can find the best keywords to target for your audience that help you stay competitive in your industry. From there, we have a team of expert writers and editors who work with your brand to develop content in your preferred tone and style. Schedule a call with us today to see how we can boost your content marketing efforts with compelling, high-quality content.
CopyPress writer
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