Google thinks that we are the kind of people who love surprises. We are not. At least when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) we love certainties that allow us to create and apply winning website optimization strategies. Google doesn’t seem to care about this, since it constantly bombards us with algorithm updates and an ever-growing number of changes that usually take us by surprise and make us rethink or rebuild our SEO plans from scratch.
Interpreting Google’s New Makeover
At this point, all webmasters should focus their attention on Google’s sneaky redesign ideas that have recently been put into practice, probably while we were enjoying our beauty sleep. All in all, it seems that these changes have been made to boost consistency in design, create a cleaner look and perfect the multi-device navigation experience.
Here’s are the main alterations that impact both SERPs formats and AdWords blocks. 1) Search Results. Obviously, if you run an online business and your website is indexed by Google, you care about the way in which your webpage appears in search engine results. No, your eyes are not playing a trick on you and yes, Google does look a bit different. Here are the main modifications that should catch your eye: first of all, the new version brings a bigger, much more visible title font. At the same time, Google has decided to ditch the underlining and make the URL source just a bit smaller, without changing the mini links or the snippet.
The larger title font may make it easier for your visitors to find you, but this alteration has another implication that you may want to factor in: a bigger title font could reduce the size of some title tags and influence your conversion rates. According to Moz, this means that in the future you may be forced to create smaller title tags, at least for some of your most important pages. Furthermore, there is another important element that captures our attention: a horizontal divider placed at the bottom of the search result. This divider separates search engine results and makes it easier for visitors to find the sources of info that they would like to check out, regardless of the type of devices that they are using to surf the Internet. 2) AdWords. Google has also implemented a few basic changes, in an attempt to come up with a new AdWords format. Here we spot the main key differences listed above: the oversized title fonts, the horizontal divider and the non-underlined titles. But there are other changes that have taken us by surprise. First of all, the pinkish background and the “ads related to” feature are no longer a part of the picture. A yellowish, very noticeable [Ad] box is strategically placed in front of every single ad. The right-hand side column of the Adwords block displays fewer, less dramatic changes, which include just one [Ad] box for the entire right column, more vertical space and bigger titles.
Should We Work Against the Game-Changer or Embrace the Change?
So the question on everybody’s lips is this: should we feel intimidated by these sudden changes that caught us off-guard?
In November, Moz anticipated the fact that Google will switch to a card-like design, meant to ensure an ideal web experience for all Internet users. As mobile and tablets become increasingly popular and new types of gadgets, like Google Glass could soon change the way in which we navigate online, Google is going for much more versatile SERPs that could be easily mixed and matched to provide different combinations that are much more relevant to various search devices and situations. The horizontal divider used to separate search engine results may not represent a major change for now, but it can be interpreted as a first modification made by Google in an attempt to reorganize the old SERPs that we know and love into units that could be reorganized and displayed in different ways.
It doesn’t really matter if we like the new redesign ideas or not. We have no saying in this. It’s important to know that these changes have recently been confirmed by Jon Wiley, Google’s top search designer and that they may be a tiny part of a much bigger plan. In this context, it is important to find out how these alterations could impact your website’s visibility and profitability and act accordingly. Don’t hate the game-changer; hate your potential lack of initiative that could jeopardize your efforts to stay in the game.
No matter if you’re a lawyer or agricultural field surveyor, your website and your services should be worded in a way that everyone on the world wide web can read and understand it. Ask yourself – Is my content smarter than a 5th grader? Don’t worry – we’re not exactly asking you to “dumb it down.” In fact, we get that you want your content to be smart and informative. This is more about making your web content reader-friendly. Stop trying to be the Charles Dickens of copywriting and begin crafting readable content.
What is Readability?
First off, let’s discuss what readability is when it comes to web content. You should know a few literacy facts before you begin writing. For example, National Law Review states that the average reading level in the United States is a seventh grade level with 1 in 5 American adults who can only read at a fifth grade or lower level. Creating something that is readable for a fifth grader is not just a catchy title for our blog; it is true. You need to write your content so that a fifth grader can read and understand it.
Now, not all of your readers will only be able to read at a fifth grade level, so let’s look at a few ways to make your content easier to read for everyone.
1. Stay Away from the Robo-Boogie. You want your content to rank in the search engine so people can find you, but if you write your content for a search engine you will find readers leaving ASAP. The people you are writing for are not the robots that pop your site up in a search result. If you write predominately for a search engine, your content will not be reader-friendly and will sound awkward because of all the keywords you stuff throughout your content. Don’t do that! Focus on writing on a personal level with a conversational tone. This makes your content easier to read and people can actually relate to you, which is what you want.
2. Jargon-Schmargon. A key part of keeping your content reader-friendly is to stay away from technical jargon. Yes, you may be writing content for legal or insurance companies, but you need to stay away from all the legalese. The general population will not understand most of it, and you want them to be able to relate to what they are reading and to seek out the company you are writing for. If you constantly use technical terms in your content, people will feel like your business will not work well with them and they will look elsewhere. Don’t let that happen! If you have to use institutional jargon, then give brief explanations or say that a friendly associate is willing to help people understand the terms. Make sure people will feel helped.
3. Utilize those Sub-headers. Sub-headers make reading any piece of content a cinch for readers. Copyblogger says that sub-headers engage readers throughout the entire piece and provide mental breaks for them. Sub-headers are like chapters in a book. Your mind knows to rest once you get to the next chapter, so too with sub-headers. You can use sub-headers to grab attention, to tell some information about the paragraph, and to provide an outline for readers. Many readers really enjoy outlines as they can read ahead and know what to expect throughout the article and if the article is interesting. This also helps for the readers who will not read the whole article. They will get the information they want simply by reading your sub-headers. If you don’t provide this, they’ll move on to other content.
4. Lists For the Win! You’ve seen them all over Facebook – lists are an absolute favorite of readers right now and they organize thoughts in short, concise sentences, sometimes offering descriptions. Lists are great ways to get your ideas across to your readers while keeping them engaged. They provide people with enough information and many will read a post in its entirety if it is in list format. Lists are easy to scan and if they are made in a bulleted format, they will stand out from the rest of your content. If someone is scanning your content for the bare information, that bulleted list is going to capture his or her attention pretty quick!
FTW – Simple Content
Matt Cutts recently came out and said (just this February 2014) that it’s better to write with “content clarity” rather than using technical language. He said to focus on clarity of writing and simplicity in words, rather than jargon or scientifically-important language. Way to back us up here, Matt!
By following these steps, you will be able to craft incredible and readable content. You will not have to sacrifice your information or feel that you are “dumbing down” your content because you will still be creating something that is done well. Readability is all about engaging readers, regardless of reading level, and helping them to learn more about your product or services in a simple, yet informative way. It is never too late to start crafting your wonderfully reader-friendly content!
While it might be tempting to answer, “nothing,” I’d encourage you to look a little deeper.
Sure, Tolkien invented magical lands and languages and creatures few of us could concoct in our wildest dreams, but there’s still a similarity. That similarity links you and me, and all of us who work in the written word, to Tolkien, Rowling, Nabokov, and Chekov. What is it?
The similarity is a love of stories and a fondness for telling them.
Today, too many people sell “marketing” or “commercial” writing off as a pursuit devoid of creativity. They see it as nothing more than some empty pitches and a hard-sell. Lucky for them, and for us, those people are wrong.
As someone who has spent all my life creating and consuming stories, I can tell you that storytelling is central to great brand writing and that only companies who nail it right off the bat succeed with their customers down the road.
Today, we’re going to talk about storytelling: what it is, why it matters, and how you can blend it into your web content. Read on.
What is Storytelling?
No matter who you are, where you came from, or what you studied in school, you’ve probably had the experience of hearing a story that knocked your socks off.
Think about that story for a moment.
How about the opening lines of Star Wars (one of my all-time favorite cinema classics)?
Maybe you were enamored by the opening lines of Kafka’s Metamorphosis:
“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.”
Or Nabokov’s Lolita:
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee.Ta.”
Maybe it was the opening line of The Hobbit that made you sit up straight in your chair, suck in your breath, and clutch the book a little tighter at the sheer joy of the story to come:
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
While each of these stories came from a different part of the world, different culture, and a different time, each has one thing in common: they grab you, and they won’t let go.
This is storytelling, in all its richness and beauty.
Why Stories Matter
Storytelling in copywriting is the perfect way to engage readers and claim their attention. To understand how to tell great stories, though, it’s essential first to figure out why they matter so much.
Stories are integral to human society. Stories are and have always been, a part of life. Since the excellent way ancient beings painted petroglyphs on the walls of caves, to the day when Rowling sat down to write the first few lines of her Harry Potter series, not much has changed. Stories are meant to entertain and delight, to help people pass the time and uncover deeper meaning in life.
Today, the methods by which people tell stories has changed, but the importance they hold in society hasn’t. As such, marketers who understand how important telling stories is can succeed capturing something rare and extraordinary that allows them to reach the next level of connection and emotion with their readers.
The Connection Between Copywriting and Storytelling
You don’t think copywriting and storytelling go hand in hand? It might be time to think again.
What do you think you’re doing when you write up that long product description or your latest press release? Sure, you’re providing customers with the facts, but you’re also telling a story. It might not be something from the Brothers Grimm, but it’s a story nonetheless. And this story helps delight your readers and assist them to make a connection with the product, good, or service you’re writing about.
When you tell the story the right way, you have the potential to make a new connection with your readers and help them remember you the way you want them to remember you. This is a rare opportunity afforded to only the best and bravest marketers.
How To Incorporate Storytelling In Your Web Content: 5 Epic Tips
Even if you fancy yourself more an inbound expert than a mythologist, it’s still possible to create unforgettable stories. Here are five epic rules for incorporating storytelling into your online content, starting now:
1. Keep it Relevant and Interesting
A great story teller knows who is going to read it, and tailors its voice accordingly. The same needs to go for your online writing. Relevant stories perform better with their audiences, and help perpetuate that feeling of enchantment and mystery.
Luckily for you, staying relevant doesn’t have to mean getting boring. To keep your story relevant and exciting, find ways to tie it back to your target audience consistently. As you write, ask yourself if they would appreciate, connect to, or identify with the topic of your story. If so, keep going. If not, reevaluate. The more relevant you can keep your tale, the better it will perform with your readers.
2. Do the Opposite of What GRRM Did
George R. R. Martin is known for his lengthy descriptions of banquets and the gigantic nature of his A Song of Ice and Fire novels. He is also known for taking eons to publish his books. They are amazing, there’s no doubt about it.
But if there’s one thing online creators should learn from George, it’s what not to do – and here’s why.
If you want to succeed at storytelling online, do the opposite of what George did. Instead of going into painstaking detail so extensive you lose the online reader, who has 8 seconds to keep their attention on one topic, take a large-picture approach and ensure that what you’re writing is useful and exciting, first and foremost.
Don’t write extremely long stories and don’t take forever publishing your content. While there’s some evidence to suggest that long-form content performs better online than short-form content, this isn’t a good reason to string your content along just because you can.
Remember: there’s a difference between long-form and overstuffed. Today’s successful online content needs to be more than just long: it also needs to be helpful and exciting. With this in mind, avoid cramming your content full of junk just to extend its word count or make it seem more extensive.
3. Read, Read, Read, Then Write
As Stephen King says, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.” Reading is paramount for crafting great stories. You will not be able to come up with something witty and intriguing if all you do is look at Facebook every day.
Note that when I say read, I mean things both inside and outside of copywriting. While it’s smart to read your industry papers, publications, and journals, you should also venture outside your industry into the great novels, stories, and poetry of the world. While it might seem like there’s nothing to be learned here, these storytellers can give you a master class in how to construct and deliver appealing content to the masses.
To put this another way, when you read things that will inspire your writing, you give yourself the competitive edge in a very competitive industry. Try checking out Orson Scott Card’s Ender series or Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
If science fiction and fantasy aren’t your jam, try Agatha Christie, Mark Twain, Lemony Snicket, Fyodor Dostoevsky, or Charles Bukowski. No matter who or what you love to read, reading more and writing more will both help you flex and build your storytelling muscles, and enjoy more compelling stories in no time.
Remember: you don’t have to tie yourself into a particular genre or brand, either: just find an author you love to read and go with it. It doesn’t matter if you’re hooked on presidential biographies or fantasy novels, just as long as you’re reading.
4. Treat Your Brand Like an Epic Tale
Think about fairy tales for a moment: they’re some of the most archetypal stories out there.
Each of them has a few things in common: a separation, initiation, and return, and a series of characters that typically includes some assortment of a wise old sage, a young hero, an animal assistant, and a villain. While stories like The Little Mermaid and Bluebeard may seem very different, they share some key ingredients that make them work.
If you want to incorporate storytelling into your web content, one of the first things you’ll need to learn to do is to take a hint from these epics: treat your brand as a story for the ages, and it will become one.
When you look at it this way, your brand launch wasn’t just a launch: it was a great quest for a distant goal. Your founders aren’t just founders, they’re adventurers paving new roads. The problem you’re seeking to solve isn’t just an annoyance: it’s a foundational villain you’re out to destroy.
The more you can incorporate the storytelling structure into your content, the more successful you’ll be both in the long- and short-term.
While this doesn’t mean you need to use fantastical language or create fantastical demons to star in your product descriptions, it does mean that incorporating the structure of storytelling into your daily life can help you master the art of online copy.
5. Craft a Narrative Arc
For the stories in your online copy to be as compelling as possible, they need to follow a narrative arc that takes them from the introduction to the conflict to resolution. Not only does this keep the reader interested: it also serves to structure your story and makes it more recognizable as a story than as marketing copy.
Keep the narrative arc in mind as you write your stories, since this will provide the foundation and roadmap they need to become truly unforgettable.
If you’re having a difficult time finding the narrative arc in your story, consider having someone else read it for you. The second set of eyes will be helpful to identify storytelling structure and help you improve it accordingly.
Happy Storytelling to You!
You’ve read the tips for interweaving stories with your web content, and now it’s time to get to work integrating the age-old practice of storytelling into your daily writing and life.
Need an example of a brand that does storytelling well?
Look no further than Starbucks!
The coffee chain released a story about their siren logo and how it came to be within their brand. Are you surprised they pulled it from literature? Or that people loved its inception story so much?
Telling a story about your brand and how it came to be is a great way to garner more interest in your company, as well as establish a personal connection with customers. When you master it accordingly, your readers and your brand both stand to benefit far beyond your wildest dreams.
What’s more, telling a story is one of the only ways to hone your writing, improve your brand, and make your products, goods, and services unforgettable to your customers.
Need expert writers to help you craft high-quality stories starting today? Visit our Content Shop today to get started.
Buckle up and settle in. It’s harder than you may think.
Good content that people want to read isn’t just well-written. It’s also:
Organized
Concise
Scannable
In other words, it’s easy on the eyes. You don’t have to do much work to make sense of it.
But, why is this important?
It’s simple: People read differently on the web than they do anywhere else. “Anywhere else” includes papers, books, magazines, and other printed matter. Whatever the physical medium, people do not read them the same way they read a web page.
If you’re not optimizing your web content for the way people read on the web, you’ll be turning them away more often than inciting them to dive deeper.
Want people to get the most out of your content? You need to fan the flames of their interest, not douse them in freezing cold water.
Why Do People Read Web Content Differently?
Why do people read differently on the web than they do for printed matter?
We could surmise that people don’t feel like they have time to read every page they encounter word-by-word. The web is so large, and there’s so much information to sift through, something’s got to give.
Think about how many pages you click through daily. If you have no idea, check out your browser history for yesterday. How many websites did you visit?
If you’re like me, the list is most likely a mile long. There’s no way I would have digested all that information unless I scanned it.
Deep reading is not conducive to web browsing.
What Does Research Say About Reading on the Web?
Research backs up the fact that people don’t read web content like they do books.
In fact, the Nielsen/Norman Group found this was true 79% of the time in an eye-tracking study they did. They measured over 300 people’s eye movements as they browsed hundreds of websites. They came to an overwhelming conclusion:
People do not read on the web. They scan.
Slate came to a similar conclusion when they tracked how far people scrolled down their web pages before leaving. Even if people do stick around long enough to scan the page, they don’t stay for long.
About 50% of users stopped scanning at the halfway mark in a Slate article before they clicked away from the page. Across the web, people stopped at about the 60% mark.
Here’s Slate’s conclusion:
“Few people are making it to the end, and a surprisingly large number aren’t giving articles any chance at all.”
Another Nielsen study found that to be true. According to the research, people only have time to read (or choose to read) about 28% of any given web page.
If this isn’t discouraging for web content creators, I don’t know what is.
If we can’t get people to read our content, how do we make any impact at all?
There’s Hope: You Can Get People to Scan and Scroll Your Web Content
Yes, you can improve your chances that people will scan your content, read at least some of it, and scroll all the way to the end.
On the internet, where attention spans are shorter than a blip, that’s a huge deal.
Some of these tips to achieve these goals may be obvious, but some may be surprising. Here are five ways to make people more likely to skim, scan, and read.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Learn the five strategies to get people to scan and scroll your web content via @ExpWriters!” quote=”Learn the five strategies to get people to scan and scroll your web content via @ExpWriters!”]
1. Organize Your Content Well
Well-organized content is scannable content. It’s a cinch to read, plus, you can easily find ideas within the text. Some examples of good organization:
Bulleted lists
Numbered lists
Headings and sub-headings
Short paragraphs with one main idea in each
Meaningful links
These all have one thing in common. They’re all ways to break up your content so it’s scannable. Readers latch on to these text markers – all of them are alerts that say, “Hey, this is important. Pay attention.”
And, luckily, most readers do!
So, what does the opposite look like? This leads us to my next point:
2. Don’t Build Walls of Text!
You can find content with zero organization most often in that infamous “wall of text.” You know what I’m talking about.
It’s hard to scan and will make people want to punch their computer – never a good scenario.
Because they can’t punch their computers, instead, they’ll leave your website without a backward glance.
3. Make Your Organization Logical
A page that’s organized is great, but if that organization isn’t logical, you’re still not helping your readers.
What does logical organization look like?
It means ideas are grouped together. One paragraph, one idea. One bulleted list, one main idea. Here’s a fantastic example:
Note that all items in each list go together. On one hand, there’s the list of ingredients. On the other, there are the instructions. These groupings make sense. They’re logical.
Here’s an illogical example:
Note the formatting. Some of the items have punctuation; others don’t. Some are one-word long; others are sentence-length.
Also, note the information itself. All the items in this list relate to ice cream, but they don’t all belong there. A bulleted list needs to have the same type of “thing” next to each bullet.
Don’t make these errors. Instead…
4. Format Your Bulleted Lists Well
Good organization helps your readers immensely. It also makes them want to linger on your page.
When your page is easy-as-pie to scan, your readers can glom-on to important information. They’ll grab the hook and get caught on your line.
Here are some main keys for strongly organized lists in your content:
Don’t mix sentence fragments with full sentences in your lists. Use phrases exclusively, or only use sentences with periods – not both.
If you find yourself typing out long lists with commas in paragraphs, consider breaking up that information into a bulleted list.
Try to use the same sentence structure and type in your lists for each bullet. For instance, don’t mix statements with questions.
Don’t overuse bullets or lists. Employ them when it makes sense, especially when they clarify your ideas.
In short, to make sense, use common sense. Try your best to enlighten your readers, not confuse them. Break up your content, organize it, and do it logically.
5. Use SEO Strategies
SEO is how you make your website usable and readable for both search engines and humans.
This optimization double-whammy is exactly how you should go about boosting your content for a better user experience.
SEO tenets, like the use of keywords, headers, meaningful links, and more, contribute to readability.
Plus, according to Yoast, readable text ranks. On the other hand, text that’s hard to read will not rank. Think stilted sentences, strange wording, or unorganized blocks of text.
Bottom line: Search engines loathe walls of text in web content. You should, too.
Get Read More Widely: Format Your Web Content the Right Way
Unfortunately, most internet users don’t do any deep reading on the web.
That blog post you spent hours composing? It may not get skimmed past the third paragraph. Even more people will bounce before they ever read the first line.
These are not good reasons to get discouraged and quit, though. Instead, take them as motivation to format your web content so it’s ultra-readable.
This means a logical organization with zero text walls. It means using bulleted or numbered lists to break up chunks of information. It means being smart about including meaningful headings and links.
Don’t forget the SEO! This is the perfect way to optimize for both search engines and people. Implement basic SEO tenants and you’ll find that organization is inherent to its success.
To sum it all up, pay attention to what you’re saying, but don’t neglect how you’re saying It, either. The way your words appear on the web can dramatically affect how people consume your content.
To feed the most people, make it easy to digest. Make it readable.
If your content is suffering from lack of structure and organization, call on Express Writers to help. We produce web content that’s simple to read and well-written.
By now, you’ve probably read (skimmed, noticed, you-name-it, we know you saw it…*insert wink face*) all our articles about how to create compelling content and are well on your way to changing your 2014 content strategy.
As you make your changes, you are probably wondering if content truly is that important and if you will see any changes within your company. Well, we can tell you that it really is important and you will begin to see amazing changes soon. This article will discuss a few of the benefits you can expect when you begin to publish quality content.
First, Let’s Start with a Little Testimony From Our Books. At Express Writers, we truly know what good content means and the power of content that’s not just written for rankings. We upgraded our content campaign in 2013, invested some of our best writers in writing our content campaigns, utilized tools like editorial calendars, planned out seasonal topics, and switched from keyword focus to reader, tone, voice, structure and research. It was a big switch, and it has boosted our return by over 200%. Google ranks our posts better–even though they are NOT centered around keywords; we have received more connections, followers, and subscribers for our published content (from newsletter campaigns to guest blog RSS) than we ever have before; and people like what they read and are more quick to look to our team for their own quality content. It’s the truth: investing in your content–putting real elbow grease and investment–will bring you return.
Now that you have read our little testimonial, it is time to look at changes you will see once you start publishing your quality and fascinating content:
1. You Will Make and Save Money
Once you begin to write and publish your stellar content for the world to see, you will begin to see something amazing in your budget and bank account. How so? Well, by writing quality content, you will not have to spend an inordinate amount of money on marketing campaigns. This may not seem true at first, especially if you hire a copywriter; but look at it as a whole:
Is what you are spending on the copywriter for a handful of pieces more or less, than how much you spent on other forms of continual advertising?
You do not have to pay the copywriter continually in order to use their work; once they’ve finished it, it is yours for good.
You will find that paying a copywriter to create great copy will save you money in the long run. You don’t have to keep paying a copywriter in order to use the content they created for you and, in fact, you are able to reuse and make your own changes to the material when you are ready for a change. Quality content will bring in more money from sales as your generic advertisement route will not cut it anymore; sales are relying heavily on content marketing. Once you have made the change, you will begin to reap the benefits financially, which is pretty exciting if you ask us!
2. It Saves Time
Yes, it does! Once you have your content written, you are done with your content marketing campaign. You do not have to keep going back to make changes to fit with seasons or focus on advertisement campaigns that will not bring in the revenue your business needs. By creating great e-newsletter content, great PRs, web content, and blogs, you will find that you have more time to focus on getting to know your customers and working to keep them as part of your business for a long time. Compelling content saves you from having constantly to change a content strategy that isn’t working anymore. This is why we say quality is of the upmost importance. Don’t slack off.
3. Become the Authority in Your Field
By publishing consistent, compelling content, you will be deemed an authority in your product or service area. People are more willing to trust someone who writes consistently and knowledgeably; Google will rank you higher the more you publish with their Google Authorship if your blogs are published frequently and with high quality. You will find more people trusting you as a source over your competitors and this will bring in more customers or more people looking to you for information. You may even find that competitors will come to you as a resource, trying to learn from the compelling content sensei you’ve become.
4. Traffic + Comments
Simply put, quality content increases the traffic to your site. People are not going to share your site if it is drab and filled with uninteresting content. Do not spend all your time focusing on whether or not your keywords are perfect; spice up your content and make it readable. Intriguing, readable content will guarantee more shares on social media and this is how the traffic will increase to and around your site. The more traffic, the better ranked you will become. In addition, it will just feel great to look at your statistics and see the traffic numbers rocketing from minimal to viral in a snap! Comments on your blog postings are another great benefit of writing fascinating content. Readers and customers will be more willing to discuss information with a business that is open minded and knowledgeable.
5. Customer Interest and Support
Quality, compelling content will help you create a great customer base of interested clientele. According to Social Media Today, customers are more willing to support the business if the business’s content is exciting and from the heart, they will share any information regarding the business with colleagues, family, and friends. People will even share it on their social media platform, helping to increase the audience your business wants to reach.
There are many other ways in which gripping content helps with customers such as:
Learning More About Your Customers. Customers who are truly interested in your product due to your content will give you great ideas on how to tweak services provided. You will find customers to be more willing to give you tips and tricks on how to beat the competition as well as telling you what they expect from your company. Customers are your best resource when it comes to slamming the competition. Because of this, you will be able to gain useful information that will prove effective when setting up winning strategies.
Creating Lasting Relationships with Customers. If you continually post great information and content, customers will stay with you and stay in contact for a long time. They will be committed to your business and will prove to be great forms of advertisement when they know of someone who is looking for a business such as yours. Do not forget that quality content is absolutely necessary when it comes to customer relations.
Bringing in New and Unexpected Customers. You may be surprised when one day you begin to realize you are reaching customers you did not expect to reach. That is a huge benefit of quality content. A wider range of people will notice content that is captivating and you will be able to create interest in more diverse companies or communities. Reaching different groups will be great for your business and be another advertisement point when people begin researching your services.
6. Your Designers Will Thank You
Designers are great at making an awesome looking website and creating something that works wonderfully, but many are not up to the task of creating content. You may think it is part of what they do, but designers will tell you that they would rather design than write. Hiring a copywriter to write compelling content will take all that stress and worry off your designers and you will find that their productivity is greater than before. They no longer have to worry about writing content thus making them more apt to stay with your business and not burn out. You will also find that you are able to recruit great employees. Stellar writers and designers will not apply to a business with boring content, but if your site looks inviting and is written in an engaging manner, you will begin to see professional people taking interest in working for or with your business. Having great employees will help your business become highly successful.
7. Your Competition Will Start Losing to You
Guess what? Fascinating content will help you beat your competition into the ground! That very real struggle of trying to win will become easier the more you publish great material. Customers and search engines will take notice that your information is more interesting and valuable than your competitors, leaving your competitors in the dust. They may be focusing too much on what kind of content to publish or using antiquated methods of outreach, giving you a great opportunity to outshine them, so start creating interesting content and keep creating it! Take a lesson from what your competitors are doing and tweak it to make it a tremendous success for you.
8. You Will Go Viral
Achievement unlocked! Quality, compelling content is the key to going viral. Think about the kind of content you share on your social media site. Is it fascinating? Is the quality amazing? You should be writing the kind of content you would share on your personal social media site. If you write something you would never share, the likelihood that others won’t share it is high. As we keep saying, do not slack off when it comes to writing your content. Your unique, captivating content will help you stand out in the overabundance of articles and web copy out there. By having a unique style and “voice” you will find that more of your content will go viral after the initial viral post. Your blog and site will gain new readers each and every time you go viral. Soon, you will be doing that happy dance of achievement as your posts continue to be viewed by hundreds of people, all because those posts are quality, unique, and sound like you.
9. Great Content Grows with Technology
Technology will never outgrow quality content; that much is clear from Google’s new algorithms. Your compelling material will grow with the available technology and you can use content you already have by implementing any changes that come out from Google or other search engines. You will find that your content will always be excellent and able to be used at any time. That is one of the great things about creating great web content – you can reuse it! Sometimes, all you will have to do is make minor tweaks and edits. Of course, it is always great to refresh your material so it does not always sound the same, but it is easy to use existing content on your site and rewrite it in a new and compelling way. This saves you significant amounts of time and money.
10. You Will Maintain Your Reputation
Have your products and services received high marks from customers? Yes? That’s fantastic! Now, you want to keep those high marks and show potential clients that you are as great as the reviews say. Quality content does just that, it shows potential clients that those high marks are not just from your mom and a few friends. Great content makes you look professional and knowledgeable, leading to a lasting good reputation and more sales for your business. Your reputation will plummet if you post boring material, start writing that great content and keep your already excellent reputation.
You Will Reap Many Benefits When You Use Compelling Content!
The benefits of quality content marketing will tremendously help your business generate more leads, make more revenue, and become an authority in your field. People will flock from all over to a site that has expertly crafted content and are more than willing to offer support to companies. By focusing strongly on great content, your business will boom, and as we said in the beginning go from boo to woo quickly!
