You know your website needs engaging, creative content. But you often end up staring at a blank screen. Use these creative content tips & tricks to get writing! Inbound marketing has taken the digital advertising world and flipped it upside down. Not long ago did it seem a mere fantasy for customers to reach out from their own interest. Now, thanks to the power of SEO, you can reach potential customers that you didn't even know existed. But, you can't just throw anything onto the web and expect to reap the benefits of digital marketing. You need a plan and that plan has to include compelling content.
Without any prior experience, this type of professional writing can be a little challenging. That's where we come in. We've done our research and have a pretty great understanding of this whole 'content marketing' thing. Read on to learn how to write creative content that will drive traffic to your website.
Do Your Research
The single handed most important element to creative content is tailoring it to your audience. You need to create content that your target market would find informative and/or interesting. So, how do you know what your audience is looking for? We shall count the ways.
Online Forums:
Quora or Reddit are great tools for finding trending topics in a certain industry. You can get real-time, real-life insight into what an average consumer is experiencing. Online users visit these sites for their conversational aspects. Whether it's to learn from other users or share experiences, there's a whole lot to take away from these sites. To identify what's trending on these sites, simply type your topic into the respective search bars. From there, you can scroll through several threads of conversations from actual users. You can pinpoint some of their key topics, grievances, or other notable ideas.
Social Media Analytics:
Similar to online forums, social analytic tools give you insight on trending topics from a consumer standpoint. You can go to social channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, and search for keywords or hashtags. That will show a feed of posts from users. Or, you can use an analytic software such as Google trends or KeyHole. These software programs allow you to search for hashtags or keywords as well. (*Google Trends is great because you can narrow your search between countries.)
Check The Publications:
Another great source for finding what's popular in your industry is credible publications. Do you follow any industry specific magazines or podcasts that discuss current topics? Tune into these publications and see what they're talking about. If a topic is being discussed heavily online, it's probably going to be talked about by the media. Use this to your benefit, but only trust publications that you recognize as credible.
Narrow Down To One Keyword
You've done your research and found some trending topics for creative content. Next, you will need to identify one keyword that will be used throughout your written piece. Why is that?
SEO In A Nutshell
Keywords are the arteries that pump “SEO” juice into search engine sites. Here is a little rundown of that process:
Online users go to a search engine and type in whatever it is they want to know. Search websites will pull from other web pages whose wording matches the search. For instance, say I live in Boston and am looking for inexpensive Red Sox tickets. As a consumer, I would likely search 'discount red sox tickets'. The search engine will pull up sites that emphasize 'discount red sox tickets' on their page. When writing creative content, keep this procedure in mind. What keywords and phrases (about your industry) would your audience be searching for?
Don't Overuse Keywords
Last word on keywords: Don't. Over. Do. It. We can't emphasize this enough.
The entire premise behind inbound marketing is creating content that benefits the customers. You don't want to spam search engines with bad content that simply uses a keyword a ton. It's tacky, noticeable, and just a generally bad practice. In the industry, we refer to that type of marketing as black-hat SEO, which is really bad business. You can learn more about that here.
Let's Get To Writing
Now, it's time to get into the actual writing. This is where the confusion for marketers typically sets in.
Creative content needs to be just that- creative. You don't have to be writing about the “coolest new thing” to make your piece seem interesting. It's all about tone and how you communicate your ideas. Read more below:
Relate To Your Audience
One productive means for drawing in your audience is by finding ways to relate to them. The professional say we can best bond with our audience by being more human-like. That includes being vulnerable, generous, interactive and showing some personality. Use pronouns like "I", "We", and "Us". Don't be afraid to call on popular analogies and metaphors that relate to your idea. If you're writing about a kickass piece of technology, call it your R2D2. Find ways to show why your topic is important to readers. Make a reader think, "Wow, this happens to me, too. I want to know more about what I can do,".
Tap Into Emotions
Like good advertising, creative content should make us feel something. Whether it's to laugh (read more below) or cry, you should spark this emotion into your audience. Why is that? Because consumers make purchases based on emotional appeals. We are enticed to buy when a company has the ability to make us feel. Be 100% transparent in your writing. If you're writing about an issue in your industry, let your readers know that you know how they're feeling. Show them you understand what their pains are by expressing just that. Say, "We all know how frustrating/sad/inconvenient it is when ___".
Use Humor (When Appropriate)
If some instances, it's okay to try using a little humor in your writing. For this to work, you'll need to consider your audience and what they find appropriate. You can put a positive spin on an otherwise negative element of your industry. For example, you can make a joke about a small issue or grievance all customers will relate to. Use memes or gifs that your readers would find interesting to enhance your message.
Create A Sense Of Importance/Urgency
You should highlight on why your topic is important and an urgent matter. They should leave with a sense of "I should go do/buy this now". Explain to your audience why it's important to care about your certain cause or problem. If you're writing about something that impacts your readers, you can make it relatable. Try showing that you understand how it feels when ___ happens and why it's important to avoid that.
Perhaps, you've convinced them to take an action or make a purchase. Either way, your reader should leave with a different perspective. If you're encouraging your reader to do something, show why it's important they act now. Explain why they shouldn't wait, whether it's missing a sale or an item going out of stock.
What's Next?
You've got your article published to your site, so now's the time to sit back and relax, right? Very wrong.
Quality AND Quantity
For internet marketing to be successful, you need to publish ongoing creative content. 2 blog posts a month won't drive the results you're looking for. You need to find a balance between quantity and quality of your written work. Don't think that it's better to have high-quality pieces than high-quantity pieces. In the SEO world, quantity and quality are both highly important. To keep that SEO juice flowing, you have to continually put out high-quality creative content. Also, loyal readers don't become loyal after one super good blog post. They need to be nurtured through SEVERAL super good blog posts (and other digital marketing strategies).
Don't Do It For An End Result
The last bit of advice we leave you with may sound counterproductive but let me explain. Don't publish creative content for one specific goal. In theory, your purpose for creative content is to fulfill a certain goal. You probably want to increase sales, drive more traffic to your page, or gain new subscribers. Those are all great goals to achieve. But, for your digital marketing plan to achieve ongoing success, publishing content needs to be an integral part. Stop thinking of these efforts as a one-time solution to achieve success. You need to always be refining your skills and adapting to the market.
Going through the motions will leave you with wasted time and resources. You won't get anywhere by just doing it for your end result. Create content because it's informative. Because it's useful. Because it's what your consumers are looking for. Don't do it just because it's a way to boost your online marketing efforts.
Help- Creative Content Is Still Confusing
We get it, it can take a while to master the ins and outs of content writing. But once you do, that's when the real benefits come into play. Are you looking to incorporate creative content into your digital strategy? “contact us” to learn about our service packages and how you can optimize your website.