To say there is an overload of information available online is an understatement – especially when you count the flood of blogs, articles, eBooks and social media posts that go live each day. Website engagement is the goal for most content developers and marketers. However, it may seem like an impossible mission to achieve when you consider the vast number of competitors flooding the same market as you. Here are several effective content marketing techniques that will help you to find a way past that and reach your target audience.
Remember Less is More & Act Accordingly
Website engagement does not mean overloading your social media feed and blog post library. A basic principle of mathematics is that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, right? Focus your content on finding the “straight line” that quickly connects your brand to your audience. Use content marketing techniques that help you find the proper balance to keep your audience satisfied and wanting more versus overstuffed and walking away from the table.
Find the Ideal Word Count for Your Target Audience
What is the perfect word count for your content? The honest answer is there is not a “magic number” that works for all blogs and articles. The key is to find what works best for your audience. Studies have shown that each page should have at least 500 words. However, a recent analysis shows that long-form content (minimum: 3,000 words) outperforms all other content.
Reading that statistic may convince you to try to hit 3,000 words with your very next post or article. The grim reality is that it may be the exact opposite of what you need to do. For instance, if your audience prefers short-form content, then you could run the risk of losing website engagement by raising the bar that high.
Calculate the Value of Your Existing Content
When you read the term “value” regarding your content, it is easy to automatically think of monetization. How much money can you make from your content? However, this word has a slightly different meaning when analyzing content marketing techniques in the era of information overload. You must focus on the value of your content to your audience – not your revenue.
Your objective is to captivate and engage the attention of your target audience. To achieve this goal, you must publish and promote content that is valuable to them. For instance, your biased opinion may state that your most recent post was your very best. What matters, though, is whether your audience feels the same way. Analyze the performance of your most recent posts – including readability and bounce rates – to help assess the true value of your content.
Switch the Format, Add Flavor to Your Content
Examining your past posts and overall content will help you to see exactly which types of content you favor the most. Most content marketing techniques designed to improve website engagement will encourage you to diversify your format portfolio. There is a wide variety of marketing mediums available – from articles and videos to customer testimonials and infographics. Experiment the various options to determine which ones your audience favors the most. More importantly, you will be able to accurately determine which ones they favor the least (if at all). This will allow you to adjust your content development and marketing strategies accordingly.
Use Quality Images to Lighten the Load
An old saying reminds us that a picture is worth a thousand words. What strategy do you use for embedded images? Do you have a strategy? Do you even use images in your content? You can drive a major point home with one image that could take you hundreds of words to explain. As referenced above, you could apply content marketing techniques to create and promote infographics for an even bigger impact! The key here is to provide your audience with as much as value in as few words as possible. Intertwining quality images within your content can help you to do just that.
Start a Conversation & Respond to Your Audience
Is your content one-sided? It is easy to forget that quality content should spark interest and create conversations within your target market. Keep in mind that most content-related algorithms love engagement and conversations.
From likes and shares to comments & mentions, you can boost exposure and expand the outreach of your content simply by starting conversations. It will also help to navigate your online presence away from information overload. How? Your audience will place a priority on your content that will separate it from all the rest.
Think about your social media feeds. Have you noticed that the pages and people you follow & engage with the most seem to fill your feed more than any other posts? The same applies to your favorite search engine or the various reports & articles that pop up in your feed. The more you engage your audience with your content, the more they will respond and engage with you.