4 Steps to Great Content
What makes content great? It all boils down to 4 important criteria. Apply these to your content to improve the way that you connect with your target audience online.
Understandable
Make sure your content is presented in a way that your target reader will understand. Whether text, audio or video, the message needs to make sense.
- Addresses their questions and concerns
- Presents logical details
- Uses terms they understand
Keep in mind that online readers scan items. Make sure the headline and subheads tell the story. Provide the most important details up front.
Actionable
Your content has a purpose. Your call to action should reflect that purpose.
- Want readers to access more info? Provide the link.
- Want them to make a purchase? Include a Buy Now button.
- Want them to ask questions? Allow comments or provide an email address they can use.
- Want them to share? Include links to key social media.
You get the idea. Make it easy for people to act on the purpose behind your content.
Findable
Your content can’t be great if no one can find it. Be sure to know the words and phrases (keywords, anyone?) that your target reader uses when looking for information. Use those words in the title and subtitles, as well as within the content. Also be sure to use keywords in ALT text for images and the meta description tag.
Shareable
Speaking of sharing, getting readers to share your content with their network is an important ingredient to building online credibility. Research shows that content is more likely to be shared that:
- Creates an emotional response
- Asks explicitly for a share and offers a compelling reason to do so
- Has easy tools that enable sharing from the same screen as the content
