Social media content is currently the buzz word which so many marketers are shouting about. So, what is there to shout about? Well, according to many online marketers it can have a massive impact on your SEO and social media results. So the question is really – is your content tailored towards search and social media? Below are 5 areas which are a must have when writing content.
Is The Content Keyword Focused?
In order for the search engines to pick up your content that you’re writing, it must be keyword focused. This is fundamental to the start of your content writing. By having a focused keyword before you even start writing, not only have you got an idea to bounce off but it will rank within Google. The great thing about using WordPress for blog writing is the use of Yoast. Yoast is an industry based SEO tool which allows you to integrate SEO with your article so that it has a better chance of ranking in the search engines by simply filling out a few requirements. Yoast will ask you to fill out your desired keyword and make sure it matches up against your SEO title and meta description.
Is Your Content On Theme?
It’s very easy to get distracted when writing content. Losing train of thought and distractions elsewhere can make writing content a complete nightmare. Keeping up to what you originally set out to write (using your title as a guideline) and sticking to it can be difficult, just remind yourself occasionally. There’s been times when I’ve written a 1000 word article and the first 500 words is absolutely spot on, then everything past that point is complete jibberish; either it didn’t have my full focus or I was being sidetracked. This is why we strongly advise people who are planning on doing some content, to base it around a keyword. It’s much more focused in that you know you’re writing something which is on theme and not just lots of rubbish. If you’re struggling with what to write, there’s no restrictions saying that you can’t take inspiration from other people’s content. For the keyword in which you’re using, try searching it into Google. You will get the top 10 results on the first page of people talking about that keyword in different ways. You may come across other authors of blogs who are talking about the same thing. As much as social media is about expressing yourself and discussions, it’s also important you listen to what other people are saying. Take on what the experts are saying and implement that into your strategy, just be sure to credit people when neccesary.
Is Your Title Eye-Catching?
Creating content which isn’t very eye catching is the first HUGE mistake you could make! You need to be able to draw your readers in, without the attractiveness of the title, who is going to want to click on the link? We often see lots of companies who outsource their content to an external company, whereby a brief will be sent over and the content company will do their research and write the article within a day or two.
The problem with this is the fact that it loses out on credibility, not the technicalities, but as an article written from an expert’s point of view. We encourage our clients to attempt to write their own content, after all, they’re the experts and know their business area much better than anyone does. On many occasions client’s will ask why their blog isn’t getting any views and we go to look at the list of their articles, and half of them look like they were written for a news bulletin. You need to be asking a question, solving a problem or answering a common frustration within your business area.
For example, if we take two titles, the first one being ‘Stats Show Businesses On the Rise To Create More Content’ and the second, ‘How to Write a 1000 word Article in 60 Minutes’. Which one are you more likely to read? Although this may come down to preference, people like free advice, so I’m banking on the fact that most people would go for the latter. The final aspect of having a great title is knowing that it might be the only thing a potential reader will see through social media. Most social platforms allow previews for external links; the majority of the time this will be the title of the article, and may be an image, this way you can remember how important your title is!
Is the Content Interesting and Does it Solve a Common Frustration?
The content itself should follow a similar path to the title, in a way that it needs to be interesting to your reader, and they need to feel like you as a company can solve their problems. Having fresh content, which is relevant, expert and reliable is more likely to give your company more credibility, plus Google will like this! We often say to clients that they need to write 1000 words rather than 300 words in their articles. Make sure all your articles don’t just try and push sales. Buy this and buy that signals just won’t work in this day and age with online marketing. People need to be able to gain trust before they purchase something, as they don’t want to be forced into a sale, so there’s no better platform to do this than writing your own content.
Is Your Content Sharable Across Social?
Sometimes we will come across clients who have attractive titles, interesting articles and an all-round great pieces of content, which is perfect for social media. But three months down the line they realise that the social media activity isn’t going too well and thought they’d generate better results from it. It may be great content, but a lot of businesses forget how important it is to make sure their content is share friendly. There’s no point writing all these great articles and then not allowing or encouraging anyone to share it! People want to feel good and appear to know what they’re talking about by sharing your content. Add sharing buttons – there’s loads out there. Don’t make it hard for your reader to tell their followers of this great piece of content they’ve come across.
I so happened to stumble upon an article on social media today by Tom Treanor. He was replying to a blog comment he received (something else which is extremely important when working with content), which summed it up. ‘Sometimes a great title is enough to get people to share (without them finishing the post).’
