5 Things You Should Be Doing to Make Your Content Stickier (Part II)
By Sarina Priya, Writer @ Magic Media
Successful content marketing doesn’t just happen overnight, it takes deliberate effort, knowledge of best-practices, constantly trying new things and doubling down on what works. In the name of helping aspiring thought leaders develop their online presence, we recently published a post offering 5 tips to help content creators produce work that resonates better with their audience.
Doubling down on our efforts, we wanted to offer 5 more tips for creating stickier content at scale. As a side note: this series is intended to offer insights into content creation at the higher level; each social media will still require knowledge of the channel to optimize your content.
So without further ado, here are five things you should be doing to make your content stickier (Part II).
1. Encourage conversation
Posting is the first step in creating great content, but it’s not the only step. The next step is to engage your audience. Conclude your posts with a remark that captivates your audience and represents something you yourself would want to engage with. This could be posed in the form of a question, a saucy opinion, etc. Don’t simply watch your engagement — that’s a surefire way for it to dwindle over time — actively engage back. The comments are where the magic happens, and the goal is to open discussions and foster connections.
The simplest way to encourage dialogue is to be attentive. The first hour after posting is crucial, because it’s precisely that time when most eyes are on your post. In general, the more quality engagement you have, the better, and the more memorable your content will be.
Lastly, be sure to comment on other people’s posts as well. Not only will this create a link back to your page for anyone who’s curious about you after agreeing/disagreeing with what you had to say, but it will also encourage the original content creator of that post to engage with your own posts as well.
2. Promote content that isn’t only your own
In line with commenting on other people’s posts, you should also be sharing content that you find interesting and would add value to your audience. Remember that it doesn’t have to all be your own work, and often times shining the spotlight on other people’s work is a great way to network and encourage them to check out your own content.
Today, there are a plethora of sources to choose from when scouting for new information to share, but its important to recognize that what you choose to share helps frame your brand. By choosing reputable and credible sources to post, you’ll be painting that same image of yourself.
If content is the food of the internet, then you definitely are what you eat.
3. Balance variety and consistency
Diversifying your posts keeps your readers interested and can be accomplished in many ways, from changing the formatting of your posts to the actual topics themselves. If you’ve been posting a lot of articles, why not sprinkle in a video or infographic? If all of your posts are blue, you can make the piece that’s been gaining the most traction red to help it further stand out.
At the same time, you want to ensure that what you’re posting is consistent stylistically. By standardizing specific elements within your posts (which elements you choose is contextual and entirely up to you), you’ll frame your brand more effectively. Someone who forgets your name might still be able to find you by remembering the call-to-action you include in each piece for instance, or the hashtag you’ve been dominating since adding it on all of your social media channels.
To find the right balance between variety and consistency, a useful strategy to employ is to only change one thing between each post. In this way, you’ll be able to test the waters before jumping in with reckless abandon. This method also provides a way for newcomers and longstanding followers alike to follow the progression and growth of your content over time.
In essence, adding one thing at a time works as an A/B test of sorts — if your audience likes the change, keep it. If they don’t, simply abandon that addition and try something new with the next one. The rule here is simple, but the distinction needs to be made: you want to grow your brand, not keep changing it.
4. Develop your voice fearlessly
Share your opinions and the masses will join in. Or not. It doesn’t really matter.
What actually matters is the depth of your post and its authenticity. Trust that there will be people who resonate with your own thinking; don’t be afraid to be controversial if you truly believe in what you’re saying. By taking a stance, you are not only establishing yourself as someone knowledgeable in the field, but demonstrating that you are confident enough to share your viewpoint.
If that’s not a thought leader then I don’t know what is.
5. Keep it relatable
Founders and executives enjoy and excel at talking about their industry, but it’s important to remember to keep the content digestible. Industry-specific terms are not bad to use, but it should read in a way that makes it possible to understand the context of the post without having to look up every term.
If you do choose to include acronyms or business lingo, define what they mean first. In doing so, you hold the attention of industry professionals and teach newcomers (instead of steering them away). The goal is to reach a large audience and maintain organic growth, so don’t use words that will narrow your audience, especially when you are starting out.
Stickier Content Leads to Better Business
Social media is an invaluable business tool, and the name of the game is content. Using these five tips to create stickier content, individuals and brands alike can strengthen their image to leverage the opportunities that come from building an online presence.
Magic Media helps founders and executives take their online presence to the next level with custom thought leadership content. If you’re ready to build a strong personal brand, click here to learn more.
