HOW TO MAKE CONTENT THAT CUTS THROUGH & ADDS VALUE

HOW TO MAKE CONTENT THAT CUTS THROUGH

Three Rules Of Valuable Content Creation

In an ocean of content, how do you make your one editorial, tweet, instagram or story cut through. With more content available than ever, and more content available than possibly could be consumed, how do you not only attract readers but then also keep them coming back for more? And in an age where ‘influencers’ are being born and bred every second thanks to instagram as a platform, how do you garner the loyalty and reputation that delivers success for you but value to brands too?

These are all questions that i’m sure baffle you and occupy your mind as much as they do me, my clients and my friends who working in the blogging space too!

Even with 1m instagram followers, driving genuine engagement with any content you put out there is a tough gig. Engagement and loyal readers is something us bloggers have spent years and years and years working hard to gain, nurture and flourish within our blogs but also our social channels too! Numbers account for something sure, but it’s engagement versus an impression that really matters today and will do tomorrow. And to get true engagement and cut through, your content has to add value! Not just a momentary ‘cute shot’ value, but actual stop & engage value.

Valuable content is now more than ever absolutely critical. I’m talking content that not only attracts that initial click, like or pause, but content that keeps your reader engaged for 5 minutes, makes them want to subscribe, follow or sign up to that newsletter, and most importantly makes them want to discover more. In an over-saturated and ‘forever scrolling’ world (especially and in large on Instagram) it’s easy for your content to get little more than a seconds glance & a quick scroll on … this isn’t value to you, to brands or clearly much value to your audience, and so today I wanted to share a few tips or rules of content production if you will which will really help ensure you’re adding value to not just your readers but you, your time and your effort too.

HOW TO MAKE CONTENT THAT ADDS VALUE

Does Your Content Deliver On One Of These Three Things?

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INFORMATIVE

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One things for sure, I’ve learnt over the years it’s the content that’s informative that you guys love the most.

Travel guides, blogging advice, photography tutorials, even styling tips, it’s the content that helps you, informs you or even motivates you that not only gains the most traffic, but also the most traction too, whether it’s repeat visitors or shares / likes / features / coverage elsewhere – all helping boost discover-ability and in turn traffic.  I too find myself ever more attracted to those pieces of content that give me nuggets of advice, tips on a topic i’m interested in and even share a point of view on a topic which may otherwise be pretty under wraps (like earning money from blogging for example).

Not only does informative content truly help your readers when you put initially put it live, but it’s also the content I believe delivers the biggest long tail and in time the biggest traffic to your site. My photography tips posts and my travel guides pull in traffic every day to my blog, even those written two years ago, because regardless of the year, season or trends, they add value because they’re informative.

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ENTERTAINING

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Not all content has to be informative, in fact quite the contrary sometimes simply being entertaining is exactly what readers want. Real life, humour, integrity, the shameful thoughts and experiences that everyone relates too but never admits. It’s half the reason Buzz Feed is so successful, right!

The key however is to be true to you, you may not be the next Mirrander Sings, but you may simply be quite a witty person who’s writing draws people in and makes them chuckle as they read.

It’s that relatable humour that makes people feel engaged with you as a content producer. Having said that it doesn’t have to be humour, maybe your content offers escapism or entertains because of its superior quality. I don’t watch any YouTube but I do follow The Michelaks weekly films because I simply adore the content quality and find their beautiful cinematic approach entertaining, this in itself keeps me going back as I want to see what they’ve done next.

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ASPIRATIONAL 

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Finally, and leaning into the successes of our frenemy instagram, aspirational content is another format which truly adds value. Inspiration to get fit, to try a new restaurant, to visit that hotel, to style your shirt that way, to shop this new look. Aspiration can take many forms, trivial, material, meaningful even substantial. But whatever it is aspirational content can really add value to readers lives by inspiring, motivating and introducing them to new products, places, people and experiences they might enjoy and like. For me, this single point alone is why so many people have garnered success on Instagram, the ability to share content and provide a point of inspiration for your followers.

When you think of aspirational content your mind probably jumps to designer handbags, 5* travel and a body like Giselle. But think outside the box a little, aspirational content means so much more than expensive and luxe materialism. It can be aspirational in that it encourages you to live better, be more mindful, try healthier recipes, do good for good causes, provide career and life advice, or simply provide you with that little bit of positivity you sometimes need.

The point is, it provides a point of aspiration for your readers, which adds value to their lives and needs.

READ MORE BLOGGING TIPS

On mediamarmalade.com I try to provide content that across the board always delivers on one of these three things. Wellness content to help inspire you to live well and keep you happy and positive in day to day life, Informative career and blogging posts to help educate you and equip you with information to deliver on your goals (and my photography tutorials to give you all the info you need to get the most out of your kit), and entertaining content through my daily style and of course my travel adventures (which are hopefully informative, aspirational and entertaining all in one), and hopefully the chatty nature of my posts.

I know not all of you come for all of these types of content, but these are the things I love to write about and photograph, and I know by doing a little bit of all of these, there’s always something for you guys to come and read or discover in the archives.

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I’d love to know what content you love reading, watching or scrolling through the most? Do you have any favourite magazines, bloggers or instagrammers who always deliver content you love?