Content marketing is great because it gives readers the answers they’re looking for while portraying your business as an authority in your industry. If you want to keep your audience coming back to see read your musings, take your writing a step further and include a comment section. Content marketing is meant to be informative, educational, witty, and even a little off the wall at times. You have to spark their attention and keep it. Even with the most serious content, the right form of sarcasm can usually bring a chuckle.
Interact With Your Clients
The best way to keep your readers’ attention is to interact with them. With every piece of content you write, make sure to ask a question that only you have the answer to. Include a Live Chat on your website so that once they have read your content and are thinking about what you have said, they will want to interact with you. By asking the right questions, you will have readers who want the right answer. Make them laugh or make them cry, the key is to make them want to know the answer. With the Live Chat feature, you can get them talking. Provide them with the answers they seek and make them smile in the process. Don’t forget to include your sales pitch!
Ask Them What They Want to See
If you are really serious about wanting to provide your readers with the information they need, ask them what they are interested in! Most marketers create content that is one-sided. It’s dull and boring because it’s written to inform but not to intrigue. It’s great to provide them with the information they want as long as they stay interested long enough to read it. Add some humor. Tell a few jokes. Use a question-and-answer format with a little sarcasm thrown in for good measure. Some readers may take it as being a little snarky, but guess what? At least you got them thinking. Whether they walked away smiling or complaining, they will walk away thinking about what you said and will probably end up telling all of their friends.
Encourage Positive As Well As Constructive Feedback
No matter how many ways you come up with to relay your message, someone is going to find something wrong with it. If you want to learn about your audience, welcome feedback. Positive or negative, you are going to end up with some unique comments. Let’s face it. No matter how many times or ways you tell Aunt Betty what she needs to do, someone somewhere is going to call you out and say, “No, it doesn’t work that way!” When that happens, create a dialogue and find out what the little brain trust has to offer in the form of constructive criticism.
One of two things will happen. Option one, the guy is going to fold and show that he was just in it for the argument. Or, the guy might actually have a really good idea that you can use, in some way, to boost your content and give it the umph that it needs to be spectacular. You won’t know this until you interact with them. So, ask for their opinions and, when a good one comes along, don’t be afraid to explore it further.
Your content is only as good as you allow it to be. Instead of only focusing on your own thoughts and ideas, it may be a good idea to interact with those you are trying to reach. They can help to not only guide your content, but inspire it as well. Give your readers what they are looking for and they will come back again and again just to find out what you’ve been up to.
Wendy M writes on a variety of topics with health and environmental topics being her most common subjects. She has most recently been published on both eHow.com and Livestrong.com. Wendy specializes in health, fitness, diet and alternative therapy pieces.
