Marketing bloggers can follow these content creation steps for the best chance to generate internal traction and trigger external action.
Good content turns your head, fixes your eyes and engages your mind. From a bookstore to a billboard, a wide variety of written content is designed to be consumed — or, more precisely, marketing and other creative minds have put forth their best content effort to attract people to products with the staying power that leads to successful business.
The attention of some audiences, like sports or Harry Potter fans, comes easier, but what about engaging people who have no prior connection to your products or services? That’s the big challenge facing marketing bloggers. Maximizing the following “AIDA” content creation path will help:
Attention
Nothing is achieved with a blog post if a person’s attention is not captured first. So what are the critical elements to get your content noticed and pull readers in?
First, create a catchy, topical headline. A descriptive deck can help explain the blog post’s more fully, ensuring that the audience quickly identifies the goal and relevance of the write-up. Also, make sure titles and headings contain relevant, search-able keywords.
Consistent, easy-to-process article structure is a must, as are appealing photos and other entry points, such as pull quotes and graphs. This first step in creating attractive and effective blog posts has only grown more imperative with social media distractions and the other factors contributing to shorter consumer attention spans.
Interest
After capturing the reader’s attention, it’s time to cultivate their interest in your content. As covered in ReadWrite, the best way to do so is by using simple language and authoritative phasing and always staying sharp with grammar.
Gaining the interest of readers first requires a smooth experience: they want to get the scope of the work right away without any hurdles or confusion. Simple wording and good flow, i.e., transitions, make that possible. An authoritative tone adds to the momentum of the reader’s experience and compels them to continue on to the value statement and call to action. Finally, air-tight grammar, which exudes focus and professionalism, is like the glue that keep the boat together and readers onboard with your content mission.
Desire
Congratulations, you’ve gotten your readers’ attention and gained their interest. Many bloggers unintentionally offer an exit ramp from their content goal during those steps, but you’re ready to go further, into a prospective client’s mind where they feel actionable desire.
You must understand the topic thoroughly so you know the audience, the appropriate tone to use, the needs or challenges they experience related to the subject and then how your solution or argument brings value to that audience. Relatability is essential so use ‘real life’ examples. Statistics not only display your knowledge about the effectiveness and reliability of a product or service — always provide authoritative links to data, ReadWrite reminds — but also provide a real world, metrics-based picture of the implications of the offering.
Action
You’ve provided in blog form the compelling stepping stones to decision time. Now tell the reader how they can take action. Engaging with the blog post (including sharing!), asking the audience for feedback and asking the prospect to subscribe are “ideal” components of a call to action, according to ReadWrite. Keep the audience engaged and interacting and they will keep your company and value proposition in mind.
“We tend to think of a blog post as one topic or angle, but it’s also a series of connections and steps that are only reached if the one prior to it has effectively done its job,” said Marcia Homer, infinitee’s Director of Brand Management. “Like enticing a deer to eat from your hand with a string of measured, trust-earning steps, it’s about deft persuasion, rather than any push or pull, that will get readers to consume your blog content and then ultimately act on your offering.”
At infinitee, we’re INto tracking trends that impact our clients. For more than 30 years, our Atlanta-based agency has helped clients capitalize on branding and marketing trends, including print and digital media. To learn how we can help your company, call Vince Vitti, VP of Business Development, at 404-231-3481.
