I remember in my communication classes in college; my professors were always driving this one thought home: know your audience. As a communicator, if you do not know your audience, you are breaking down the communication cycle. This one thought was so hammered into my head that I always think of it when I start to write. And it is with this framework that I share some of the essentials of content development.
First Look
A website is usually a person’s first look at your company. If someone is looking for your site, it means that you have already caught their attention in some fashion. It could be that they saw your new storefront or a social media ad; regardless, they want to look into who you are and what you do. You have to make sure that you are answering those questions on your website. If they cannot easily find out what your services are, what hours you are available or what you specialize in; then you are missing out on that whole interaction.
The Big Idea
Most brochures are created to share one big idea. You don’t want to weigh down your limited space with verbose content. You need to convey your big idea and all other relevant information for your reader to catch your big idea. I try to utilize bullet points often in my brochures. It gets the point across succinctly without losing the readers interest.
Change Your Approach
Different than any other style, social media writing goals change quite frequently. For a while, the goal was to drive phone calls or sales. But now if a consumer thinks you are trying to sell them something, they are usually turned off. Because so many people are vying for attention on social media, a good writer needs to change their approach. Social media is about the interaction between the consumer and a company. A good idea is to start a topic of conversation and find out what your audience thinks. Keep your posts brief! Most people will only read a couple of sentences before they scroll on.
These are just a few of the essentials of content writing. There are so many more! What are some of your essentials in content creation?
