Every marketer is focused on creating content that will attract customers to their products or services. While this may seem obvious, it is essential to reiterate the fact that not all content is created equal. In the never-ending quest for marketing insights, Twitter user @stephenmorris has compiled a list of dos and don’ts that will help you create content that resonates with your audience.

The Dos:

1. Be Relevant.

In the information age, relevance is king. Your content must be relevant to your audience if you expect them to stay interested in what you have to say. If you’re not sure what your audience wants, you can ask them via social media.

2. Be Specific.

If you’re not sure what your audience wants, it may be a good idea to be more specific. Vague generalities rarely attract interest. Your target audience should be able to see themselves in the text you write. In addition, being specific will help you develop a clear picture of what you’re dealing with and whether or not your plans will be effective.

3. Use Statistics.

Content that is filled with statistics and facts usually carries more weight with audiences. For example, a Facebook user named @thebudgetsavvy1 has more than 500,000 followers. If you’re looking for inspiration, the Budgetsavvy crew is a goldmine for statistics on virtually every subject.

The Dont’s:

1. Don’t Be Foolish.

Creating content for the sake of creating content is a fool’s game. Sure, there’s value in having materials on hand to pull ideas from. However, as a content marketer, you should always be looking for ways to improve your work and bring in more business. If you want to be seen as a thought leader in your industry, don’t merely throw out ideas and hope they’ll stick. Develop them into a plan, and be smart about it.

2. Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Stories.

Stories trump everything. Not just because they are easier to understand and absorb than a barrage of numbers and facts. Stories give your content more of a human touch, showing the reader that you have a personal connection to what you are writing about. They also allow you to explore intriguing ideas and concepts in greater detail.

Creating stories for the sake of stories is a pointless exercise. However, if you’re looking to add more value to your content, you can always turn to software like Storytelling Bootcamp that can help you plan out a complete story arc, complete with the visuals you might need to bring it to life, all from the convenience of your laptop.

3. Don’t Forget About Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Everyone on the internet has an opinion on SEO. Some see it as a necessary evil that they have to work hard to optimize their sites for. While others see it as a waste of time, harming the user experience.

To those that see SEO as a necessary evil, I would like to point out that it is not evil at all. Properly implemented, SEO can absolutely help your site become more discoverable and increase the likelihood that your audience will click on your content, leading to more business.

On that note, what is SEO? Simply put, SEO is the practice of designing content, platforms, and websites that humans can find and easily consume. When someone performs a search on Google, they are looking for specific content, regardless of whether or not that content is attached to a brand. In order to provide your site with a better shot at being found, you need to focus on three key areas:

1. Content

Google loves content. The more content you have, the better. In fact, Google’s favorite type of content is well-written, informative articles that provide value to the user. These articles usually fall into one of the following categories: travel, lifestyle, business, or entertainment. In order to create higher-quality content that will attract Google’s attention, you should look into hiring a freelance writer, buying a blog, or starting a blog yourself.

2. Platform

When someone enters a Google search query into the search bar, they are provided with a list of results that are relevant to their search. Sometimes, these results can be found on a website directly, but sometimes they are presented as an article, a podcast episode, or a YouTube video. If you want to get your content in front of Google’s audience, you have two options: You can either build a website or blog around your content, or you can find a platform, such as Blogger, that allows you to post blogs, articles, and videos and allows you to target a specific audience.

3. Links

Back in the day, just putting up a website was enough to have it found on Google’s first page of results. However, today, Google’s algorithm has diversified, evolving to take into account not just the content on a site but also the quality of the links pointing to that site. For instance, if you have a site with a lot of content but no links pointing to it, it will be difficult for Google to find it when someone types in a search query.

Links are important to Google’s algorithm because they indicate the strength of the content on a site. In other words, Google looks at links to a site, judges the site on the basis of the quality of the links, and then uses that to determine the relevance of the content on the site. Additionally, backlinks (links that point to your content) are essential for boosting your content’s credibility on the internet.

Even if you have the best content in the world and the most relevant platform for talking about your topic, without links to back it up, it’s all for naught. Nobody wants to work with a brand or company that is not reputable, so make sure to build a list of relevant, high-quality websites and blogs that you can connect with.

Now That You Know The Keys To Writing Better Content, You Can Begin To Add More Value To Your Posts

With proper planning and the right content, it is possible to have a fairly successful online marketing campaign. However, as with all other areas of marketing, there is always room for improvement, and with content marketing, there are numerous ways you can add more value to your work, becoming an expert in your chosen field.