Content Creation Conundrum Solved: The 7 Most Important Steps to Making High Engagement Content

When I first started creating content for my website, I was boring myself! I found myself struggling to come up with new ideas and my content felt repetitive and mundane. My audience seemed to be just as unengaged as I was. I had no idea how to create content that would stand out and capture their attention.

I tried different tactics but nothing seemed to work. I tried different types of content, different formats, and different styles, but nothing seemed to resonate with my audience. I was at a loss, and I felt like I was stuck in a rut.

But, I didn't give up!

I knew that creating great content was important for driving traffic to my website and improving my search engine rankings. I started to research and read about best practices for creating high engagement content. I also started to pay attention to what types of content my competitors were creating and how they were engaging with their audience.

Through trial and error, I finally figured out what worked for me and my audience. I learned the importance of knowing my audience, being authentic, using visuals, making it shareable, using storytelling, being interactive and keeping my content fresh.

There's a million points to make about creating quality content, but these 7 what I found to be the most important principles for getting your content off the bottom rung of someone's feed.

1. Know your audience

Creating high engagement content starts with understanding your target audience. It's crucial to conduct research and gather information about your audience's demographics, interests, and behaviors. Once you have a clear picture of who your audience is, you can identify their needs and interests. This means figuring out what challenges they face and what type of content they are seeking. For example, if your target audience is working mothers, they might be interested in content related to time management, work-life balance and parenting tips.

Creating content that addresses your audience's needs and interests helps to make it more relevant and valuable to your audience, which increases the chances of them engaging with it. Additionally, it helps to establish trust and credibility with your audience. When they see that you understand and are in tune with their problems and interests, they are more likely to trust and engage with your brand.

2. Be authentic

So cheesy, right? But so true! Being authentic is crucial when creating high engagement content. This means being true to your brand's voice and message, using your unique perspective, being transparent and honest with your audience, and avoiding insincerity. When your audience can sense that you are being authentic, they will trust and engage with your brand. On the other hand, insincerity can cause them to disengage. Building trust and credibility with your audience is essential for creating high-engagement content.

Here's an example of what I mean. Imagine you're a small organic farm owner creating a blog about running the farm. Share the challenges you face, the lessons you learn, the joys and the hardships, instead of pretending to be some expert on sustainable farming and green living. You can share pictures and videos of your daily routine, the animals and plants you care for, the natural beauty of the farm. You can also share your personal thoughts and feelings about the industry, your vision and what you hope to achieve. This type of content will be relatable and genuine, and your audience will feel connected to you because of it.

3. Use visuals

it's important to remember that people are visual creatures. We are naturally drawn to images and videos, and they are more likely to capture our attention and hold our interest than text alone. That's why using visuals in your content is so important.

Think about it, when you are scrolling through social media or reading an article online, which posts or articles catch your eye? Chances are, it's the ones with interesting images or videos that grab your attention. Imagine a travel blogger creating a blog post about their recent trip to a new destination. Instead of just writing about their experience, they could include a variety of visuals such as pictures of the destination, a video of their journey, and an infographic outlining the top things to do in the area. These visuals would make the post more engaging, as it would give readers a better sense of what the destination is like and make them more likely to want to visit themselves. Additionally, the use of visuals in the post would make it more shareable, as people are more likely to share posts with interesting images or videos on social media.

Don't think you need some extraordinary shot of the Rome skyline to make engaging content. Bringing attention to the ordinary, day-to-day life of a small business can be just as interesting. What seems common to you could be totally new to someone just discovering your business.

4. Make it shareable

To hit on a previous point, make it shareable! Once you've caught their interest, if you did it right, people will want to share it to others. Making your content shareable is an important aspect of creating high engagement content. When your audience can easily share your content, it increases the chances of it being seen by a wider audience. This can lead to more traffic to your website, more engagement and ultimately more conversions.

You can add social media sharing buttons to specific pages or blog posts, or include them on your entire website. Some popular options for social media sharing buttons include AddThis, ShareThis, and SumoMe. You can also use the share button options provided by the social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

6. Be interactive

You have to engage with your audience in order to get high engagement content. Makes sense, right? When your audience is able to engage with your content, it increases the chances of them becoming a customer or returning to your website in the future. This can be done by including a question at the end of a blog post or video and encouraging your audience to leave their answer in the comments.

Another way to be interactive is by starting discussions. You can do this by posting a thought-provoking statement or question on social media, and encouraging your followers to share their thoughts and opinions. This not only increases engagement but also helps you understand what your audience is thinking.

Get creative with it! Create interactive content like quizzes, games, and challenges, or using live videos. Create polls and surveys to give your audience a chance to tell you what they're looking for. This is really a place that you can have fun, and think outside the box on different ways to interact with your audience and potential customer base.

7. Keep it fresh

Hands down the most important, and sometimes most difficult part of creating quality content is staying up to date. Its very tempting to find a rut and stay in it. When your content is stale, it becomes less interesting and less likely to attract new visitors to your website. One of the best ways to keep your content fresh is by staying informed about the latest trends and changes in your industry. This means regularly reading industry publications, attending conferences and networking events, and following thought leaders in your field on social media. By staying informed, you can ensure that your content is always current and relevant to your audience.

Another way to keep your content fresh is by regularly updating it. This can be done by adding new information to existing content or by creating new content altogether. This keeps your website current and ensures that your audience always has something new to read or watch.

Experiment, have fun, keep what works, and toss what doesn't. Not every post will be viral, but with sweat, time, and a little luck, you'll be knocking it out of the park more often.

In conclusion...

By understanding your audience, being authentic, using visuals, making it shareable, using storytelling and being interactive and keeping your content fresh, you can step up your content game and engage your audience. Sign up for our email newsletter today and we'll keep you fresh and up-to date with the latest tips and tricks for creating high engagement content for your website. Don't let your content fall flat like I did many times, take action and watch your website's success soar!