Capturing your target audience’s attention, let alone convincing them to take action, is a challenge that every brand faces. It’s not enough to simply
create content — you must consider how to make the content most effective with your audience.
Know Your Audience
Before creating any content, it's important to know who your target audience is. What are their needs, desires, and pain points? Understanding your audience will allow you to tailor your content to their specific interests and concerns.
Write Simply
There’s no need to make your writing complicated to impress your audience. In fact, the best way to get your message across and attract a wider audience is to write copy that is clear and concise.
Avoid run-on sentences and technical jargon so the copy can be read and understood by most people. Also, consider the content’s layout and format. Use subheadings and bullet points to break up the copy and make it easy to scan.
Include Visuals
Great copy is essential for persuasive content, but it’s not the only important element. Visuals — like images, graphics, and videos — are crucial for capturing and keeping the audience’s attention. Not only do visuals make content more appealing, but they can also communicate a message more effectively than words alone can.
Press on the Pain Point
Identifying and incorporating the target audience’s pain point in the content is more likely to capture their attention and create engagement. Nobody’s life is perfect, so offer your target audience a way to save time, lower costs, decrease stress, etc.
If you’re not sure what pain points your target audience faces, here are some questions to ask:
- What problems does my audience often experience?
- What does my audience worry about?
- How can I help?
Use Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful way to engage your audience and make your content more persuasive. Use real-life examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points and make your content more relatable.
Support Claims with Data
Using data or statistics to back up your claims will establish trust and make your brand more credible. When you support claims with data, your brand is able to become an authority on the topic and build a positive reputation.
Address Objections
Anticipate and address any objections your audience may have about your content. This could include addressing common misconceptions or concerns. By addressing objections, you can build trust with your audience and make them more likely to take action.
Leverage Social Proof
One of the most persuasive elements of content is ‘social proof’ because the audience needs evidence that they can actually trust you. It's a psychological and social phenomenon that drives people to copy others (experts, celebrities, friends, etc.) in a given situation.
Have a Call to Action
End your content with a clear call to action. This could be anything from signing up for a newsletter to making a purchase. A strong call to action will encourage your audience to take action and make your content more persuasive.
Improve User Experience
An essential consideration when creating any type of content is the user experience. After all, your content won’t perform well if your audience has a hard time finding, interacting with, downloading, or sharing it.
Make it as easy as possible for your audience to engage with your content. This can mean having fast page load speeds, simplifying the steps to reach the content, or adding share buttons.
Craft Content That Speaks to Your Customers
Content marketing provides your audience with helpful information and insights, which builds trust with potential customers and establishes your business as a thought leader. With these best practices, your content will connect to prospective customers in a more meaningful way while making your brand stand out.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.