Almost 30 years ago, Bill Gates coined the phrase, “Content is king,” in an essay he wrote about the future of the internet.
Gate’s famous statement has become a mantra for countless marketers. It underscores the importance of creating valuable content that attracts and retains customers.
However, with the average person losing 36 days a year to content consumption, the content king should take a backseat to his queen.
Digital marketing expert Mari Smith says it best: “Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady rules the house.”
Approximately 60% of marketers create content daily. That totals out to 365 pieces of content per year. Yet nearly half of all consumers engage with just three to five pieces of content before contacting a company.
If you’re churning out multiple pieces of content every day that audiences aren’t reading, clicking on, sharing, or liking, your efforts are all in vain.
Why Engagement Matters
Content engagement refers to the level of interest and interaction audiences have with a piece of digital content. It goes beyond views and clicks, encompassing various user actions, such as liking, commenting, sharing, or the amount of time a person spends on your page.
While content engagement doesn’t necessarily indicate negative or positive audience reactions, the goal is to capture and maintain a prospect’s interest rather than having them quickly move on or ignore the content altogether.
Understanding how well your content resonates with audiences is intrinsically linked to business success. High engagement rates demonstrate readers value your content, fostering trust and creating stronger connections. It can also boost brand visibility, as social media algorithms favor content that generates more engagement.
Among the top benefits of content engagement are:
- Increased retention and reduced churn
- Stronger customer-business relationships
- Increased loyalty
- Upselling and cross-selling opportunities
- Shorter purchase cycles
- Higher conversion rates
- Brand evangelists
- Establishing a memorable brand identity
While generating valuable content remains crucial, digital marketers must also focus on driving engagement. Because if people aren’t engaging with your content, there’s no point in creating it at all.
All the Queen’s Men: The Do’s of Content Creation
To create content that fosters higher engagement, digital marketers must focus on quality, value, and personalization.
Much like the queen’s court is there to empower her, these three content creation pillars optimize engagement rates.
1. Understand Your Audience
The best content is customer-centric. Content marketers must know who they are targeting and why. Developing buyer personas can give you a deeper understanding of your ideal audience. These semi-fictitious characters represent your target customers’ wants, needs, motivations, and pain points.
Utilize market research, behavioral data, and demographics to create a comprehensive persona for each target consumer group. These insights enable you to craft high-value content that resonates with your audience on a deeper, more meaningful level.
2. Embrace the Pareto Principle
What does an 18th-century Italian microeconomist have to do with modern marketing tactics? A lot, actually.
Wilfried Fritz Pareto’s 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle, states that roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. In marketing, this principle suggests that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
What does that mean for you?
Identify the content that generates the most engagement and focus on promoting and optimizing those pieces. This supercharges efficiency and your efforts.
3. Find and Maintain Your Voice
The best brands have the most consistent content. Develop brand guidelines, including personality, tone, and color palette, that accurately represent your company. Then, maintain those guidelines across all content and channels.
This distinguishes you from other companies, and fosters trust with your audience. Consistency is key for demonstrating reliability and credibility.
The Don’ts of Content Creation
Now that we’ve established the three do’s of content creation, here are three pitfalls to avoid at all costs.
1. Don’t Ignore Audience Feedback
Your audience has a lot to say. Listen to them. No, we mean really LISTEN. Ask questions, send surveys and reviews, and respond to comments. Customer feedback reveals what you’re doing well and opportunities for improvement. It’s as valuable as monitoring key marketing analytics.
2. Don’t Forget the Platform
While it’s crucial to maintain a consistent brand strategy and voice, you must never ignore the platforms you’re posting to. Tailor your content accordingly.
For instance, longer thought leadership posts work best on LinkedIn. Facebook, on the other hand, favors more casual content.
3. Don’t be Selfish
Focus on your customers, not yourself. Avoid being too salesy and highlighting your product’s features. Prioritize value and demonstrate how your brand enhances customers’ lives and solves their problems.
Quick Tips for Creating Engaging Content
Start with a Strong Hook: A captivating introduction immediately grabs readers’ attention.
Leverage Storytelling: Using storytelling techniques allows you to connect with your target audience on an emotional level. Position your customer as the hero. Share case studies and testimonials to illustrate how your company helps them overcome challenges and conflicts.
Make It Easily Scannable: Avoid large blocks of text. Instead, use subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Studies have shown that readers scan content in an “F” pattern—left to right, top to bottom—before deciding if it’s worth their time. Place essential information at the top or on the left side of the page.
Avoid Jargon: Your average reader might not know what churn rates, A/B testing, or cost-per-click. They probably don’t even care. Avoid jargon and write in a clear, conversational, and understandable way.
All Hail the Queen
While content remains king, engagement now reigns as queen in today’s digital marketing landscape. Brands must not only focus on creating content but also on crafting valuable, personalized, and consistent content tailored to their audience’s wants and needs.
Need help with your content marketing strategy? ProIQ’s team of digital marketing experts has you covered. We’ll help you generate unforgettable content that drives high engagement rates, including social media posts, infographics, blogs, and landing pages.
Contact us today to take control of your content marketing strategy.