Many companies have reaped the benefits of content marketing. It’s one of the most effective strategies for increasing your engagement and turning leads into actual clients.
Content marketing may sound daunting and challenging, especially with all the white noise in the digital marketing industry. But the main thing to remember is simply pack your content with personality, and you’ll stand out!
People try to relate to other people and will only do business with people they like. If you post entertaining and relatable content, chances are, you’ll get more clients.
So how can you inject a little more personality into your content? Easy, just follow the tips below!
1. Keep It Real
There’s no doubt about it – people like it when they feel like the person behind the words is real or relatable. When you’re writing content, think about how you would say something in a face-to-face conversation. Don’t try to alter the way you would converse with other people; keep it conversational and be yourself. It’s the easiest and best way to give your content personality.
You also have to be mindful of your audience. If you write articles for professionals like lawyers, then don’t use jargon that would make you seem less credible.
Keep in mind that you still have to keep your writing clean and professional. One of the goals of copywriting is to be trustworthy, and nothing will make you lose credibility faster than adding in confusing examples or contradictory statements. If it makes no sense, your audience will lose interest in the writing (and probably you).
Let your voice shine through, but in the best way possible.
2. Be Considerate To Your Readers
Being yourself is only half of the formula – the other half is knowing your audience. You have to be considerate of their interests and the way they speak. You have to get on the same wavelength as your readers to build your relationship. It’s one of the most important things you can do to grow your engagement and add personality to your content.
So how do you do this?
Observe how your target audience interacts with other people through their social accounts and how they portray themselves on their websites. Pay attention to:
You can also drop them messages and talk to them. You get plus points for engagement and for being considerate of your consumer’s opinion.
3. Storytelling 101
Storytelling is one of the first forms of entertainment in our entire civilization. One of the things we can learn from that is since the beginning of time, nobody wants to listen to a boring story. Stories are meant to be interesting.
Use storytelling in your writing to share about your business in a way that’s memorable. Tell your own business story, and use other smaller stories to regularly infuse memorability and fun into your writing. All of it should have a purpose and an end goal – random stories without a point don’t leave an impact.
BONUS: You can even ask your readers or clients for their stories so that you can feature them in your content.
4. Get Emotional
It’s your job as a writer to create content that can make people feel something, no matter what emotion it is. Emotions are integral to humans and it’s the reason why content that elicits emotion goes viral. Don’t neglect your audience’s emotions when writing content!
A study by , founder of WordStream, shows the top three emotions that cause content to go viral. He states that ‘shock and awe’ inducing content is more likely to be shared. He also notes that ‘hope’ is another emotion you have to elicit, people like to be moved and inspired by words. Lastly, he mentions that ‘anger, fear, and anxiety’ stimulates people to respond to the content. People are way more likely to engage or share content that makes them angry or scared.
Emotions are one of the things that sets us apart, so try to tap into your emotions or into your readers’ emotions. This will put more personality into your content and will build a connection with your readers.
5. Let Your Inner Aristotle Shine
It’s time to get your readers thinking. Ask your audience rhetorical questions once in a while. It will enable your readers to use their critical thinking skills and give them the chance to dive deeper into the content. Guide them to make a conclusion or decision that will persuade them to act.
Remember that when it comes to questions, a little goes a long way. Don’t make your content look like you’re giving your readers a test! You don’t want them to feel like they’re being interrogated.
Asking rhetorical questions will make the content seem less one-sided. It also makes the content more engaging.
How about you? Do you think using rhetorical questions will work?
6. Map It Out
once said that the medium is the message. This goes for your content too. The way you present your content is as important as the message you’re trying to portray. Think of the way you format your content as the medium of your message.
How you format your content can help make it easier on the eyes. People like looking at things that are organized. If your content format is all over the place, chances are people will feel discouraged about reading it.
The way you map out your paragraphs can also help in keeping your audience entertained. You can format your content in a way that’s thrilling and suspenseful. Work your way towards a reveal to keep your audience on their toes.
Be mindful of your spacing, your font, the color scheme, or things like pictures or bullets. Make your paragraphs short to keep the attention of your readers. Highlight headers or subheaders by making them bold or italicized, or by making the font bigger.
Formatting is an easy way to insert a little creativity and personality in the way you present your content.
7. Love Your Work
Remember how in school you’d be required to write papers about topics you mostly don’t care for?
Well, you’re not in school anymore. Don’t write about topics you’re not interested in. If you do, it will show, just like it did in school.
You have to show love for your work – write about things that inspire and motivate you. , writing on a topic you’re enthusiastic about will motivate your readers to take action.
If you feel like you need inspiration during a creative dry spell you can try reading, watching, or listening to entertaining content. This will get you excited about different topics and get inspiration from other writing styles. Admire the work of others and your own.
8. Be Factual
When writing, it’s always a good idea to give your audience something they can take away from your content. Don’t let them without learning anything. You can be both entertaining and factual; they go hand in hand.
Make it a habit to do some research on your topic before you start writing. Facts that you want to include will help shape your writing and give you credibility. Plus, it makes it a learning experience for both you and your audience!
Have you tried any of the tips above? Which ones worked best? And if you have any more tips, comment and share them with us!