Is “Content is king” an understatement in 2020? 

Long ago, Microsoft’s CEO, Bill Gates, wrote, “Content is King.” Well, he wrote it in an essay, in that essay, he described the future of the internet as the marketplace for content, but the real question is, was he ahead of his time? Maybe he was, and that’s why he is one of the richest people on this planet. 

“Based on a study published by Contentbird, 73% of companies focus on content Marketing strategies.”

Today’s world has evolved, and things have gone digital now. The traditional means of marketing do exist but to a very low extent.

But nowadays, people just Google everything they want, don’t you? If your answer is no, then you are definitely living in the wrong world. 

If you run a business today, then you must be aware of the changes the market has gone through in recent decades. In the last 5 to 10 years, the internet has influenced buying behavior. 

The worldwide digital population is more than 4 billion, which includes 3.7 billion mobile internet users. 

Now, whenever someone needs to buy anything, the first reference is made to the internet. With search engines such as Google, answers to questions are found within seconds. Thus, in the modern era, the modern man is more open to web advertising than advertisements on paper. True, isn’t it?

Let’s consider the marketing perspective to understand this;

Today, creating high-quality content for consumers is the first step towards effective marketing. You want to develop a website that answers all questions that a potential customer might have. It includes information included in blogs, articles, FAQs, advertisements, and product descriptions. 

Good content does not just refer to well-written or artfully produced information. It means the information that is useful to your potential customers or clients.

Advertising depends heavily on content. There is a lot of creativity involved, but advertisements are still forms of content. 

Marketing is getting mixed and integrated with different industries and studies, which makes it all the way more difficult to create the perfect content. 

“The Content Culture”

Content is not just for people involved with marketing, sales, or advertising. Content is king, it involves the entire organization, but it predominantly comes from institutions that have direct contact with the public or the market. 

We have seen a phenomenal rise in content in the name of standard and quality, because of publications by up-market and luxury brands. 

Some people might brush it off as noise contributing to the plethora that already exists on the internet, but channels and websites have been known to gather more sales and traffic simply because of the kind of content they write. 

Does the content have its place in advertising: True or False?

Digital advertising is also taking a step forward. There was a certain time after its inception and generation into a viable means of marketing when banners, takeovers, and videos were efficient. That is not the case anymore. 

More and more people are now using ad blockers to deal with the problem of ad fraud. Marketers are facing the challenge of finding new ways to restore the traffic on their websites and increase reach. 

This is where content marketing comes in. Content marketing informs, educates, entertains, and offers utility to customers, giving customers a choice they didn’t have before. 

Traditional forms of marketing have become a commodity now. They have been lost in the sea of media buy options following the rise of digital and mobile technologies. 

Sophisticated marketers and advertisers are finding the avenues of content marketing much more rewarding and fulfilling. It also offers a suitable way out of traditional marketing paradigms where the cost has not seen any haircuts, but the efficiency keeps on downsizing. Ultimately, content is king in advertising.

Contextual campaigns and content: What’s the relation?

Content is also becoming part of the technology world. It can now be found everywhere from the Internet of Things to sensors, and everything in between. 

We are rapidly approaching a point in our lives where we will be surrounded by content: from the coffee maker to the car. 

According to leading experts in the content marketing industry, marketers have already begun to collaborate with IT and product groups to help create useful content for target audiences. This content will not only help people make smarter decisions but also make an effect on how they lead their lives. 

Do you know the reasons behind why content is king? 

The top three things that make content effective are audience relevance (58%), engaging and compelling storytelling (57%) and triggers a response/action (54%). (Source)

Reason 1: “Audience curation”

The idea of success through digital marketing comes with a variety of factors, the most important of which is content. Content curation can mean optimizing the different pages of your website and making them customer or user-friendly. 

Your content could be optimized like a business blog or an advertising website according to your needs and target audience. No matter where that content is used, it can attract customers to solve their problems with your product. 

Another reason why content is king is;

For instance, you are a business with a product in the market. So, when your audience gets attracted to your product through your content, it is entirely under their own will, and not forcibly, which is the case with popup ads and video advertisements. 

Forbes says 84% of those using infographics find them effective.

Reason 2: “Credibility”

Aren’t the consumers getting smarter every day?

With increased education and more scrutiny, people are making wise decisions because they are becoming smart. 

Let’s take a company’s perspective for example;

Some consumers want low prices, while others are just looking for a quality product. The more content you put along with your product, the better decisions your customers can make. 

Customers always benefit from a lot of information that accompanies a product. Through your product education and answering your consumers’ questions, can you expect them to make smarter decisions and choices? Well, the answer is yes!

Having dedicated and multiple landing pages, testimonials, analyses, and market surveys to vouch for your product increases its credibility in the eyes of the potential customer. 

Case studies are a trendy and useful way to put forth the utility of your product. Content is information that is useful to the customer, not just words that are written well.

Reason 3: “Engagement and social visibility”

Social media is an industry of its own. When products are introduced into this market. Potential audiences hang out on social media every day, and social media can help give your content a boost.

The more content you have, the more visibility you gain across the web. For instance, the more landing pages your brand has for each individual product, the higher it ranks on SERPs. 

You can also increase your brand’s rankings by linking your blog to social media accounts. This is the reason why blog content creation is a top priority for 53% of marketers, states the State of Inbound report.

These were the top 3 reasons why content is king! 

Now what must have puzzled you is the second reason that talks about credibility. 

Well, when we say about credibility, the first question that may pop up in our mind is “how to make your content credible enough for the audience to believe in it,” right? 

Did you know: Written articles, like “how to” posts and case studies, are the types of content that lend blogs the most credibility. (Source)

How to make your content credible? Let’s answer this

Even if you write a thousand articles a year, they hold no value unless they’re reliable. Here’s how to make your content credible and ensure better rankings.

If you’re somebody who writes regularly, you know the value of quality. It is high-quality content that has the undue advantage in search rankings, always. Fresh subjects, informative flow, and a simple tone can achieve wonders. They can make your article more readable.

But, does good content bring trust? 

Do people trust what you write just because you write well? 

Of course not! It is the trust that increases readership and forms a reliable and strong foundation for your content. 

Without further ado, let’s delve into the core points of making your content more credible. 

Now read and learn!

Find statistics to support your content

Until proven otherwise, content is just conjecture. Whatever you write is just your opinion! People can’t take your word for everything, now can they? 

Statistics to the rescue.

Adding statistics, facts and reports to your blog articles can validate your point, but always remember to link the original source of the statistic. That way, scrutiny can effectively be avoided.

Also, make sure that the sources you use are not too old to refer to or use. That – more often than not – defeats the whole purpose.

Bold the important parts (You can see this even in this piece of content)

If you’re like most people, you probably give blogs a surface read without going into the details. People usually don’t have the time to read through the whole thing.

Listing down crucial points in bold can make them more visible. It catches the eye of the reader and imparts information naturally. 

Using H1 and H2 headings can also improve the visibility of most things in the blog. Use these points if you don’t know how to make your content credible.

Using media is quite helpful

If your article is technical or explains a process, use images to help readers understand better. You can search for or use pictures when you research your content.

You could also consider creating customized charts to increase content credibility.

Images and videos also help keep things interesting. Use stock photos or animations that are relevant to your content. These make your content visually appealing and attractive to the reader.

Let experts support your writing: Quote them

Choose to quote people who are experts in your content’s niche. Include their bio and their relevant credentials in the post. Be careful not to overdo it and overwhelm your reader, though.

You could easily quote them in FAQs and QAs. If these respected people have contributed to your blog or journal, it automatically increases your credibility.]

Quoting related experts is one of the several answers to the question: how to make your content credible?

Anything other than the latest information is obsolete

Search engines favor information that is recent and latest. Creating fresh and updated content will keep readers interested, waiting for more.

Fresh content also helps with increasing search engine rankings, which is another show of content credibility.

By staying in the top trends of the industry, you are proving your credibility indirectly. Regularly check out trends that are hot and popular to create content that sells.

Punctuation and Grammar: Even Google loves it!

It cannot be stressed enough. Poor Writing in terms of grammar and punctuation decreases content credibility instantly. 

No matter how compelling your topic is, low-quality sentences are a huge turn-off.

Take special care to use correct punctuation and sentence structures to maintain credibility.

Respect the intelligence of the reader

Don’t try to fool your way into an issue, thinking you’ll never be caught. Respect your reader’s intelligence and relate facts that are actually true. When you cite incorrect sources, you are labeled as distracting and naive.

It is also important to understand your audience. It is to ensure you employ the necessary reading level and jargon, one that suits their needs.

Readers aren’t stupid. They can figure out whether you’re sincere or just trying to fool your way into top SERPs.

E-A-T your content

Expertise, Authority, and Trust. Although this solution doesn’t push your blog up on the SERPs, it establishes credibility. In the long term, this is what’s going to help you become the authority in your field. It builds a reputation among your audience.

Expertise and Authority are not merely tricks; they’re your goals. When you have an established reputation as a credible source, there’s no turning back.

It is the trust that gets you far. When your audience begins to trust your content for information, you know you’ve made a difference. 

Although the E-A-T strategy won’t do anything substantial to your search rankings, it will improve content credibility. Once you have credibility, awesome search rankings are not difficult to achieve.

Don’t just write anything! Create content that makes a difference

Nobody wants to read the same thing over and over again. If you’re writing on generic topics that are not helpful, your content doesn’t go very far. Readers want to read things that are helpful or entertaining.

An overly information-centric or professional post can bore readers. No matter how motivated they are to learn something, they’ll have a hard time doing it. 

Don’t scratch off professional entirely. It is necessary too. But professionalism is not equivalent to boring. Use pictures, videos, and fun facts to keep things interesting.

Here are some tips to help you create great content

Many people want to write content for big firms and companies and advertising houses. Many of them do. But what differentiates a great content writer from an average one is the effort put into research and quality. 

In today’s digital and modern blend, there are billions of websites online. All of these websites contain content of some type. What makes your writing stand out is your talent and effort to combine language with research.

Content credibility is also one of the most important factors that help with audience and trust generation. Whether you are writing blog posts, website articles, or books, these following content writing tips for beginners will keep you ahead of the competition.

Do your “Research”

You need to research often and hard. Research. However, it shouldn’t be immediately followed by writing and planning or your content post. In fact, you should take a moment to analyze what you’ve collected or read so that you have a better picture of it in your mind. 

The 'lead generation' stats show that most marketers use blogging as a key content marketing tactic.

You need to understand the “audience tendencies”

Understanding your potential audience is the best way to write content that is beneficial to them. 

You need to make sure that your readers benefit from what they read. You need to tap into the personas of your target audience. Make your content worthy of action.

Let’s say if you are a business, then blogs can really help you. Why?

Because: OKDork's data shows blog posts are among the most shared content online.

“Content Strategy” – The fundamental of every content

A multi-channel approach to content distribution is imperative. You must identify the most relevant channels for your brand through various social media handles’ analytics. 

It will increase the chances of your content being seen by your target audience. 

‘Keyword’ is the key

Make sure you use a lot of keywords in the content. Formulate terms that have a great volume on popular search engines. These help your audience find your content easily at the top of the SERPs. 

The top results are also more trustworthy and reliable. Make sure you use keywords often and wisely.

Do you have your unique style?

With millions of pages of content being generated every week, it is important to be distinctive. If you’re trying to copy someone else’s work style, you’re already behind on progress. 

If you come across people who have a unique style during your research, do not copy them. Take inspiration from them. Since every person is different, so are their writing styles.

You must find niches in the market of content curation and generation where your content style is prevalent and valued. You must exploit these markets so that you can make profits. 

It is also important to have a varied writing style because you never know who might come to love it absolutely!

Stick to what is relevant

Every piece of content must be relevant to both your target audience and your topic sentence. It is okay to form a context and relate to other things, but make sure you’re sticking to your topic sentence centrally. 

You do not have to mix several different ideas into one piece. Keep pieces relevant to what they have to be about. If you go about experimenting with content, your target audience will not find what they opened the link for. 

It is important to stick to the ultimate topic to impart information that is relevant and useful to the audience. You can also keep track of irrelevant information and remove it during your final editing.

‘Creativity’ is what you need

Research and write on topics that have the potential of making a difference for the target audience. If you’re not making a difference, what’s the point?

Every content must have these three factors involved majorly:

1. Topic
2. Idea
3. View

When you have the topic and the idea already in place, it is important to make sure your content is visually and textually appealing. The view matters. 

Giving a new makeover to your content or writing about unique and distinctive topics sets you apart from the crowd. The unique angle is also necessary to sustain a loyal audience.

Come up with a solid title and opening paragraph

Your title is the face of your article or blog post. Forming a killer headline or title is the first step to gain those clicks and views you need. 

Hubspot’s research indicates that blog post titles with 6-13 words get the most traffic ,and on the other hand Orbit Media suggests that the average blog post should be 1142 words long.

With the help of a creative and catchy headline, you attract people who are looking for information and want to be entertained at the same time. When you have an entertaining title, people tend to click on your link even if other articles of the same type offer a similar amount of information.

The opening paragraph, that is, the first paragraph after your heading, is equally important. To make sure your audience reads through the entire thing, you must capture their attention at the beginning. 

It is very important to ensure the retentivity of the readers. That is the only way you can put your message across effectively enough to make a lasting difference.

Never let the language be the barrier: Keep it simple

Your language is perhaps the most important feature of the content. Even though your article is written for a niche audience, its language must be simple and understandable. It must be at a middle school child’s reading level. 

Keep your audience in mind and use keywords. If there are technical terms that you need to use, make sure they are popular enough that your target audience understands them without an explanation. If not, explain these terms to ensure comprehensibility.

When you’re writing an article for the general audience, you must keep in mind their reading skills. Not everyone might correspond to your complicated sentence structure and extensive vocabulary. It is very beneficial to keep things simple and interesting. 

Since the most important function of your content is to enhance the knowledge of the reader, you must ensure that you write in a language that the reader can understand.

Keep paragraphs short, ensure correct grammar and punctuation, sentences are neat, and words are not too complicated.

Collaboration as a part of a content marketing team

Content marketing has a lot to do with analyzing different parts of the marketing strategy. This analyses the impact of your content on target audiences, identifying what these audiences might like, their reading levels, and what strategies can attract most engagements and interactions. 

In situations like these, working in close touch with other members of a team might be very helpful. It can help you with customer support, product management, and identification of your target audience, which helps you generate content that is interesting and relevant throughout the internet.

Let’s Come to the execution: Get the execution right!

Infographics matter

Make sure you have a lot of visual content that is relatable to what you have written. If you put forward your information without making it visually appealing, people are not going to stick around for the whole thing. 

According to research conducted in this area, it was found conclusively that content with images gets more views, making it a great way to reach a wider audience. Images also help to get your message across more effectively as content with images also gets more shares.

Do not forget the importance of charts, figures, images, videos, gifs, infographics, and social media references in your blog post or article. These are the elements that are most important to the blog. They increase the appeal of the content and improve reader retentivity.

You must also make sure that your content remains consistent. Consistency does not only relate to the quality of the content. It also comes with a consistent reality of your brand or company. 

Facts and figures (Once again)

Do not claim things that you can’t prove and cite sources wherever facts and figures are involved. On the subject of using data, make sure you use a lot of it. 

Facts that you use are just opinions unless they are backed by scientific research or proof. 

Cite journals, research papers, news stories, and expert opinions if you want to make your content look credible. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is one of the main parts of writing an article that has a good reading audience. 35% of all the traffic on web pages comes from organic searches. This is substantiated proof that you shouldn’t ignore the abilities of SERPs. 

SEO planning gets you access to audiences who can read your content if it appears on the top results of search engine results. 

It not only increases your readership, but it also makes your blog post more visible throughout the web. This increases the reach of the article or blog post, making more and more of a difference.

Extensive editing

Editing your content is as important as writing the content itself. Going over the content over and over again highlights any mistakes you might have made. It lets you remove minor errors before your publication so that content credibility is increased. 

Content credibility comes with correct grammar usage, relevant content, and a good grasp on sentence structures. When you master these tricks, you will have the ability to create content that is very well-written. 

Make sure you don’t give your audience the potential to point out errors in the post. Remove them before publication to make content more attractive and reliable.

Finally here are some content writing tips for beginners

Here are some additional points that you must remember. These tips, when used in collaboration with the others aforementioned, can bring great audience results for you, not only increasing the readership[ of your blog, but also making you the authority and expert on a niche. In short, they make you realize the truth in the phrase “content is king“.

01: Find a niche 

Use a niche topic sentence that helps you tap into audiences that are genuinely interested in the area. This also helps you write for audiences who are already knowledgeable, which decreases your obligation to write in a manner that is comprehensible to a layman.

02: Write in different styles, or at least know how to 

Many writers are multitaskers who can write in different styles using different sentence structures and sets of vocabulary. Many writers don’t do a certain type of work with ease, but they know how to. 

Hence, with a little bit of effort, you, too, can fit in any firm that deals with diverse topics like health and marketing. This gives you an edge over other content generators who work with specified fields.

03: Headlines grabs the attention of your reader

As your headline or the topic sentence is the face of your article, it is the first sentence that is responsible for attracting the attention of the reader. Make sure your article has a killer heading, which makes it hard for the reader to resist clicking on your link on the search results.

04: Write to deliver value 

Make sure whatever you write brings value to the reader. Your content must not be generic. It should be something niche and useful so that the reader benefits from reading it. 

Make the content more engaging, using content that is catchy and visually appealing. Do not use media items if they are not relevant to what you’re trying to send across. Use images and videos that are colorful, funny, and interesting to the reader.

05: Give your audience the reason to come back: Conclude well 

Your blog post must have an ending that keeps the reader wanting more. You must be consistent in your posts so that you maintain a certain standard for writing and conclusions. An ideal conclusion must be one that keeps the reader anticipating your next blog post.

The Bottom-line

Research shows that 60% of B2C marketers are committed to content marketing. Creating and consistently delivering a certain type of information takes a persevering effort. 

It is important to build a deep understanding of the needs of your target audience and of where and how you add value. Content writing is less about writing well but more about knowing what to write. 

It may not be easy to create valuable content, but it is essential if you are looking to grow and sustain a successful business in today’s digital world. 

Content is king, but in the past, its importance was overlooked, and more emphasis was placed on graphics, videos, billboards, and animations. With the advent of smart buying paradigms, the content has stolen away from the attention. 

The post Content Is King! True, But Is Your Content Credible? appeared first on Prateek Saxena.