How to grab eyeballs with digital content

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The power of content lies in innovation and being abreast with the changing face of communication. Within the past few years, we have seen a paradigm shift in the way content is written, presented, and perceived by people and brands. In a dynamic space like digital, it becomes all the more crucial for brands to innovate on a regular basis while maintaining their unique identity and original voice. Digital content breathes for a shorter duration but has the capability to spread leaps and bounds within seconds.

Research: Before you delve into creating a strategy and writing content for your brand, know what other brands in the industry are doing, locally and globally. Know your competitors and spend time analysing what works and doesn’t for them. Content and data are inextricably linked to each other. One boosts the other. On the basis of your research, prepare a documented strategy and follow it religiously. Given you are creating content for digital, ensure you’re always aware about the latest shifts within your industry and stay on top of the game.

Visualise: One cannot deny the fact that we’re living in a visual world and our brains get easily triggered by what we see. The recall value of a brand increases when you have left a visual impact on your audience. Apart from writing well, it is quite important to leave your audience with a visual memory. The content-consuming, fast-paced consumer today cares about what you have written after being lured in by the visual you grab eyeballs by. The success of platforms such as Tumblr, Vine and Instagram are primarily driven through this.

Experiment: Take risks. Incorporate newer concepts and ideas, drawing inspiration from the topical conversations that keep making the rounds on the internet. The best way to be visible online is to cash in on real time trends and experiment with your content. It not only breaks the monotony of the content but also keeps your audience informed about the new developments in the dynamic digital world.

Reach out: What value would your content have if it doesn’t reach out to the right audience. Know your target audience and leverage your content. Develop relationships and loyalty. Apart from social media and digital marketing, this strategy will take you far. Reaching out, even if it means by word of mouth, is one of the strongest means of communication and marketing known to humans since ages.

Converse: Engaging your audience is critical. Create content that will stir reactions among them and drive them to talk to you. Always keep the conversation going on your social media platforms in order to garner engagement and higher reach for your brand.

Innovate: Standing out is extremely important when it comes to content. Your audience is constantly consuming content in different forms; provide them with something new and fresh to stand out from the clutter. Your ability to use existing tools on social media in a new form is what can get you going. Tools such as Meerkat, Periscope, Flipagrams, Cinemagraph are being used extensively by brands these days in ways beyond what they were built for initially.

Delve into the intricacies of the content you create and evaluate your successes and failures in detail and critically. In the end, ask yourself these questions: Are you telling a story? Are you inspiring or inciting an action? Does it drive business?

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for you as a brand to fix an objective and an end result. Aligning your content strategy to your business goals is the way to go. Social media can provide one with the right amount of push in driving sales or driving conversations; it’s up to you to decide what you wish to achieve. Make sure your brand moves in the direction by constantly adopting to the latest trends and best practices of the industry. Develop relationships, loyalty and create authentic value in the market.

- By Yashnashree, Content Manager, MindShift Interactive

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.