But effective content covers more than copy. Video and visually rich content is a leading lever for driving engagement and it’s predicted that 82% of social content will be in an animated format by 2023.

The good news is that there are just a few simple steps to follow that will make your content easy to frame, enticing to read (or watch!) and potentially award winning! So, whether you’re writing long form blogs for your own website, YouTube video carousels or writing for third party platforms to optimise backlinks, here’s my top tips for making sure your content cuts through.

Let’s start with copywriting 

The rule for writing engaging copy is the same, whether you're writing from a B2B or B2C perspective. Essentially, ask yourself: what does your audience really want or need to know? What is useful to share, interesting or relevant? And how can your content help inform customers, so they recognise your business as a valuable resource and re-visit your website when fact finding. 

Understanding your audience is a fundamental first consideration. A useful exercise before commissioning or writing content is to analyse your customers and their needs.  Does your content aim to translate complex product technicalities for customers or investors? Perhaps you need to question whether your in-depth product technology messaging is even relevant for your audience. 

From an audience perspective, focus on the product or service benefits that are relevant for them - rather than the tech features that are relevant for you. Then, focus on finding the right time and topical moment to share your narrative.

Have a conversation.

Even if you own or work for a complex, deep tech business, harness a writing style that's not too formal or dry. Avoid long winded descriptions or the overuse of industry jargon. Even deep tech content will benefit from a lighter, illustrative approach. Always start with the mindset -'what do my readers want to know' balanced with 'what do I need to share?' And at the core of your thinking - ‘how can I make it interesting enough to read?’

Start scrappy and scope high

Feel free to sketch out your content first in a rough, scrappy way!  Almost like the first pencil lines of a painting. That way you won't get paralysed with thinking about the perfect structure. Write 5 individual main points you want to convey. That will help you avoid repetition and ensure you have enough to share that's interesting and informative to read!

Collaborate with experts

Ahead of the article or blog, reach out to other experts for wider insights. Integrating comments and quotes from other respected people is a great way to expand the reach of your content - particularly if you write an article for LinkedIn or package the highlights of the piece on your social media platforms by tagging in others. When sharing content for LinkedIn articles, tagging in other business experts who have contributed to a topic is a smart way to deepen expertise and widen share-ability.

Make it topical

Often the timing of your content is as valuable as the content itself. Is there something that has recently impacted your industry or customers? Has a government or legislative announcement affected the future of your industry? Creating first thoughts or guidance to help customers navigate changing times is often very useful for optimising engagement. Think about creating top tips or instigating a conversation that polls questions and encourages answers. 

'How To' or ‘5 Tips’ headlines for blog articles engage well - particularly when tackling topical issues. Check out Google Trends or Buzzsumo to help find trending topics that are currently engaging or expected to engage your customers.

How long is a blog?

Content length of a minimum of 800 -1,000 words is key for search engine authority & reader engagement. But the rule of thumb for SEO is that blog posts should be approximately 2,000 words to optimise visibility. However! Avoid ‘padding’ articles just to reach the required 2,000 word length. That is equally counterproductive and will turn away time poor audiences.

Find your keywords

A good mix of keywords in your headers and website meta tags will help people find your page content. Use Google Console to find the keywords relevant for your industry as these will help guide the type of articles you should be creating. Do maintain a balance between using relevant keywords and not over stuffing keywords to enhance visibility. Google won’t like this keyword pattern and won’t reward you with ranking. 

Get Animated & Artistic

Instagram changed the content rulebook with image first content. Now, Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri says the app is moving more toward video following the success of TikTok and YouTube. 

Video format is the future language for content and there are a myriad of free video making platforms such as Canva. DIY video content drives the engine of Tik Tok, but business platforms also support animated content. Carousels (a set of linked images) are popular for LinkedIn audiences and research from social media Today shows that PDF image led content generates 3 times more engagement. 

Well designed infographics will also help your content travel - particularly when you want research insights or survey data to become rapidly understood and re-shared. 

Plan a content calendar

Don't make your blog piece a one off. Google loves blog content that will help people find the products, services or resources they need. So rich informative content will enhance better search results. The best content strategy is linked to a planned calendar that blends topicality, new product, service or business announcements. There is so much informative content being shared by experts in your industry so utilise conferences and webinars to wrap up findings and re-share with your audience.

Performance analysis 

How to know if your content is working? Use all the tools available to analyse the impact of what you are sharing. Use your Google analytics platform to figure out which of your website blogs received the most amount of page views. Embedding a ‘call to action’ button at the bottom of any content will help track customer engagement and social media analytics will help track engagement and re-sharing.