3 key types of content that creates engagement
In business, as in life, it’s rare we warm to someone who talks about nothing but ‘me, me, me’. So why is it that businesses often do just that when it comes to their marketing and content?
In order to establish some common ground and trust between you and the people you want to engage, you need to understand and deliver content that reflects their needs, challenges and goals. Generating a consistent and high-quality flow of content might seem daunting but there are three key types of content that creates engagement.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content works no matter when it’s shared. Its relevance never diminishes, and it can even be re-used (or at least reworked) with equal impact. It talks about the fundamental needs, problems, challenges and tasks that your business helps its clients or customers with.
One advantage of producing this kind of material is that you can write it way in advance of publishing – and even stockpile it for later use. There’s no pressing deadline as it doesn’t have to ride the coat-tails of a trend or tie in with an event or news story.
Due to the lack of requirement to ‘just get it out there’, evergreen content is often well-considered, the result of extensive research, and/or imaginatively-presented. It might cross-reference other articles you’ve created or cite external sources of interest and relevance via links.
Seasonal articles
Christmas comes but once a year. So posting articles with a festive slant won’t work at just any time of year, but they’ll have a specific impact and resonance in December.
As with evergreen content, this both allows for plenty of prep time, and the potential to post the article again (when it’s next relevant, and with necessary updates, as required).
Knowledge of seasonal festivals, events, trends or concerns for your customers and prospects enables a calendar of activity to be drawn up. Is their a seasonal aspect to your sales cycle? Do you your products and services reflect this?
A seasonal content plan will form the skeleton of a content-production schedule around which to generate other articles.
Timely or opportunistic viewpoints
Some events – an election, referendum or sporting competition, for example – are announced way in advance, providing you with ample opportunity to link your brand and the event in your content output. Some events are more unpredictable.
However, your ability to react to daily news, current trends and unforeseen can be a key type of content that creates engagement. Reading every publication front-to-back isn’t compulsory – but wouldn’t your customers or clients expect you to demonstrate an understanding of your marketplace and the implications for their business? Timely content can be an opportunistic approach to blogging but it can also be an chance to respond to people’s natural inclination to try and understand how change affects them.
