Anyone who already has a digital presence on the Internet probably also knows that being found on the big network depends a lot on content. The question that many people do not know or have difficulty putting into practice, is the question of how to properly format the content that is produced to attract their audience. If this is your case, find out what are the main ways to produce attractive content that works.
What is important when creating content?
First of all, it is important to keep in mind how people reach you on the Internet. The shortest answer is: through content!
Better explaining the Internet works motivated by what people want to know about a subject.
So every time someone opens the browser and goes to Google search, that person is looking for a service, a product, a recipe, clarifying doubts about a subject, learning more about another, having fun, solving a problem, etc. All of these situations are met through related content.
The best, the most complete, the most updated and the most consumed content about any subject, is what Google will show in your search results.
Therefore, this is part of your concern to produce content for your website, for your blog, for your social networks, in short, all the ways in which you make a digital presence. This integrates the work that is known as Content Marketing.
The other part concerning what you should consider producing content is related to the format of this content. Just as you have preferences as to how you consume the information presented, so do the people who come to you on the Internet.
In other words, there are people who like to read texts, there are people who like to see images, there are those who like to listen to audios, there are those who prefer videos and there are still those who like a little bit of everything, according to the moment.
So keeping these differences in mind and knowing the Persona or Personas that predominantly represent your audience, this is what you should use to guide your work in producing the content in terms of the subject involved and the format that the content will be introduced.
How to create content and choose your formats?
Want an example? Okay, let’s imagine that your business is a butcher shop. The customers of your butcher shop can be the housewife, the single who lives alone, the person concerned with the quality of his food, the one without time to dedicate himself to the kitchen, or a series of other people.
The audience diversity is quite wide, isn’t it? Their profiles and what they seek can vary enormously, almost as much as the entire universe of people that exist, excluding only vegetarians and vegans.
What to do in such a case should be the question you are asking yourself. Of course, this question cannot be answered with a simple answer. In fact, you have to glimpse the range of options that you have ahead of you.
In fact, you are privileged, as you have a very diverse clientele and so the range of options for creating content and presenting it is also quite wide. It is up to you to see the universe of possibilities and know how to take advantage of it.
For the housewife, you can simply present a list of the 20 best recipes to make using stump or ground beef. Usually, this type of subject appears in the form of a tutorial, which constitutes what is a recipe. The same applies to all other cuts of meat that you sell.
For the single person living alone, recipes are also important, but tips on how to make and freeze individual portions are likely to be just as useful.
Those who show concern about the nutritional value of the food they consume, tables and graphs with information related to the caloric value, amount of protein, amount of fat, and other data from each of the cuts sold in the butcher shop, will be very useful and will even help when choosing what to buy.
Finally, for all of the above types, a video showing the characteristics that must be observed when choosing each cut of meat that is sold at the butcher, such as the appearance of the piece, size, amount of fat, how to cut and portion the meat, etc.
It should have been clear from this example, what to consider in terms of the topics covered in the production of content and what formats to adopt for this content to be useful and attractive.
The same type of approach should be used for any niche of performance, assuming that you know very well the needs, desires and expectations that the personas that represent your audience, present.
What types or formats of content?
The technology present on the internet has made a large number of types or formats of content available. Some formats are very similar to each other. Others have more restricted applications. What should be considered in all cases, is the possibility at your fingertips to produce and obtain the appropriate final result.
Therefore, do not produce content in a certain format if the resources you have (investment, time, knowledge of technology, equipment, etc.) are not appropriate to create a quality final product. Poorly presented content counts negatively. Always do the best you can always.
Blog Posts
Blogs have long been one of the main formats for presenting content. When we talk about blog posts, we are referring to the more traditional presentation of the content that we are used to seeing.
They are flowing texts addressing a particular subject, exactly as is the case with this article. It is a very appropriate format when you want to discuss a topic, tell stories about something, talk about a specific subject and clarify, exactly how we are doing.
The caveat about this format is that it is generally restricted to people who like to read and are willing and willing to do so.
However, it is still one of the prevalent formats and therefore it should always be considered, above all, because it is also still an important driver of visits and “food” for Google.
Video posts
This is the fastest-growing format for presenting content. The proof of the success of this format is evidenced by the amazing growth that YouTube has presented in recent years. It also tends to be the type of media that receives the most interaction (sharing, comments, likes, etc.) on other social networks such as Facebook;
While this format is widely accepted, it requires careful production, since the tools and communication resources used need to fulfil their role well. If, on the one hand, you can communicate by image and sound, on the other, if one or both are not used well, the result can be negative.
In the example we gave earlier of the company that operates in the meat segment, a well-prepared video can be highly enlightening compared to any text and can strongly motivate the consumption of your product. But what if the images are not good and sufficiently enlightening and the sound is inaudible?
E-books
The term comes from Electronic Book. Although they also correspond to printed books in their digital version, here the term e-book as an Internet content format, often corresponds to a digital version too, of a slightly more specific content, whose approach in a blog post would not be the most appropriate.
They are generally available in formats such as PDF and are provided for download for later reading. For both purpose and reason for being, e-books are extensive materials aimed at broadening the clarification of a given subject.
Still using our butchery example, an attractive e-book possibility would be something like the “definitive guide on how to prepare a perfect barbecue” or “everything you need to know about meat freezing”.
Sqribble is the perfect tool to produce ebooks in easy step and enhance your digital presence. Explore all features, pricing, pros & cons and the complete Sqribble Review here.
Audio
This is another format that has been gaining many followers. There are variations in the way it appears on the Internet, especially podcasts. Here we are not going to differentiate a podcast from other audio format proposals, since any variation is always presented in the same way, that is, and obviously, by audio.
So in many places, it is customary to differentiate in relation to audio formats under their various manifestations such as audiobooks and audio posts, to name just two examples. In our understanding, the consumption of content in this format takes place in the same form and for the same reasons and therefore does not require distinction.
The reason for its success is the ease of consuming the content presented in this format. People can listen to a podcast on their smartphone while commuting to work, on the bus, in the car, on the subway, or simply while doing anything else at home or in any other situation where they may have their ears free to listen.
What needs to be clear and important to understand is when information can be consumed with better results through audio, just as it used to be when the habit of listening to the radio was common? At that time, news, football, interviews and other types of communication were heard, all through the same audio vehicle.
But be careful! Quality audio is essential to stimulate consumption. Both the quality of the sound, as well as the clarity, volume, rhythm, diction, tone of voice and the voice of the person who narrates the content, are fundamental for there to be a stimulus to consume and assimilate the content.
Infographics
Although it sounds redundant, an infographic is more than a traditional chart. It is a visual presentation of information that is arranged in a more complete and didactic way more understandable.
Every graphic is a presentation of information, but in the case of an infographic, the construction and arrangement of data and other visual elements aim to better illustrate how the information contained therein is related.
Very good infographics can dispense text information explaining them. This does not mean that there can be no complementary text and they can even be part of an e-book or a blog post for example.
Following our line of hypothetical situations, an infographic that shows where the beef that is sold is located in the ox is an excellent example to illustrate the characteristics of flavour and tenderness that each beef has.
Tutorials
This is the content format in which the information placed in the form of text prevails and may eventually contain images that help in the presentation of the content or illustration of procedures.
Generally, tutorials are designed to teach you how to do something by explaining each step necessary to complete a task. Recipes are practical examples of tutorials, as they explain in detail the steps required to make a dish.
When imagining the possibilities of presenting the content of our butcher shop, a video in which the butcher demonstrates how to dismember a piece of rump to remove the breast, the butcher’s steak, the baby beef and the rump core, we have the conjunction of the video format and tutorial in the same situation.
Webinars
In its most common manifestation, a webinar will use the video format for its presentation. Usually, it is used in situations where you want to broadcast a lecture, seminar, or even a conference on some type of subject.
They often occur in situations with the live transmission, which in many media are treated as popular lives, which does not prevent them from being recorded for later viewing.
If our butcher understands that we provide a distance learning course for the training of other butchers. It’s a good deal, this is a possible application of that format.
Memes and Gifs
Even though they are technically different formats, in terms of how they are consumed by the audience, the meme and the gif assume a similar role. Both have been widely used in social networks and their use should be considered in more informal cases and when detailed information is irrelevant.
They attract by humour, creativity and highlighting situations and moments that are in evidence or characterize something or someone.
Photos images
Images have been a widely used communication and content production format, and their consumption has been endorsed on networks like Instagram.
Producing sufficiently good photos, not only in terms of image quality but also for what they communicate, requires care. Even with the availability of good photos through any smartphone, whenever possible it is advisable to call in a professional in the field.
If well explored, they can replace long texts and even videos, in some cases. Imagine a sequence of photos in sufficient quantity and quality, in which our butcher demonstrates how to make a rolled steak. It can be even more enlightening and attractive than a conventional tutorial (recipe).
Newsletter
Despite being another text format, it is a distinct means of communicating to our audience.
Its use must be done with thought and moderation, always aiming to stimulate participation and engagement, attracting the audience to the content that is in fact relevant to them. This is achieved through proper interpretation of metrics that will determine what type of content and format should be disseminated.
Its use is associated with e-mail and the existence of a registered customer base that authorized its receipt, and there must be well-defined criteria so that it is not confused with SPAM and that it is not very useful or interesting to those who receive it.
Conclusion
The production of Internet content is something that requires more than just knowledge about the subjects covered. Producing content that is not only good but also attractive and fulfils your audience’s consumption desires, requires the choice and use of the most appropriate formats to communicate with quality and reach.
