Awareness, Attention, and Appreciation. The three A’s aren’t always easy to come by in the content race. With some dedication, finding what works best for your brand becomes a worthwhile experiment.
Spending time creating great content is no easy task, which means getting it in front of the right people is essential. No matter what size audience you have, your content deserves awareness, attention, and appreciation. Here are some ways to capture all three.
Publish regularly to find your niche.
Keep the content coming. Regular content creates expectation and increases the likelihood of engagement—especially on channels like Facebook with an unpredictable feed algorithm. Brands should develop a reputation for honesty and accuracy while ensuring that content is easy to consume. Experimenting with different approaches to find a distinct slant only helps in collecting valuable data along the way.
Concocting a memorable voice and fresh ideas requires a significant investment of time and effort; some may hesitate to publish content unless it reaches a certain expectation laid out by higher-ups. Rand Fiskin reminds listeners, “The only way to get good is experimentation and practice.” As with any other skill, it takes work. Publishing regularly will keep brands sharp and consumers aware. When progress is made, the audience will pay attention to improvements.
Be everywhere and kick off conversations.
In an article published earlier this year, Neil Patel discusses the importance of omnipresence. Neil says, “These days, it’s becoming more difficult and expensive to buy attention. To stand out with content marketing, you have to earn attention.”
As brands strive to reach fresh eyes, they need to remember customer pain points and deliver content those consumers want to see. Finding the channels an audience most enjoys and taking with them, not to them, only increases those odds. If brands listen and engage, they’ll have more data to use when shaping their next strategy.
Embrace the unexpected as a sweet surprise.
Consumers love a content surprise, especially when it engages their needs. Well-placed humor and creativity can generate shares and comments, keeping content top of mind. Brands must remember to stay professional when it comes to posting unexpected content. Thinking outside the box with live behind-the-scenes videos highlight human aspects of the brand, while surprise giveaways encourage customer interactions with products and services.
Capture attention quickly with enticing visuals.
Consumers will move on if content fails to capture their attention right away. On social, brands should keep it short, sweet, and memorable, tossing in the right visuals along the way. Audiences look for content that entertains as well as informs, so marketers should consider options like infographics and explainer videos that encourage viewers to linger on a page.
Court social media influencers.
Social media influencers magnify content awareness, reaching the people who matter most to a brand. Given the array of platforms that house varying demographics and interests, leveraging social media influencers can take a brand to a new level of consumer awareness. Why? Decision-making is increasingly influenced by the opinions of respected and admired public figures. Not only that, but consumers are also quicker to listen to real people over carefully constructed advertisements.
As a guest post on Adweek says, “With all of the advertising interrupting them, it’s no surprise that people love products like AdBlock, Netflix, and Spotify Premium that take ads out of traditionally ad-saturated media experiences.” Consumers are drifting away from traditional advertising, presenting the perfect opportunity to leverage influencers for conversation and brand awareness.
Connect emotionally with audiences.
Jeff Bullas argues that a conversational tone best targets human emotion and gains reader appreciation. When it comes to connecting with readers on a human level rather than a corporate one, brands create feelings of kinship and commonality that keep consumers longing for more.
Marketers can consider storytelling to attract a wider audience. A short story that amplifies content is easily retold and shared. Consumers feel an emotional connection to the story and become attached to the brand. Video captures and deepens attention while a quality story holds viewers till the end. There is a place for both short- and long-form video in the attention-grabbing game.
The first step to increasing consumer awareness is offering regularly published, well-developed content. Connecting on an emotional level develops trust and appreciation. From there, social media influencers shine the spotlight on what a brand is trying to say and nudges them towards those coveted three A’s.