Have you ever slogged through a long, tedious, research-heavy article or textbook chapter where you felt time stood still? How about a list on Buzzfeed where you eagerly read through the top pizza places in every state? What makes these experiences different? What makes one so much more enjoyable to read than the other? Sure, it could be said that pizzas are way more fun than whatever is in your textbook, but it’s all about creating prose, structure, and compelling visuals for your target audience. It takes a lot of effort on the content producer’s part to make those pizza places so exciting!
What are some features that compelling, share-worthy pieces of content have in common?
Well-organized
Visually digestible
- Created with a deep understanding of a specific audience-- and what they care about
- Valuable enough to spend time reading
- No pushiness or sales-y language-- it shouldn’t be trying to “sell” your business explicitly!
- What makes excellent content work?
- It understands its target market.
It doesn’t take itself too seriously.
It knows that no one has to read it-- so it makes people want to read it
- It makes inattention work for them-- readers give the content an average of 37 seconds, so it knows that they have to pull readers in FAST!
- Assignment Objectives:
- You must ensure your content is remarkable, engaging, and valuable
- Practice planning content marketing
Utilize market research to create compelling content ideas
Use creativity in a meaningful, intentional way
- Here is a list of ideas that might help youLinks to an external site.
- Complete each of the following sections. You will be graded on:
- Overall quality of writing (grammar, sentence structure, compelling/thoughtful writing)
- Fit for your chosen target market segment
Use of research and rationale
Overall effort and creativity
Correct and cohesive
You will assume the role of a freelance content marketer who maintains two clients.
Your client businesses are the following:
A donut shop that sells all breakfast essentials, both in-store and online (delivery)
- OR your small business
- An email marketing software provider that provides a low-cost email solution to all business sizes
- Assignment
- The second chapter discussed the different types of content (written, audio, visual, and video) and how they work within a content marketing strategy. Content marketing is popular for larger companies; however, small businesses like your two clients can benefit from content marketing.
- Deliverables:
What would the goal of this piece of content be?
What is the topic of your content piece?
What evidence do you have that your segment will be interested in this?
- What evidence do you have that your chosen medium/format will be effective for your segment?
Why will your segment find this topic valuable?
- What would the title of this content be? Be sure that it’s catchy and click-worthy!
- What visuals will your content have? Describe with detail.
For each client, develop at least one recommendation for each type of content and how they could use them as part of a content marketing strategy. Each recommendation should include the following:
The type of content (written, video, audio, visual)
The title or headline (i.e., “10 ways to save on office essentials” would work for an office supply company)