If you missed this week’s #ContentWritingChat, there’s no need to worry. I have you covered with a recap of some of the best tweets from the chat. Our topic was Strategies for Rising Above the Noise With Your Content with a wonderful guest host, Carrie Morgan. If you want to learn how to create better content that stands out, keep on reading!
#ContentWritingChat February 23 2016 Recap: Strategies for Rising Above the Noise With Your Content
Join us Tuesday, February 23rd at 10 AM CST for #ContentWritingChat with @morgancarrie as our guest host! pic.twitter.com/KNQaQs8ico
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) February 20, 2016
Our guest host this week was Carrie Morgan. Carrie is a published author of the book endorsed by people like Jay Baer, Ann Handley, and Jay Baer, Above the Noise: Creating Trust, Value & Reputation Online Using Basic Digital PR. She’s also a Digital Public Relations Consultant and you can find out more about her via her website, Rock the Status Quo. Be sure to follow her on Twitter: @morgancarrie.
Q1: What makes up great online content? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/mPqGz1TPF8
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A1. Content can’t be fantastic unless it reflects brand clarity and a solid understanding of audience. #contentwritingchat
— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 23, 2016
A1: You need to know your audience, but great user experience definitely contributes to great content, as well. #contentwritingchat
— Nicholas Creative (@Nicholas_Web) February 23, 2016
As Carrie pointed out, knowing your audience is very important. You need to know who you’re writing for in order to create great content they’ll love. Nicholas agreed, but he also brought up user experience. Your website should provide a good experience for each visitor.
Q2: How can you get your content noticed in the busy web world of today? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/mVz876KC9V
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A2. Integration is critical – don’t just create content, but wrap in SEO, social media.
#contentwritingchat— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 23, 2016
A2. Wrap in basic SEO for every post, every SlideShare, every video, EVERYTHING. Learn the basics, it’s not hard. #contentwritingchat
— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 23, 2016
A2: Originality. It’s hard to have the first article on a trending topic, but finding a new spin can help stand out. #contentwritingchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) February 23, 2016
If you want people to notice your content, make sure you’re optimizing your posts for search engines and sharing regularly on social media, as Carrie suggested. When you take the time to optimize your posts, you’ll rank higher in search results, increasing the likelihood your target market finds your content. You don’t have to be an SEO expert, but you should at least know the basics.
A great reminder from Netvantage Marketing: Be original! To truly stand out online, you need to be yourself and put your own spin on things.
Q3: How do you hone in on the right audience for your content? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/h8dXE80ySr
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A3. Ask them! Have conversations that dig into their interests, their needs, their roadblocks, their frustrations #contentwritingchat
— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 23, 2016
A3. Research blogs in your space & find where your ideal audience hangs out online (forums, blog comments). #ContentWritingChat
— Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) February 23, 2016
Don’t be afraid to just ask your audience what they’re interested in and what they need help with. They hold the answers to your questions. All you have to do is ask! You can create a survey for readers to complete or figure out where they spend time online and engage them. Kristen suggested spending time in forums and reading blog comments.
Q4: How do you build trust with your audience online? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/TnLr9OrDlw
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A4 Building trust with an online audience requires some semblance of content authenticity and validity #contentwritingchat #YKMD
— Yanique DaCosta, MFA (@Yanique_YKMD) February 23, 2016
A4 Start engaging with them. Regularly. Build real human connections, trust will follow #ContentWritingChat
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) February 23, 2016
Build trust with your audience through your content. Share authentic content that provides value to your audience, as Yanique pointed out. Make sure you’re also engaging them, as our CEO, Julia, said. Starting a conversation and building relationships with your target market is essential to building a level of trust.
Q5: What are some ways to stand out from your competitors with your content? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/vNvR8vypr4
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A5. Quality – learn to improve your writing skills. This is something you should constantly work on. #contentwritingchat
— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 23, 2016
A5: Stand out with visual content. It’s a very important component to build a strong web presence against competitors. #contentwritingchat
— Nicholas Creative (@Nicholas_Web) February 23, 2016
Stand out from your competitors by consistently providing high-quality content to your audience. Carrie says you should constantly work to improve your writing skills. The more you write, the better you get!
As Nicholas mentioned, visuals are another way you can stand out from your competition. Create eye-catching graphics your audience will love to help your blog posts and social media updates get attention.
Q6: How can you use your content to become an authority figure in your niche? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/dsfnkk5dmV
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A6 Write & create with the motto always do better. Strategize your content w/ tools like @buzzsumo, @Quora for topics #ContentWritingChat
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) February 23, 2016
A6: Authorities are usually asked their opinion, and aren’t afraid to share their perspective. #ContentWritingChat
— Michael Kinney (@michaelkinney) February 23, 2016
A6 Produce quality content often, have others link and refer to it (PR/link building), get seen outside of your niche. #ContentWritingChat
— Kathleen Garvin (@itskgarvin) February 23, 2016
To become an authority figure in your niche, you need to provide your audience with the content they’re looking for. Use BuzzSumo and Quora to find topics to write about. This is something we do often here at Express Writers! When you become an authority in your niche, people are going to come to you for your thoughts. And as Michael said, you can’t be afraid to share your opinion.
Make sure you get your content out there. Kathleen suggested utilizing PR and link building as ways to reach beyond your own niche.
Q7: What are some key tips for creating content your audience will love? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/WkAqu1GNFH
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
A7. Key tips for us are relatable, relevant, inspiring, problem solving, and conversational content #contentwritingchat
— Village Print&Media (@village_print) February 23, 2016
@ExpWriters Give away free Ebooks, webinars, tools, blog posts/advices… Make it look good, too #ContentWritingChat
— Ema Bukovica (@OKokoschka) February 23, 2016
A7. Ask yourself, would I take the time to read/watch this? If no, your audience won’t either. #contentwritingchat
— Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) February 23, 2016
A great answer from Village Print & Media: Create content that is relatable, relevant, inspiring, problem solving, and conversational. Your audience will love it! Ema suggested creating eBooks, webinars, and more that your audience will love and give it away for free. Everyone loves free content, but make sure they’re high-value!
And be sure to keep Kristen’s tip in mind the next time you’re writing content. Ask yourself if you would take the time to read or watch what you’ve creating. If the answer is no, there is a good chance your audience won’t either.
Q8: How can you create images that will help your content stand out? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/3TmKkinCSd
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) February 23, 2016
Q8. Creating images with brand consistency adds considerable value – do they support your brand personality? #contentwritingchat
— Carrie Morgan (@morgancarrie) February 23, 2016
A8 If you want your online content to stand out, say NO to stock imagery. We have all seen that one girl 10X’s #contentwritingchat #YKMD
— Yanique DaCosta, MFA (@Yanique_YKMD) February 23, 2016
Carrie brings up a great point about brand consistency. Utilize your brand colors, fonts, etc. when creating images for your blog posts and social media. It helps your audience to easily recognize your graphics! If you really want to stand out with your graphics, ditch the typical stock images. So many of them have been overused so you want to find images that aren’t everywhere and find ways to make them your own.
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Be sure to join us on Tuesday, March 1st, 2016 at 10 AM CST!