influential content

Ultimately, with content, blogs, social media – any aspect of maintaining a marketing presence online – the goal is to influence people. Whether you want to coax them to your side, convince them to buy your products, or convert them into loyal followers, your influential power matters. In the beginning, it can feel like a tall mountain to climb. How do you build your reputation, your authority, and your presence so you can reach people in the first place? How do you appeal to them, interest them, and move them? This is a question people have been asking forever. Everybody wants to be liked and respected. We’re all human, and it’s a basic human need. As Dale Carnegie says in his iconic, best-selling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People: “Dealing with people is probably the biggest problem you face, especially if you are in business.” Turns out, the way you approach your online communication is everything. Every single blog post, social media update, direct message, email, comment, and tweet matters. That’s a lot of pressure, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Instead, focus on a few key areas, and you’ll naturally build up your influence so people will gravitate to you without thinking about it. Consider this your guide to creating successful content that will influence readers positively. Your Guide to Influencing and Winning Over Your Audience with Amazing Written Content [bctt tweet=”How do you build your reputation, your authority, and your presence so you can influence your audience? @JuliaEMcCoy discusses her 7-step guide to create influence with amazing written content. ?” username=”ExpWriters”] Ready to get into how to grow your clout and influence your audience with successful content? Follow these steps: 1. Know Who You’re Talking To First thing’s first: It’s impossible to influence anybody without a tailored, personalized approach. Who are you targeting? Who are you talking to? Without this knowledge, you’ll have no idea how to frame your messages and make them relevant to your readers. So, before you ever begin thinking about how to win people over, first identify who those people are. According to G. Riley Mills for Forbes, there are three main aspects of audience discovery to consider. He applies these to public speaking, but they also may apply to any type of marketing communication. They are: Demographics – General statistics pertaining to your audience group and identifying factors including gender, age, marital status, level of education, occupation, etc. Psychographics – Personal information such as beliefs, values, opinions, loyalties, and feelings. Situational factors – The factors that may change on a day-to-day basis that influence why your audience might seek out your solutions, products, services, or content. Research each of these factors and build your understanding of your audience before you move on to writing content or communicating with them. [bctt tweet=”‘It’s impossible to influence anybody without a tailored, personalized approach. So, before you ever begin thinking about how to win people over, first identify who those people are.’ – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 2. Know Your Objective (What You Want from the Interaction) What do you hope to gain from posting that new blog, social media update, Instagram photo, or email? When you have a general goal or objective in mind, tailoring your content to perform and complete that goal is much easier. I shoot for three different “goal buckets” whenever I post a new piece of content. If the content won’t fit in one of my buckets or help me to advance toward a goal, I scrap it and move on to the next. [bctt tweet=”‘I shoot for three different ‘goal buckets’ whenever I post a new piece of content. If the content won’t fit in one of my buckets or help me to advance toward a goal, I scrap it and move on to the next.’ – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 3. Write Content That Moves, Inspires, Entertains, or Educates Your Audience Ultimately, content that’s moving, inspiring, entertaining, or educational is going to be valuable to your audience. If your content doesn’t accomplish any of the above, stop. Re-evaluate your content goals, and set some if you haven’t yet. Then, try these tips in your content. A. Get Personal Getting personal in your content doesn’t necessarily mean sharing every tiny detail of your life (TMI much?) – although you can share relevant experiences, thoughts, and ideas. Instead, it mostly means talking to your audience on a personal level. It means empathizing with them, speaking to their concerns, and relating to them. B. Add an Element of Surprise or Delight Injecting your content with surprise or delight will go a long way toward moving your readers. Use these suggestions to bring more light and life to your words: Use opposites – To jerk your readers out of reading by rote, introduce opposites in your writing. This can apply to anything, including descriptions and metaphors. For example, when describing a problem, compare it to falling into a patch of prickly thorns. Then, flip the script and compare the solution to a cloud of feathers. Embrace the one-liner – When you want your words to throw a punch at your reader, put them on their own line, in a one-sentence paragraph. For great examples of this technique used right, look at Seth Godin’s blog: Share personal anecdotes – Put humanness back in your writing and describe personal examples of whatever you’re writing about, where relevant. For instance, perhaps you experienced the problem you’re discussing or maybe you have a good learning experience to share that relates to your topic. Be yourself – Don’t write to impress. Instead, be yourself. Use idioms and turns-of-phrase you would insert in your speech when talking out loud. Crack bad jokes, litter your writing with puns, or include nerdy Star Wars references, if that’s your M.O. You do you. C. Include Research, Data, Statistics, and Studies Want to truly inform and educate your audience? Turn to research to ensure your content is stuffed to the brim with value. Don’t … Read more