In today’s market, there’s a vast amount of content aimed at consumers, with each piece fighting for attention. This has created a world of “content clutter” and caused more difficulty for brands to create a meaningful connection between content and consumer.
It’s important that brands have the ability to communicate their message to their target audience, just as it is important that audiences have the ability to receive the messages. The only antidote to the concept of clutter is the idea of breaking through it – by creating content that stands out. Here’s how:
Start with Strategy
First and foremost, content you’re creating must serve a purpose. Stanton’s in-house expert on content marketing touched on this before by saying, “When you create content without a strategy, you are contributing to the white noise, not breaking through it.”
Starting with a strategy, you’ll need to identify a deliberate goal and target audience. Once you uncover your strategic goal, you can begin addressing your approach. For example, if your goal is to drive clients to your content, you should showcase your expertise, ability, and knowledge of the subject matter.
Taking strategy and target audience into account will provide a purpose and aid in your efforts to break through the noise.
Tailor to Your Audience
For communication to be effective, it needs to be tailored to the recipient. Once you’ve identified your key audience, the first step you should take is to complete an audience analysis. The information you’ll take away from this will offer a better understanding of the ways you can use different messaging tactics that have a better chance of “sticking.”
Visually Appealing
Each of the screens in our lives shares information with us – tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, and TV screens. They serve as an important reminder that our content must be compatible with each of them. If you want your audience to acknowledge your content, it needs to maintain a responsive web design, making the page render well on any screen.
Additionally, creating striking graphics is another way to enhance your content. The subject matter of your content could be of interest to your audience, but it will not catch their eye if you don’t pair it with the proper visual.
Our graphic designer would agree with this, reminding us of two things:
Good form makes for better functionality.
Attractive things work better.
No one likes starting from scratch, but it’s essential when creating content. Remember to start with strategy, tailor your message to the right audience, and take time to select the right visual. Take a creative chance – it might be the reason you’re able to break through the clutter and connect with consumers.
