content writing Archives - Triple Canopy Media

Here’s Some Game-Changing Content You Should Create and Why

17OctOctober 17, 2019 By Dale Kiefer

When it comes to content for your company’s website, more is always better, provided, of course, that it’s high-quality content.

Content, as we have discussed before, includes blog posts, social media posts, general descriptive information about your organization’s vision, mission, staff, location, products, services, and so on.

If you run a business, then above all else, your content should engage people. Your content should drive traffic to your website. And once a searcher is on your website, that content should be compelling enough to hold the attention of that user long enough for that person to become a customer.

How can you accomplish this? By creating content that is engaging, informative, and soothes the “pain” that the searcher is feeling. The pain is what caused that person to want to conduct a search in the first place.

This pain can take many forms. Your potential customer is increasingly likely to express pain in the form of a full-fledged question, especially as voice searches become more prevalent.

Such pain-related questions may include:

“How can I drive more traffic to my website?”

“How many presidents have been impeached?”

“Where can I get some poutine near me?”

As you can see, there’s a broad range of questions that people might ask hoping to satiate their hunger for information and other things.

If you run a business, the key is for you to be found (preferably first) as the answer to one of these questions.

Content does that for you!

So, back to our original question: What sort of content should you create in order to get readers’ attention (and keep it)? Read on!

Strive to be a Featured Snippet

An overwhelming majority of all search engine traffic goes through Google.

You probably use Google. If so, you have likely seen a featured snippet at some point when you have asked that search engine a question.

To see what a featured snippet is, if you don’t know, check out the screenshot below:

In this example, the featured snippet features a snippet that defines what a featured snippet is. (Got it?)

The SEO gurus at Moz have done an admirable job of explaining what a featured snippet is. And Google has rewarded them with the coveted featured snippet spot as a result.

In case you can’t quite make out the definition in the screenshot above, know that a featured snippet is a portion of content which Google places in a box above the rest of the organic results on a search engine results page in response to a query. Yes, above the number 1 result!

Google does this, presumably, because its algorithm deems the result in the featured snippet to be the best answer to a searcher’s question and then places it there.

Now, if you’re developing content for your site, here’s some great news: The featured snippet doesn’t always come from the page that ranks first in the organic search results.

In other words, if you write content so helpful that Google’s algorithm deems it to be the best answer to a frequently asked question, then you can actually leapfrog over results that appear above you and get displayed in the featured snippet box!

You can see this in action in the screenshot below. The featured snippet came from the Moz site, but Moz is actually second, not first, in the list of organic results Google provides as an answer to the question:

Speaking of Frequently Asked Questions…

You always want to be of use to any searcher, and you always want Google to recognize that.

The best way to be helpful to anyone using a search engine is to answer questions. And the most efficient method for accomplishing this, of course, is to anticipate people’s questions before they’re asked. That’s where your site’s FAQ page can come in.

Composing a page with frequently asked questions is one of the most effective steps you can take to raise the profile of your company’s website.

Creating an FAQ page for your website allows you to place an abundance of relevant keywords related to your business and industry all in one place.

Remember that the use of voice search is on the rise. This is a trend that is projected to continue as people become ever more comfortable consulting virtual assistants to satisfy their information needs. When you compose your FAQ page, structure the questions just as you would expect a potential customer to ask them. Use the same language a layperson might use and you may match up exactly with a user’s query.

If your FAQ page is thorough enough or helpful enough, this could be your company’s ticket to the featured snippet box.

Show Us Your Infographics!

Infographics are valuable pieces of content. They may serve as possible gateways to a whole new potential customer base.

Why? Because, let’s face it, many people simply aren’t going to read through pages (or even a single page) of just text. Infographics are more eye-catching and much easier for busy searchers to engage with. As a result, your potential clients are more likely to read an infographic all the way through. The longer their eyes stay on your website, the better it is for your SEO.

Plus, infographics are an excellent way to repurpose content that you have previously created. Have you composed a blog post that tackled an aspect of your industry particularly well? Turn it into an infographic and release it into the world again! The time you’ll spend on the graphical layout is more than offset by what you save on not developing an entirely new set of ideas.

Video Saved the SEO Star

When you’re tired of text, and even an infographic isn’t lively enough for you, try some video content!

Video content gives you the chance to liven up your website and your social media feeds. It can add some personality to your business, which may help to forge a connection with your audience of potential customers. Plus, it gives you a chance to be creative in a different way. And although text interviews can be interesting, video interviews are even more riveting, especially interviews with influencers!

Perhaps more important than that are these stats about video content and social media engagement. In short, social media content consisting of videos receives more engagement and produces more fruitful returns. Even if you’re camera-shy, it’s worth it.

In Conclusion

As always, more content is better. Higher quality content is better. A greater variety of content is better.

Compose those FAQ lists and strive to be a featured snippet. Repurpose your blog post text as a helpful infographic. And increase your company’s engagement with your audience by posting videos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Still stuck? Reach out to Triple Canopy Media! We can help you to develop the content that will elevate your business to the next level.

7 Ways to Develop Good Content Ideas When You Have Writer’s Block

10OctOctober 10, 2019 By Dale Kiefer

Writer’s block, the shorthand for being stuck when it comes to generating new written content, is not just the bane of eccentric novelists. It can and does affect businesses as well.

Since we all know that creating good content is essential to generating traffic on the web, a lack of new content is going to be detrimental to your company’s online success.

Don’t get caught in a state of not having enough new content due to a lack of ideas, feeling discouraged, or succumbing to apathy.

Here’s a list of seven ways that your company can build up your content and get more eyes on your website, your blog, and your social media feeds.

Brainstorm!

Two heads are better than one. And a whole team is better still!

Are you struggling to come up with a topic for your next blog post? We’ve all been there at one point or another.

Every writer is going to suffer from a lack of ideas at some stage in the writing game. If you work for an organization in the creativity sector (that definitely includes you, marketers) take advantage of the opportunity to tap into the minds of your fellow writers or other colleagues at work.

You may have some vague notion of what to write about swimming through your head, but you aren’t sure where to go with it. Try tossing it out to a coworker and it may just be returned to you as a fully-fledged blog post!

And remember: Your colleagues can be great editors and proofreaders, too!

Harvest Ideas from Elsewhere Online

It’s not a crime to peruse the work of other writers to help ignite your own ideas. Find writing topics by doing research online in your field. It’s not cheating to get inspiration this way. Shakespeare pulled from the works of writers that came before him, so it’s certainly okay for you to do the same.

But don’t plagiarize! Again, seriously, don’t plagiarize!

Not only is this a bad practice from an ethics standpoint, it’s also a poor choice from an SEO standpoint. The penalty is just not worth it.

But a whole new world of potential content opens up to you when you draw from the well of online inspiration.

First of all, this is a great way to find out about new subtopics within your field. It can also help you to catch up with some of the newest trends in your industry that you might otherwise have overlooked.

Second of all, there are very few ideas in the history of human civilization that are so brilliant that they can simply stand alone with no additional input or scrutiny.

Take some of the ideas in someone else’s blog post and add on to them but from your unique perspective. Or, better yet, strive to refute that other writer’s premise using your own experience or expertise.

Pull from Your Own Archive

Even if you feel that you’re out of ideas right now, you aren’t. And if you ever felt that way in the past, you were wrong then, too!

If you’ve been blogging for a while, take a look at your back catalog of previous posts and use some of them as a springboard to help you create a new piece of writing.

Maybe, for instance, you wrote extensively about social media marketing in a series of blog posts several months or even a year or two ago. In this arena, changes happen very quickly. Isn’t that old series due for an update? Write about new developments using the news as your guide.

This naturally leads into the next bit of advice…

Draw from Industry News, Trends, and Current Events

Still out of ideas for new content at this stage? Struggling for what to put in that blog post? You shouldn’t be. But if you are, do a search for the latest trends in your industry. “SEO news 2019” is sure to turn up a lot of useful results about SEO, any one of which could translate to a new blog post from you.

You might also try looking at the calendar as well. In December, consider a retrospective on the news that shaped your industry in the previous year. In January, think about the trends that you think will drive progress in the coming year.

There are also spring trends, summer trends, fall trends…this is an especially fruitful approach to try if you’re blogging about fashion, sports, hospitality, or any other retail sector that changes dramatically over the course of any given year.

Get Personal

Unless you’re in an industry in which all of your activity is governed by the strictest security measures, you can almost certainly afford to “get personal” with your content’s readers.

No, we don’t mean to say that you should be divulging your deepest, darkest personal secrets to the entire online world. But you can and should humanize yourself and your organization now and then.

Does your office have a resident four-legged (honorary) staff member? It’s a sure bet that some of your readers will be intrigued by what Fido has to say about trends that affect his share of the marketplace. This may give you a chance to have some fun with a new “voice,” too!

Conduct an Outside Interview

If Fido is the strong, silent type, and no one else in your workplace is overly fond of sharing, try to book an interview with a person outside your organization. This is not only a great way to fill that content bucket for the day, it’s also a chance for you to learn more and thereby potentially gain material for future blog posts.

And if you can score a one-on-one with an influencer in your field, then you’ve just transformed a bout with writer’s block into a major coup!

Reduce Your Pain by Reusing and Recycling

If content is good enough to share once, it’s probably good enough to share again.

Thankfully, there are a variety of presentation methods, forums, and platforms available to you, the content creator. Take advantage of them!

For instance, write that blog, and then, a few months down the road, convert that piece into an infographic. You still get your message across, but in a way that might reach a different (and wider) audience.

Then share that infographic as a post on Instagram (social media is content, too)! After that, write another blog post about your start-to-finish creative process. Then be sure to hop on Twitter and send out some tweets to promote that blog post!

In Conclusion

Don’t let writer’s block drag you down. It happens to everyone. But the cure for it is all around you. Don’t be afraid to tap into that well for inspiration, snag that interview, or think really far outside the box.

And if you’re still stuck, reach out to Triple Canopy Media! Don’t be content to live without content!

Want Your Blog to Work for You? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

22AugSeptember 3, 2019 By Dale Kiefer

Yes, of course we understand. You want more clicks, more traffic on your site, more eyes on your blog posts. Perhaps you want to sell more of your company’s products or services, or maybe you dream of cornering a niche in your industry and leveraging that to become a major online influencer.

Whatever your motivation, or your most favored outcome, a good solid blog can help you get there.

But building a blog that works for you or your business doesn’t just happen because you want it to. (Obviously, right?) It happens through planning, persistence, and a bit of strategy.

How can you get more eyes on your blog posts and reap the benefits? Ask yourself the questions below!

Am I Focused?

You should always focus your sights squarely on your subject matter. Pick a niche and stick with it.

If you run a business, then this choice has been made for you to some extent. Blogging about your industry is not just a logical thing to do; it also draws on the considerable experience and expertise you have to offer in your field.

On the other hand, if you’re an individual hoping to raise your profile or make a living through blogging, picking your niche could be a bit more challenging.

Above all, your blog should be focused.

If you want to just chronicle your random thoughts from time to time and call that a blog, then you certainly have the full freedom to do so. But the result of doing that will be more of a fun diversion for you and your friends than it will be evidence of why you should be a major influencer.

Focus! Yes, you should pick a well-defined subject area that you know fairly well. In addition, you should have enthusiasm for your chosen topic. That way, you’ll be more motivated to stay in touch with the hottest trends in the field. Plus, your excitement will shine through and your readers will feel that and want to read more.

Speaking of readers…

Do I Know My Audience?

Your blog should hold your interest, certainly, because you’re going to be the one writing it. But it’s actually much more essential that it covers what readers want to learn about if you’d like for it to be a part of your business strategy.

You’re welcome to occupy online space by writing about your cats or your favorite 1980s TV shows—feel free! But if you believe that this will bring you a lucrative payout or result in you getting calls to give TED Talks, you’re likely to be disappointed.

If you really aren’t sure what you should be blogging about, but you hope to make a living with your writing, think about the marketplace first. Prioritize your audience. Consider the needs of your readers and cater to their interests. Think about their pain points and drill down on that.

Cornering your niche in the blogosphere involves writing about something that can be monetized. It may also center around subject matter that is highly-technical. If your chosen topic is one that very few people can write about, and you’re one of those people, then there’s a possibility that there’s a lucrative future in it for you.

Can I Post Like Clockwork?

Dependability is a great quality not just in real life, but also online.

If you want people to read your blog posts, work on posting them regularly.

Perhaps you have enough material to post every other day? Schedule a time to go live and stick to that. If you feel like you will only post something once a week, try to have your post up on the same day every week, and at the same time of day if you can.

Again, post regularly. People will then come to expect to see your posts at that given time. And, if your posts are enthralling, informative, or entertaining enough, readers will make seeking them out a regular part of their weekly routine.

You can write posts ahead of time, too, of course, and schedule them to go live in advance.

Can I Make Social Media My Blog’s Friend?

While we’re on the subject of getting your blog posts on a regular schedule, we should talk about using social media to promote your posts.

Short version: you should do it. After all, in the United States, 77% of people have at least one social media profile.

You can set your post to go live at a particular time and day, and then, for example, schedule a tweet to go out at the same time which summarizes the post and provides a link that your followers can click on to visit your blog and read your post.

If you don’t have your social media posts scheduled to run at regular intervals already, you should strongly consider doing so. You can manage multiple social media accounts using tools like Hootsuite. You can then dedicate a portion of your workweek to composing all of your social media posts but still have them see the light of day gradually.

Will I Be Able to Change with the Seasons?

Naturally, users search for content relevant to their needs. And those needs, of course, are not static.

For business owners, their needs may change as their businesses grow. For users of all types, their searches are likely to vary with the calendar.

This concept is easier to understand in relation to some business sectors more than others. For instance, if your business involves selling apparel, you’re probably going to be getting more interest in boots in the wintertime than you are in the summertime.

Similarly, the holiday season is going to witness spikes in all sorts of retail sectors, and you’re going to want to stay on top of those trends.

But every business, even those that aren’t seasonal (or don’t seem seasonal at first glance) will have to respond to the pages flying off the calendar. Spoiler alert: In December, or thereabouts, you can look forward to a TCM blog post highlighting “SEO trends for 2020.” Feel free to set up an alert for it.

In Conclusion

Choose your blog post subjects wisely. Make them about things that your potential readers will find useful, informative, and valuable.

Post as frequently as you can, and always according to a regular, predictable timeline.

Stay up to date with the latest trends in your industry and be mindful of the date on the calendar when thinking about what’s “hot” right now for companies of your type.

Use social media to drive more traffic to your blog and, by association, your website and your company.

And, as always, write the very best content you can!