Do You Struggle with Content Resonance?

With more and more content being published by brands and individuals across the web, it’s a virtual traffic jam of information. Your audience only has so much time on their hands, and the more information they are hit with the less likely they are to pay attention. As Nobel-winning economist Herbert Simon noted in his work, “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

As a marketer, you need to attract attention for the products or services that make your company great, but your audience is less likely to listen. So what are you supposed to do?

Instead of publishing without purpose, you need to create content that resonates with your audience. Resonance is the “ability to evoke or suggest images, memories and emotions.”

Emotional impact plays a huge role in marketing, and even more so in a crowded content environment. When content resonates with your audience, your brand stands out from the competition because your audience has become emotionally invested. They gravitate toward your story, your products and your mission. With time, they become customers and eventually loyal advocates.

So understanding this, how to you create a strategic, targeted content plan that is guaranteed to resonate with your audience? Before you invest in a white paper, blog post series or webinar on a new topic, try a micro-content approach.

Micro-content is just as strategic and well planned as other pieces of marketing, but it’s delivered in bite sized chunks. There’s a lower barrier of entry for both your team and your audience. By using images, keeping posts short and frequently sharing about the topic you’re testing, you can quickly gauge the emotional impact of your approach.

Micro-content can also help establish your social media channels. For example, if you decide to use Twitter as your primary micro-content channel, you can then turn around and introduce your longer piece of content to this same audience.

Micro-content can include:

• Short blog posts like – quick tips lists, commentary pieces or how to articles
• Social media content like – Twitter, Facebook, G+ and LinkedIn updates
• Visual content like – branded images, small infographics or Pinterest activity

As an added bonus, micro-content can be repurposed once you’ve hit on a topic that strikes a chord with your audience.

So if you struggle with content resonance, follow these steps:

Pick a channel

– decide where you want to launch your micro content testing, and then make sure your brand has a good presence on that channel.
Know it well – understand who your audience is on your preferred channel.

Publish

– use multiple pieces of micro-content on the same theme over several weeks to gauge impact

Track

– how is your audience responding to the content?

Repeat

– repeat with new micro-content on the same topic, or use it as a foundation for longer content pieces.

If you’re having trouble making content resonate, start with micro-content. Find the topics and ideas that make an emotional impact, and you’ll be able to get the attention of your audience.