Should You Be Producing Hard-Hitting or Light-Hearted Content?

Miley Cyrus is 33 times more important than the conflict in Syria.

Google Analytics data shows that’s how many more people were searching for info on Miley’s twerking compared to what is potentially the start of another world war.

Shocking but perhaps not surprising. It’s common knowledge that there’s more people interested in light-hearted content than in serious journalism. That’s why the red-tops are the best-selling newspapers in Britain.

Does that mean that your business should avoid creating any hard-hitting content? Well, it depends…

Target Audience

The most important thing that content marketers can learn is how to write for their target audience.

There are some demographics who would be really interested in reading a detailed white paper on the future of social media marketing. There are others who would be much more attracted to a picture of a dog using Facebook.

The key is to learn which category your customers tend to fall into.

Don’t write dissertations about dog toys. Don’t draw cartoons about cameralism.

The Buying Cycle

Perhaps you want to appeal to both types of consumer. Is there a time and a place for both light-hearted and hard-hitting content? Absolutely.

Customers in the early stages of the buying cycle, who may not have even heard of your company yet, are likely to be more attracted to fluffier content. With this in mind, it’s often a good idea to place your fun and fluffy content within external sources where a new audience can discover your business. Social media is a great place for fun, light-hearted content. TV adverts too.

At this stage of the buying cycle, the content doesn’t necessarily even need to be related to the products you sell at all. It just needs be interesting, entertaining and help consumers remember your brand. The success of our Britain’s Best Office Dog competition demonstrates this perfectly.

Hard-hitting journalism might be a bit much for consumers at this stage, who are likely to be casually browsing the web and may not have time to get stuck into a serious news article.

It certainly has a place, but it’s best saved for platforms where consumers who are already interested in your business can explore more. Hopefully, this hard-hitting content will provide the knock-out punch that makes consumers ready to invest in your product.

Keep a Consistent Tone

Once you’ve perfected a brand voice that your users love to read, it’s important to keep it consistent.

It’s possible to write ‘serious’ and ‘fun’ content in the same tone. Hey, even The Independent covered the Miley twerking scandal.

This should be encouraged too. An inconsistent tone will turn off all of your readers at some point. It’s better to work out who your target audience and write in a tone that suits them all the time.

To summarise, light-hearted content is great for raising awareness. Hard-hitting content turns prospects into customers. The key is to know when and where to use each type.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/producing-hard-hitting-light-hearted-content-0601545?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=producing-hard-hitting-light-hearted-content