What Kind of Content do People Read Online?
Yesterday I wrote about the current trend of brands creating editorial websites, and gave a few high-level tips for finding an audience. Let’s consider this a part two – approaching the actual content.
I feel like at this point I should say what perspective I’m coming from. Mostly, I’m approaching this as a reader. I’ve been reading magazines my whole life, and I’m pretty honest with myself about what I will and won’t read. Sure everyone wants to think that they love the long-form pieces in The New Yorker every month, but do they finish them? Just the idea of getting through a New Yorker makes me stressed out. I’m also approaching this as someone who has started an editorial site, and has constantly monitored what people respond to.
Here are my basic tips for creating editorial content that the average joe will actually read:
1. Keep it short
You probably guessed that was coming, huh? There’s a lot of content on the Internet, and if people click through and see seven huge blocks of text, they’re going to have a sudden flash-before-their-eyes sequence of all the funny YouTube videos and short Gawker posts they could be consuming instead. Format the content into small, digestible pieces that telegraph where the article is going.
2. The author matters
When I start to really love a publication, and read it regularly, I start to care who the authors are. I start looking for their articles, and wondering what they think of different subjects. It’s worth spending some time “branding” your authors so people get to know them using bios, pictures or click through bylines. Beyond that, having guest authors that people are familiar with can really draw in an audience.
3. Be telegraphic
People should understand exactly what they’re getting when they click on an article. Back in the print days, you knew about 3/4 of the way through a magazine that you were going to get a feature story about the person on the cover. It didn’t matter what the headline was. Online, these cues don’t exist the same way, and it’s necessary to be clear about the content in the headline. Pro tip: People love top ten lists. They just do.
4. Visuals matter
I love magazines because the articles come in all sorts of formats that stress visuals. Share the space with photos, infographics, charts and more.
5. The community can create content too
This is a big lesson learned in the last few years. People will visit a site that features content they’ve co-created. For example, a local alt-weekly posts pictures of people out on the town every week, meaning that people visit to share pictures of themselves. Using a brand’s Facebook community, you can easily find the content you need to let your customers become authors or photographers. Hold contests, invite visitors to share tips and stories, and actually make editorial content out of their contributions. As much as they might enjoy an author, they’ll love seeing their own content published even more.
6. Entertain, but also teach
Sure content can be funny or cute, but as a brand, you have the potential to create content that will educate people. Think DIY: What can they do themselves that they hadn’t imagined doing before? Empowering them to create something themselves is surprising and refreshing when coming from a brand.
Soon we’ll live in a world of branded online magazines. Let’s at least make them good!
-Becky Lang