7 STEPS BEFORE YOU POSTfrom

“Wow, paisley and pink? Was there something wrong with the fishnet tank top?”[The Bicycle Thief: Season 1, Episode 2]

1. DOES IT HAVE A CLICKABLE HEADLINE?

The sheer volume of content being created means it is tougher than ever to reach your audience. Now is not the time to be a wallflower or to simply hope that people will notice your brand. Make like Cam and add a little drama to your headline to ensure you stand out from the crowd. On average, five times more people read the headline than the body copy, so you need to be able to grab their attention straight away. To create a snappy and clickable headline that cuts through the noise, make sure you pique their curiosity, offer value, use adjectives and create a sense of urgency. Pink sequins and faux fur optional (but highly recommended).

“It’s not for Lily. It’s for the cat. It’s a mermaid costume for the cat.”

[Snip: Season 4, Episode 3]

2. DOES IT LOOK GOOD?

You don’t need a mermaid costume (although it never hurts), just some really great images that will make your content pop. Cliché but true, a picture is worth 1000 words and nowhere is this more true than on social media. The easiest way to grab people’s attention and increase your click-through rate is by making sure your content is visually appealing. Avoid bland, stock imagery and do something original. If possible, take your own photos or create your own graphics or original memes.

“Oh my God, I’m missing a text.”

“It just got real didn’t it?”

[The Feud: Season 5, Episode 5]

3. IS IT SEO FRIENDLY?

The most important text to include in any piece of content are the keywords or phrases that make it searchable. Make your content SEO friendly by including keywords in the title, meta description, tags and the body of your article. The same rule applies for embedded videos and graphics, which should include keywords in the filename or alt text. Where possible, tie into trends by creating content around current news. But make sure what you create is relevant and interesting. Trying to ‘game’ Google or trick your audience is likely to result in a high bounce rate, and will actually damage your page rank.

“She’s one of my

447 Facebook friends.

Everybody wants a

slice.”[Truth be told: Season 1, Episode 17]

4. IS IT SHAREABLE?

Social sharing is one of the best ways to grow the reach of your audience because a ‘share’ or Tweet from a non-brand account represents a personal endorsement of your content. Make sure all your content has sharing tools and links to “Tweet this” alongside interesting quotes or statistics. After creating a piece of content, think about how to post it to your different audiences on each social channel. The tone and imagery that you use on LinkedIn should be different from what you use on Facebook.

[Halloween: Season 2, Episode 6]

“I called your secretary and

told her to order you a box of baby

cheeses. I know I have an

accent, but people

understand me just fine.”

5. IS IT EASILY READABLE?

Make sure your content is clear and easy to understand by utilising H2 and H3 tags. Subheadings, bullet points and standout quotes improve the readability of your content, particularly for people viewing your website on mobile. Visually breaking up text into ‘chewable’ bites makes content scannable and easier to digest. It’s also a great SEO tactic, as search engines place more weight on H2 and H3 tags than body text.

It’s important to make sure your message isn’t lost in translation.

“Is this what you’re going to do with your life? Sleep late

and take a selfie?”

[Three Dinners: Season 5, Episode 13]

6. IS IT A DEAD END?

Like Hayley, most people need a little direction. When posting a piece of content, it’s important to think about where your reader will go from there. What is your end goal? Including two or three relevant links within each blog post or article provides a roadmap – a guide that encourages the reader to explore other areas of your site. An internal linking strategy helps decrease bounce rate and is also important for improving SEO.

“Bondi beach is topless.”

“Thank you, Trip Advisor.”[Crocodile Dunphy: Season 5, Episode 20]

7. IS THERE A HOOK?

Have you done enough to hook the reader? What are you offering that’s worth their time, effort and mobile data?

The first few lines of each post or the first few seconds of a video is your elevator pitch; your chance to grab their attention. You need to pique their curiosity, create a sense of urgency, win them over with humour or offer valuable information.

“Any monkey can shoot a home movie. I pride myself on shooting home films.”

“Okay… You brought a wind

machine.”[En Garde: Season 1, Episode 7]

8. IS IT ORIGINAL?

Health and safety be damned! A home film directed by Cam will be nothing if not original. Likewise, it’s important that your brand content is unique and has an authentic tone of voice. The sheer volume of content being created and the speed at which news is updated means it is increasingly difficult to have a point of difference. Check out what your competitors are doing and make sure you aren’t investing time and resources creating copycat content. Although products and industry topics may be similar, it’s still possible to have a unique tone of voice, to come at the story from an unexpected angle or design a themed Slideshare or fun video.

Need help with your content marketing? What would Phil Dunphy do?Get in touch.

02 8484 0950contentmarketing@cirrusmedia.com.au