The digital content world changes rapidly, and you can’t keep using the same content-writing strategies year after year and expect similarly positive results.
Having your finger on the pulse of the evolving industry puts you in an excellent position to respond accordingly. Here are four reasons to update your copywriting strategy, plus how to do it:
1. Learn how accommodating mobile users modernizes your reach
Multi-year statistics show that people read content more often on mobile devices than on desktops. If you still write content solely for people on computers, it’s past time to update your techniques. Research also shows a higher number of mobile phones than people.
Moreover, something that sets 2019 apart from other years is the arrival of 5G-capable smartphones. Manufacturers are furiously trying to get ready for the widespread rollout of the ultra-speedy network, and many are turning their attention to high-tech smartphones to do it.
Making your written content maximally accessible to mobile device users increases the likelihood they’ll read and stay engaged with the material. Keep paragraphs short, and use formatting such as bulleted lists to help readers scan the content and extract the most information from it.
2. Understand how high-quality content makes a brand credible
In today’s society, much of the content people consume is personalized and delivered to them with automated platforms. So, you might wonder if it’s even worthwhile to update your content strategy this year. Is content writing obsolete? No, especially not in an era where people have to worry about consuming fake news.
Researchers recently made an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that could write false news stories. Now that such technology exists, it’s especially necessary to cite authoritative sources to back up your claims. Doing that makes the content more trustworthy.
Besides fake news, another characteristic of 2019 is how people boldly call out others for their dubious statements. Twitter is a popular platform for doing that, and the people involved often link to content that proves the initial statement wrong or at least questionable.
With these things in mind, you should recognize how high-quality content helps people identify a brand’s credibility. “Content is king” is a well-known phrase, but, thanks to recent developments, it’s more appropriate to say that “High-quality content is king.”
If you can show a commitment to high-quality material in 2019 and beyond, you’ll attract readers more effectively than automated tools can. The widespread availability of social media means it’s harder than it once was to stay under the radar after publishing poor-quality content. You’re now at risk for getting publicly humiliated — complete with screenshots — when falling short with content quality.
3. Know that educational content is a favorite vehicle for reaching businesses
Maybe you focus primarily on writing entertaining or promotional content. That likely works well for connecting with some audiences. But, if you want to tap into the lucrative business-to-business (B2B) market, delivering educational content could help.
That’s the conclusion made by a 2019 study from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. It showed that 77 percent of B2B marketers nurture their audiences with educational content. That’s not surprising considering that relevant and informative content brings value to readers.
You can get started with effective educational content for businesses by covering topics that matter to your audience, perhaps on the company blog as this industrial brand does. Writing excellent educational content means knowing the challenges readers face and positioning your company to solve them. One of the first steps to doing that is performing thorough research that proves your trustworthiness.
4. Recognize that a worthwhile content writing strategy must address current search algorithms
Several years ago, people could churn out content and spend little or no time making it authoritative and helpful. That’s a big reason why content mills were so popular and eventually suffered. There was a time when people could insert keywords for the recommended time and rest assured that those alone would play a substantial role in helping pages climb the rankings.
But, those days have passed. Google regularly updates its algorithms and tells its quality raters to assess sites, with more than 100 pages of guidelines. Many of the things those quality raters look for relate to whether the content benefits the reader by giving them reliable information.
As you develop your content writing strategy this year, realize that you should always do so according to Google’s most recent algorithm updates, as well as other best practices for search engine optimization (SEO). Skilled content writers know how to craft pieces that appeal to audiences and give them information they can use.
If you feel tempted to use automated tools to produce content or to prioritize quantity over quality this year, don’t give in to that urge. It’s not possible to know exactly how or when Google will unveil newer updates. But, you can feel confident that Google will continue to reward well-written content that aligns with what its raters and crawlers look for when ranking sites.
The way forward for written content in 2019
This list should remind you why content writing still enhances any digital marketing strategy. To summarize, four things you can do to update your content writing strategy this year include optimizing it for mobile devices, focusing on high-quality content to build credibility, writing valuable educational content and paying attention to the newest SEO strategies by writing with them in mind.
These are not the only ways to improve your strategy in 2019. But, starting with them creates the firm foundation needed before proceeding with other changes.
