Audience-Informed Content – 10 Pieces of Content Your Audience Really Wants

Content marketing lives in a state of constant flux. The content your audience really wants to see varies and evolves, making the task of content marketers everywhere to be innovative and flexible. The new research is out, and essentially audiences want to see more videos, social media, news articles, research, and educational content such as classes and games. Here are some examples of each.

ESPN

ESPN has found the perfect marriage of news and keeping readers interested. They follow the line of thinking that says people want more news but they don’t necessarily want to read in-depth articles to get it. ESPN’s blend of video and easy-to-read articles keep audiences engaged.

Intel

Social media content is more in-demand than ever, and Intel has capitalized on this by posting videos on twitter featuring drones. These videos pique the interest of audience members and increase engagement.

FedEx

FedEx has figured out how to make their brand personal with social media, allowing other social media users to create content for them. In addition, the use of hashtags increases the amount of traffic their site sees.

Vox Media

Vox videos are another great poster child for perfect content. They show relevant content, are not longer than 2 minutes, and have captioning for viewers to be able to watch with the volume off.

Mashable

Mashable too capitalizes on an audience’s preference for quick information without blocks of text. Their news format includes excerpts of social media accounts and plenty of bold words that can be skimmed easily. 

Tasty on BuzzFeed

These BuzzFeed videos are a perfect example of the kind of content audiences want to see. They show recipes to try and are short, satisfying, and able to be watched without sound.

Chartbeat

Research content is better digested and remembered if it is accompanied by graphs and images that illustrate the point. Spot-on illustrations can make or break content marketing, and Chartbeat has nailed it with their simple statistics and graphs.

Nielson

Nielson uses the curiosity gap to draw in readers who will want their questions answered. On top of this, excellent graphics and charts communicate enough information for those who only skim the illustrations.

HubSpot Academy Certifications

Learning at your own pace is a valuable component to HubSpot Academy’s certifications. Their online classes offer real value and are flexible enough for even the busiest of people.

CodeAcademy

The demand for education concerning computer skills is growing quickly, and CodeAcademy has seized the day by providing classes that satisfy the desires of consumers wishing to be educated. Their programs are easy to use and have real-world value.

Common Themes for Marketers

That was a lot of information. Let’s review some common themes and takeaways that you can apply to your content strategy after finishing this article:

1. Keep video content short and sweet. Ideally, it won’t require sound to be played.
2. Video content should answer a question or meet a demand that lots of people are looking for.
3. Humor (when appropriate) makes for memorable content.
4. Images and videos are key to more engaging social media posts.
5. Social proof helps beef up claims behind your content.
6. Experiment with user-generated content for greater social media engagement.
7. Use clear, grabbing headlines to draw the attention of readers.
8. Use images, bullets, and formatting to break up text in longer articles for skim-reading.
9. Make content actionable so readers can come away knowing what to do next.
10. Use graphs and infographics to display numerical data when possible.

All of the examples of websites that really nail their content marketing incorporate one or more of these themes. By putting them to use in your own content, you can greatly increase the effectiveness of your content marketing as well. 

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