How To Create Compelling Content

How do you create content that cuts through the noise? How do you get attention now that there is a glut of content being created?

- Anthony Iannarino

It’s a valid question: ‘How do you create compelling content?’ What do you do to bring attention to your company, your brand, or yourself now that the social web has become so crowded? How do you stand out in a world of content shock. Here’s a framework for thinking about content creation for sales and marketing.

WHAT IS COMPELLING?

First, we have to deal with the idea of ‘compelling content,’ and this is the difficult part. Compelling to whom? Compelling how? Here’s the thing, compelling is in the eye of the beholder. If you want to be compelling, you have to know what is already compelling to your prospective clients or customers — or what should be compelling to them.

If you are going to create content as part of your ‘above the funnel’ marketing or nurturing efforts, you need to decide who should be compelled and why. There is no better lens with which to answer this question than your buyer’s journey.

‘I HATE EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW’

Most buyers beginning their buying journey are compelled by some recognised gap in their performance. They realise that the status quo is no longer serving them, and they are motivated to change. When they start typing their query into Google, they search for content that speaks to that dissatisfaction.

The gap might be something as simple as not knowing where to eat dinner in a city you have never visited. It might be something more personal, like how to lose weight or get back into shape. But it’s a little more complicated for sales organisations that sell business-to-business where the outcomes are more complicated. The best of your time and energy is spent thinking about the challenges your prospective clients face and how they talk about those challenges.