Once upon a not-so-distant yesterday, content was crowned king, and marketers across the land bowed to its reign. If you’ve ever wandered through the kingdom of digital marketing, you might have heard the bards sing tales of blogs like Moz and how they turned mere words into golden leads. But, the plot thickens. It’s not enough to simply have content. Rather, one must wield it with the finesse of a knight jousting at the Grand Tournament, aiming to bridge the dreaded Value Gap.
The Value Gap sounds like something a bespectacled accountant might drone on about; yet, here we are, applying it to the art of content creation. Content shouldn’t be just words, audio, or video; it must be like a chest of glittering treasure. Now, what good is a chest of treasure if the map leads everyone to believe it’s a chest of turnips? That’s the essence of a value gap in content —- the gold is there, but the perception is all root vegetables.
‘Value gap marketing’ is certainly not new; it’s been around since the first marketer realized customers were little more than walking wallets. But, applying the concept to content is relatively new and surprisingly revolutionary.
So, what’s the “content gap?” Many content creators are like lost sailors at sea, navigating by the stars, but finding themselves adrift in topics as engaging as watching drywall settle. To bridge your content’s value gap, you must first figure what your audience most craves. Craft content not in a self-praising, over-hyping way, but rather in an engaging, enchanting way that answers the deepest queries of your target souls. In doing so, you become not just a scribe and producer, but also a trusted sage in your space.
But, how do you measure the value of your content, you ask? The quest can be perilous, fraught with misleading vanity metrics and deceptive analytics. Fortunately, there are free tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and many more to serve as a compass that can help you chart the true course of your content’s impact. Use these tools to track the traffic and conversions from your content; then, like a seasoned sea captain, adjust your sails accordingly.
Now, let’s brace yourself ourselves for the ten stratagems necessary to bridge the value gap:
1. Engage readers emotionally, like how a minstrel plucks a heartstring with a ballad. Instead of droning on about crowdfunding, why not spin a yarn that gets people invested in your cause?
2. Serve up your information as a feast of actionable steps. Nobody wants to gnaw on a bone of theory when they could be sinking their teeth into a juicy steak of practical advice.
3. Pepper your prose with real-life stories of triumph and tribulation. People flock to storytellers who speak of dragons slain, not just numbers tallied.
4. When you stumble, laugh and let the world laugh with you. Admit to your follies, and you’ll find your audience more forgiving than you thought.
5. Engagement is a two-way street, and frequently asked questions are the cobblestones. So, pepper your pages with inquiries direct from your audience, much as a cover song artist takes requests.
6. Use images liberally, but purposefully. While a picture is worth a thousand words, be sure they add to your content rather than distract from it. Memes are great, as long as they fit the narrative you’re telling. But, don’t overdo them, or you’ll simply aggravate and frustrate potential readers and leads.
7. Steel your arguments whenever possible with data and statistics. Hard numbers properly given in context can often be your knight in shining armor.
8. Craft content worthy of being toasted at the local tavern. That’s to say, if it would be worthy of a royal decree, it’ll be shared far and wide across the lands.
9. Dangle a sample of your value like a juicy apple. Let them have a taste, and they’ll possibly be back for the whole orchard.
10. Know your audience as you know your own reflection. Speak to them directly, and they’re much more likely to listen.
So, as you go forth to conquer this Value Gap, remember that content is your kingdom. Creativity is your steed and your audience are the sovereigns you serve. Rule well, and you shall reap the rewards!
~ Amelia Desertsong
