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    How to Create Short-Form Content for the Digital Consumer

    by: Salsify
    How to Create Short-Form Content for the Digital Consumer

    It's integral that businesses establish a strong online presence. As consumers are spending the majority of their time online, it's becoming more essential for businesses to shift their marketing efforts to help them attract more customers online. In order for a business to harness the power of online marketing, they must understand the flow of the internet and how consumers digest information on a daily basis.

    The internet has certainly changed the way we expect to receive information. Consumers' desire for instant gratification has increased significantly over the years and this desire is expected to grow as technology continues to evolve. Many businesses are struggling to create content that will grasp their potential customers' attention and move them along the sales funnel. 

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    In order for businesses to attract and retain customers, they need to create content that is not only valuable but short and snackable for a digital, busy consumer. For instance, memes have been taking over the internet for a few years now and are expected to continue to gain the attention of consumers. Moreover, businesses are capitalizing off of this and using it as an opportunity to engage consumers and turn them into long-term customers by creating viral content. 

    What Constitutes as Viral Content?

    Businesses should strive for viral content as this will help spread the word about your products or services. In order to do this, it's important to understand what makes content go viral. Using memes, as an example, becomes viral when the content is authentic, relatable, entertaining, and defining for the audience. For this reason, we're going to provide you with tactics to help you create content that is meme-worthy and ready for the digital consumer.

    There are three things to consider before creating content: your content's value, whether your content is aimed at the right audience, and whether your content is following current trends.

    1. Creating Value

    It doesn't matter how you present your content, if it does not add value to the consumer then it is as good as nonexistent. The internet is a fast-paced environment, and in order to captivate the attention of your customers, your content needs to connect with your audience. Valuable content is subjective and will depend on your target market.

    However, in order for content to be deemed valuable, it must be useful to the consumer in some way. Additionally, it should be understandable and readable. This results in your business generating more leads because not only will potential customers find your content useful, but it will help you establish authority in your industry.

    2. Precise Targeting

    To create valuable content means that you are creating content on the foundation of precise targeting to ensure that your content aligns with your audience. This way, your content will match your ideal customer's interests and preferences, making you more attractive to them. This is essential for business owners as so many businesses currently exist online.

    In fact, 96% of businesses use social media for their marketing. Essentially, precise targeting will improve your marketing efforts and give you the best results. When you create content for your business, it's going to be integral that your content is relatable and relevant to your audience as this will make it more digestible for them. From there, it becomes a domino effect where consumers begin to share the information until it becomes viral. 

    3. Follow trends

    Content that is current and newsworthy generally fares well with consumers. By focusing on trending topics in your niche, you will increase engagement with consumers tremendously. Consumers use the internet for entertainment, to learn new information, and to share information that is relevant. 

    It's important to note that when it comes to trends, time plays a big factor in how well your content performs online. Businesses who are looking to create viral content need to harness the power of timeliness in order to get the best engagement. In the internet world, there is a deadline on trending topics, and businesses have to maximize on the time in between to push out their content to be a part of the phenomenon. 

    Types of Short-Form Content

    1. Memes: Businesses who utilize memes should focus on what's trending and should ensure that their content is original, funny, and relevant to the audience. There are several reasons why a business may want to utilize meme such as to grab potential customers' attention or find an entertaining way to talk about a complex topic.

    2. GIFS: Gifs are a really fun and easy way to get your brands message across to your audience. In 2018, visuals have become a driving force for consumers and gifs have helped to meet consumers' expectations. You can use this content medium to create slideshows of products in just a couple of seconds, text-based gifs that creatively helps your business articulate its voice or educational gifs for more information-heavy businesses. 

    3. Instagram Stories: Instagram has evolved tremendously since its release in 2010. Instagram stories have created many opportunities for better visibility for businesses globally and have created an engaging platform for brands to create compelling content. Business owners are using Instagram to provide short tutorials on products or services, educate them on a specific topic or give a behind the scenes look at the business. 

    In 2018 and beyond, it's going to become essential for businesses to continue to push their creativity in their content while also ensuring that their content remains digestible for digital consumers. The good news is, there are various types of short-form content that business owners can explore to effectively get in front of their customers.

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    Written by: Salsify

    Salsify drives results for customers worldwide, empowering them to win on the digital shelf.