Making Your Content Stand Above the Rest

You probably understand the importance (and necessity) of writing content. Your content is the way that you prove to your target audience members that you are an expert in your niche or industry. It is also the way that you build credibility and trustworthiness with your audience. However, it is important to bring your content to the next level and to make it stand about that of your competitors.

Considering all of the elements of your blog

First of all, people will be more than happy to offer you advice about what to do to your blog content in order to make it stand about the blog content of your competitors. Of course, that advice will not necessarily be appropriate advice for your particular business. You may be handed advice about your headlines, your teaser paragraph, the body of your blog, your conclusion, and your call-to-action. All of that is not to mention advice on what you should do to promote your blog after you have written it. The question is whether those people who are giving you all of that wonderful advice are actually not seeing the forest for the trees. Are they missing the point that you are actually trying to make with your blog?

It isn’t enough to simply write and post your blog content online. You also want a large number of qualified people to notice and support what you have written and have taken the time to share. In short, you want your blog content to go viral. If your blog doesn’t get the attention that you are hoping it will get, it will be a mere flash in the pan. Your readers will forget about it the minute they finish reading what you have written.

The fact is that being invisible is the worst possible thing that you can imagine (especially in business). If you (or your content) is not memorable, you won’t get anywhere. You must create content that is not only valuable but that is also compelling and that makes the reader hunger for any content from you that he or she can read.

Well, don’t despair because there are definitely ways to change that situation. 

What you can do to make your content more memorable

There are many goals that you have in business that are important and are solid contributors to bringing your business to the next level. Some of those are increasing your website traffic, ramping up your list of connections, and writing top-shelf content. However, those factors will not necessarily make you memorable for other people. If you want to stand above your competitors, the way to do it is by being truly unique.

The truth is that everyone  has competition. Some people don’t actually believe that they do but they really do. We all do. Through your content, you need to express ideas that are so unique and exciting that the reader can’t stop talking about them. That probably means that you need to think (and step outside of) the box on a semi-regular or regular basis. In fact, you need to do everything within your power to stand above your competition.

Getting other people to notice your content is not easy but it is not impossible either. Your ideas need to be so compelling that they are imprinted on the other person. The following are ways that you can make that happen:

• Create your public persona carefully: Most people have public personas that are different from who they really are as people. If you want to create a perception in the minds of other people about you, you can. It is all up to you. You have the power. Of course, that generally means that you will have a persona that is extremely positive and larger than life. Part of your persona is an air of professionalism that goes beyond doubt. A large contributing factor will be the emotions that you introduce to that persona.

  Before you can create your persona, you need to figure out exactly how you wish to come across and that will always involve a photograph. Photographs are not only critical because of the large number of people who respond emotionally to images but they are also critical because, without your photo, you don’t have any human qualities in the eyes of the other person. Without your photo, the other person has no way to relate to you. You will not resonate with them. It is the first step to building a meaningful relationship. It is important to remember to be consistent in all of your photos. Whatever emotion you are trying to convey with your photo, the same emotion should come through every time. Above all else, your persona should say that you are a human being, just like the other person.

• Express your values: If you want to get people to buy into who you are and what you represent, tell them about what is important to you and what drives you. It is extremely important that you stand for important principles. Undoubtedly, there will be some people who will not agree with your views but that is the basis for lively, stimulating discussions, which you should invite whenever possible.

  However, there will certainly be a large number of people who support you and who agree with your point of view. It should never be a situation of unpleasant fighting, only reasonable, varied points of view. The other thing to remember is that you should always welcome other opinions than yours, as long as they are expressed in a polite, constructive manner. 

• Show how human you are: The fact that you write content expressly with the goal of helping other people in mind means that you are a good person. That concept already puts you one step ahead. However, showing your human side is critical to your success in business. Human beings only relate to other human beings. If you show your human/emotional side to the other person, you will be adding to your credibility and to your trustworthiness. The other person will never be able to relate to the person who seems too perfect.

  The fact is that you are human, which means that you will make mistakes sometimes. Other people will call you out on those mistakes and you will have to own them and move on from there. That will surely fortify your relationship with the other person. 

• Always be transparent: Your transparency and your genuineness are critical to your success. It is another way to demonstrate to the other person how human you are. You are saying that you are just like him or her. You will never subscribe to the “do as I say, not as I do” philosophy. You need to prove to the other person that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and get in there regularly. Nothing is above you.

• Always be sensitive but not too sensitive:  It is important to keep other people’s feelings in mind and to be sensitive about what you share online. However, that doesn’t mean that you always avoid conflict at all costs. If done appropriately, conflict can lead to really amazing discussions. If you don’t think that way, you may be shutting yourself and your business off from opportunities that may be amazing for everyone involved. It really is all in the approach. If you express yourself in the right way, the consequence should be fine (and even productive).

Conclusion

Your public persona is critical to your business’ success. Once you have established that persona, you will be able to write effective content, which is driven by your persona. Your content will allow you to stand above your competitors and to be noticed by the right people. Your content should help people to find you, position you as an influencer, and make people aware (or more aware) of your brand and of your business.

You can also demonstrate the gaps that you see in your competitors as a basis for comparison. At that point, you can highlight all that you offer. It will really wow your target audience. If you do it right, everyone will want to interact with you and everyone will want to read what you write.

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