Your latest blog is one of thousands being published every morning, and today’s readers are far more selective than the audiences of the past. Potential readers are likely hooked or lost within a paragraph or two, so how do you coax a fleeting audience into staying with your article? Ironically, the best solution is giving them less to actually read.

The fact of the matter is, when it comes to engaging content, the times are a-changin’ and they’re changin’ fast. Seeing as Bob Dylan called it back in 1964, your blog really doesn’t have much of an excuse for lagging behind:

Words Are Losing Ground, Call in the Reinforcements!

Quartz editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney recently spoke of changing content trends on the Digiday Podcast. While speaking specifically about journalism, the themes of cutting down the traditional 800-word article and enhancing points with visuals can apply to any purpose for online writing.

Fortunately for you, I’ve done my homework and included the story for your own reference here:

Think about it. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, what can a video add to your prose? How about a Tweet, or even a Pinterest board?

If you were writing about the best restaurants in the area, why wouldn’t you include an embedded Google Map to help the reader find them? If your “Top 10 Songs for Your Summer Road Trip” article doesn’t include a Spotify playlist, what’s it really worth for your readers?

Linkedin’s Jason Miller recently told sprinklr.com that bland, text-based content can garner “10-15 times more views” once reorganized with visuals. That sounds like a great return for a few simple additions.

Pick Your Spots (And Don’t Aim Carelessly)

Applying these rules in your content will take some practice, but proper layout is the real key to remember. The best use of visuals is to break up long blocks of text and keep your posts looking reader-friendly. Even using a high-quality image that spans the width of your text body can make your post more visually appealing.

When I wrote for Bleacher Report, visual storytelling tools were a key focus in the content strategy as far back as 2012. A variety of media types spread out throughout the piece consistently led to more engagement, as long as the media is compelling.

Three years later, the internet has provided us with even more possibilities for embeddable multimedia, so use it all to your advantage! If you take anything from this blog post, remember this: there’s no reason to let your words do all the talking anymore.

Your readers (and your traffic metrics) will thank you for it.

 

About the Author

PCG Digital Marketing is an award winning digital agency headquartered in Eatontown, NJ. We help our clients get found online through innovative search, social and online advertising campaigns.