Increasingly, people want engaging content experiences across a range of devices. When content is good it can travel at lightning speed around the digital globe. The same piece of content can play a starring role on search engines, a range of social media channels, websites, apps and thousands of blogs via inbound links. That’s how good content becomes Big Content, spreads like digital wildfire, is tracked within an inch of its life and creates Big Data.

Track those quality leads driven by content!

Most companies’ content marketing strategies share a common goal of building on brand and generating quality leads through quality content. On your website, for example, technology tracks the ‘what and when’ of user interaction with content assets, viewing it through a cycle spanning investigation/research, engagement and finally, purchase phase. Add to that data from social and web analytics and the pile of data grows into a Big Pile of Big Data that feeds into your CRM. That’s great, but companies need to get better at engaging with that Big Pile of Big Data, which is why simple and elegant visual dashboards are increasingly becoming the must-have accessory of the C-Class executives.

Quality Content dictates data insights

Content is everywhere. The low barrier to entry for written content means it comes cheap and there is no shortage of suppliers. That’s OK for some formats, but not great for others. Short cuts at the expense of value will be punished, because whatever you think you know, Google always knows more. A focus on quality brings with it the better insights, because the long tail of a quality piece of digital content brings with it the untold rewards of morphing into Big Content delivering Big Data. And add to that, Better Data.

How much content is enough content?

We’re content people -we don’t want it to stop. What we’d like though, is for the pendulum to swing more towards quality than not – and we truly believe that will happen. Great content has story telling powers; whether it’s an infographic, motion graphic, article or increasingly, a data visualisation. We’re human – we react to stories – it’s how our brains like to work. We’re chasing a deeper experience with the brands we know and trust. For example, we want to know how and where products are produced, and what our favourite brands are doing to make the world better. Companies should be telling their great numbers stories via powerful and engaging visualisations. And if brands have a good story to tell, then they should be telling it via as many content formats and channels possible. Sometimes we’re engaging with content based on format. Some people just love interactive data visualisations – whether it’s content on population growth or energy consumption, others prefer white papers or case studies. Increasingly, we are choosing to opt in to our preferred content format on our preferred platform – tablet, mobile or large screen. And when we see something we like, we share it.

Where to next for digital content?

In 2013, Google is on track to index 30 trillion pages (up from one trillion in 2008) of content. That’s an astounding metric pointing to the growing demand for digital content. Growth in demand has been mightily assisted by the growth of social channels and platforms. Aside from the main players like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, think about social platforms like Instagram and Pinterest and even Quora. All of them producing and distributing content…all day, every day all over the world.

Marketers need to get used to the idea that people like stories –but companies need to be vigilant. People will engage with bad stories as much as they will good – and bad stories travel even faster. We see a marketing future where story telling through content will continue, and become more meaningful through emotional connection that aligns a brand to a way of thinking, of seeing the world, not just selling a product. Data as compelling content will be huge, as traditional media companies like the New York Times employ data journalists to work with coders and designers to create interactive visualisations for digital platforms. And most importantly of all, if it’s an interesting or powerful story being told, then the sure thing is, the Data will only get Bigger.

Image credit: “Osborne” the world’s first laptop released in 1981.

However, not all content is created equal, and lousy, ‘spammy’ content does more harm than good to brands. According to the brains trust at Google; “…rather than focusing on specific algorithmic tweaks, we encourage you to focus on delivering the best possible experience for users.” And that means value-driven content. The good news is, by following simple steps based on best-practice criteria, the path to quality content creation is not as complex as you may think.

A Universal 12-Point Checklist for Quality Content Creation

Quality content creation is more essential than ever. Around 90% of companies incorporate branded content into their marketing strategy. While some businesses may concentrate solely on SEO, the truth is that it’s no longer effective. A comprehensive content marketing strategy that incorporates custom content creation will help your brand build trust, generate inbound links, and earn higher search rankings. Use this quality content checklist as your guide to creating engaging content your audience will love:

Focus
Before you publish, ask yourself whether your content has the potential to communicate a clear message to a target audience. Your content can be educational, inspiring, or humorous, but it needs a clear goal.

Tone
Your blog is your company’s voice online, and it’s critical to utilise a tone that’s consistent with your brand messaging. Communicate in a tone that resonates among your target audience.

Relevance
Very few social media marketers would click to read content on MySpace marketing. Your content needs to be in tune with the times and trends in your industry. Research the pain points of your readers and write an article that offers a solution.

Validity
Each article or whitepaper you publish can contribute to – or detract from – your brand’s credibility. Check your sources carefully. It’s always better to be right then called out on a mistake in the comments section.

Structure
In order to ensure your content has maximum impact on your audience, format your text in a way that’s easy to scan. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and headers to break up the text.

Outstanding Titles
Your blog title has a real affect on how many social shares and clicks your content will earn. Ensure it’s descriptive, accurate, and eye-catching. Don’t forget it’s the most crucial thing that influences your audience’s decision to start reading.

Originality
Matt Cutts, head Spamfighter at Google, has stated that high quality content requires originality. Ensure your competitors haven’t published anything similar before you begin writing.

Content Diversity
If you want to engage with as many people as possible, make sure your content is varied. Post videos, reports, e-books, infographics, motion graphics, interviews, white papers, case studies on your blog, and update your social media accounts with useful tips, amazing pictures, links to useful articles created by other people and even photos of your employees.

Data Usage
Analytics should be a content-creator’s best friend. Only data can tell you what resonates best among your audience.

SEO optimization
Though SEO is not the most important factor for content creation as it once was, it still has important value – content still needs to be found. Selecting the most suitable keywords and incorporating links to on-site and external resources to your article help to have higher rankings in search engines.

Proofreading
Even the world’s best writers make mistakes. Always have a colleague proofread your copy before publication.

Sharing
Publishing content doesn’t mean the work is done. Even if you’ve come up with a great piece of content, spend some time promoting it to increase the exposure. Enhance your content’s ability to be shared on social channels with on-page sharing buttons, in order to gain a new audience and SEO boost.

Remember: your marketing efforts won’t drive results for SEO, social shares, or revenue if you don’t invest in quality content – it’s absolutely core to the new marketing mix, and organisations that don’t invest in content production and development will lose customers to those who do.

Caption