Is Your Website Content Snackable?

Ever wondered how come a silly quote has more shares and likes than your carefully curated article? Not that we can compare the two, of course, but didn’t you just spend hours writing not to have a single person read past the third paragraph of your website content? And it’s not that your article is boring, quite to the contrary. So why wouldn’t readers engage with your content and read to the end?   

We all want to keep the attention of our website visitors. Heck, I want to keep yours and have you read to the end of this article. But the truth is we live in a busy world, where multitasking and constant notifications have rendered our attention span short. Really short. Add to that a fierce competition, your goal of generating leads, and you might find yourself awake at 3am wondering how do you keep anyone engaged and interacting with your content?

Here’s the secret: You can engage your readers with easy to digest, bite size content that is relatable. Or in other words – snackable content. 

Now that I have told you the secret, read on for tips on how to make your website content more engaging.

What is Snackable Website Content & Why you Should Consider It

Snackable content is anything from text, video, to visual that is easy to consume and share by your readers. This type of content goes straight to the point and focuses on the essence of the topic in question. The trick lies in making the bite-size content easily relatable. 

Let’s face it. We are living in the age of information overload, so the content you produce should aim to capture the essence of the information. And, if relevant, present actionable advice on how to take further steps.

If you are about to fire at me with ‘What about the SEO related benefits of the long content form?” I’d say – balance is the key. Here’s where you need to start.

So far we know:
1. Short chunks of content that go straight to the point. 

Research And Adapt To Your Audience

For any type of content, product, campaign you want to create knowing the ins and outs of your audience is the key. So before you start coming up with any ideas and writing those first lines, do a good research on your target group. Who are they? What is their age span? What are their habits and interests? If you already have some content on your website, then dig through the analytics. What is the page they engaged most with (besides the homepage, of course). After you get the right idea of the person standing in front of you, check these four steps to see how you can hold to their attention.

Read more: Who Are You Targeting? Learn to Create a Customer Profile

Know Your “Why”

It all begins with ‘why you do what you do’. Not with what you do, or how you do it. The audience wants to know your why. The ‘why’ injects passion and lets the audience connect with you and stand behind your brand.
Let’s see. My why in writing this piece is sharing the knowledge (noble, right?). I do this because I want to help .MErs and all other readers who are not marketers or writers by profession get their content across to their audience. I communicate my ‘why’ through the articles I write. Finally, what do I do? I write helpful (hopefully) articles for the .ME community.

Simon Sinek explains it better, so take a look before reading on. 

Make it Personal

Personalize your website according to your audience. Create a detailed description of a typical customer, including their characteristics, background, traits and behaviors. To attract your readers and make them stay, your content should be tailored to their interests. Let’s see, if your target audience are graphic designers, you’ll for sure present the solutions to the problems and interests close to their hearts. But, if your audience is, let’s say, brokers, then you need to imagine yourself being in their shoes and write content for them. 

Easy to Grasp Content 

People either have a diversion towards long texts, or they are not willing to spend their time one something that looks boring. Lists, sub headings, short paragraphs, images and bullet points will make your website content visually more appealing. When the text is divided into smaller sections, with clear signs what it is all about, it is easier for your audience to choose which part they want to read first, thus making sure they stick around. If your article is longer, then make a table of contents at the very beginning and make it clickable!

Choose the Right Tone

You can’t make your website content personal if you don’t use the tone of voice that is familiar to your audience. Keep your language natural and write like you speak. No need for ‘big words’ and trying to sound more polished. Talk to your audience like you would as if you met them at a bar – relaxed and friendly. If you are unsure what’s the tone your audience will react the best to,  feel free to search for some memes or popular topics on Reddit, Twitter, Instagram or any other platform your target group uses. Try to relate to them and the problems they are facing, add a little bit of humor, you’ll show that you truly understand their point of view.

Deliver What You Promised

Remember, no-one likes to be tricked and lured to the content they didn’t pick themselves. If your headline says “Became a chef in only one day!” then give your audience the right tips to do so. Misleading will only make them lose interest as soon as they start reading. Choose the title and headlines that are more realistic, like “10 tips for mastering your culinary skills”. Use each of the headlines as one tip. Make sure that each of your tips is concise, actionable, easy to understand and apply. 

If you want people to visit your website again, you have to keep your credibility and deliver what you’ve promised.

So far we know:
1. Short chunks of content that go straight to point.
2. Short chunks of text are targeted to the likings of your audience with the tone of voice they like.
3. Your readers know the reason behind your work and your purpose.
4. The text is personal and your readers can relate (I can already see likes and shares).
5. You deliver what you promised in the title!

Don’t stop reading just yet.

Make your website content visually appealing

The first 15 seconds will determine whether a visitor will stay on your website or go somewhere else. In other words, if you want your content to get the attention it deserves, you need to make sure it’s visually appealing as well. Think like this: When you are providing a value to your audience, you are also working on your search engine rankings. The more your audience likes and engages with the content, the better. That means that in addition to effort you’ve put in your writing, now you have to visually present it as well. 

How do you do that? Read on!

Work on Your Visual Representation

To break huge blocks of text, and keep visitors’ attention you can add a different format to your blog post. For instance, quotes are great for connecting to your audience, since people usually find them inspiring. Another way you can spice up your content is by converting your long-form blog post into an infographic. Adding photos, gifs, videos on every 300 words is the way to go. 

Sounds good? Well, yes, but how do you structure all that textual and visual content?

Create an Information Hierarchy

The structure of your content should keep the reader engaged and wanting to read more. The average time spent on the page is a great indicator just how engaged your audience is with the content you’ve shared with them. As this is also an SEO contributing factor, displaying all the info at the very beginning might not be a good idea. This, however, doesn’t mean that you should drag out displaying all the info in the beginning. Show your audience the reading time, so they’ll know what to expect.

Break your content into bite-sized chunks of information, and highlight the important parts by making them eye-catching. If you have many headlines, link them at the beginning of your post, thus giving a chance to your readers to choose which part they would like to read first. Use colours, information blocks, but check if they are not distracting first.  

Make sure your visuals follow the hierarchy of information. Don’t be a stranger to interactive images that ‘guide’ the reader in the right direction.

Read more: SEO 101: Ensure Your Website Gets Visits

So far we know:
1. You know how to curate the snackable content.
2. Your content is represented visually as well – easy to digest and remember.
3. There is a hierarchy to the representation of your content – both visually and textually.

We all on the same page? Great, read on!

Keep up with trends using your blog content

Keeping up with social media trends is a great way to expose your website. Not only you’ll get to work on your brand awareness, but you can create a community along the way. If you want to keep up with trends and get your brand recognized, you need to spice up the feed on your social media platforms. Different formats will give interesting perspectives, especially when you use your blog content in order to create informational pictures, videos and carousels.

If you have a great blog post that has performed well, it’s time to repurpose it and use it for social media. Use the key takeaways from the well performing blog post, and create an infographic, ‘how to’ carousels, or even a meme. 

Another great idea is to create short ‘how-to’ videos. Updating and repurposing your old blog posts for short videos and linking the articles in the description box will open you up to the whole new segment of the audience. 

Being present on social media platforms will not only give you an insight on your audience, but it will expand your selling range as well. With quick access to your audiences’ opinion, you can do weekly surveys via Instagram stories in a form of a quiz, poll or questioner. An honest feedback will tell you a lot about your brand and your product, which you can use later on in your strategy. 

Read more: How To Keep Up With Digital Marketing Trends

Keeping an eye on trending topics will help you keep your content fresh and snackable both on your website and social media platforms. Bare in mind that snackable content should always get to the point fast, provide true value and meet your audience’s expectations. And everything extra will only work in your favor.

Before You Go

Did you make it till the end?

If so, by now we know that when it comes to the website content:
1. Long texts are ok. But make sure your information is represented in short chunks of content that go straight to point.
2. You tailor your content to the likings of your audience. And deliver what you promised in the title!
3. Your content is represented visually as well – easy to digest and remember.
4. There is a hierarchy to the representation of your content – both visually and textually.
5. You repurpose your content for other mediums like social media.