How Do I Create Interesting Content Online

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We love a good excuse to eat chocolate and to share the love…so what could be better than using Terry’s chocolate oranges as a “prop” to make a few points about online content? If it sounds a little tenuous, bear with me; like the orange being unwrapped, all will be revealed. It certainly got people thinking (and licking their lips) at recent Busy Bee Networking events when Naomi handed them out during her presentation on Creative Content and Connecting Online.

So let’s take a closer look at this ever-popular, irresistibly packaged piece of confectionary genius and see how it could possibly prompt you to update your online content.

To begin with, take a look at the packaging: there’s no confusing this particular chocolate for anything else, is there? The shape, the wrapper, the branding, is all instantly recognisable, and your content should be too! Creating strong visual branding is key to the success of your content. You want to be seen as the real deal, not a cheap imitation. Being instantly recognisable is a strong marketing tool. Think about the way you present your content: is it attractive and interesting with images? Does your brand shine through?

Now let’s look beneath the shiny wrapper…it’s a perfect ball of chocolate, crying out to be tapped, or whacked so that you can fit it in your mouth. You have to take action to enjoy it, it draws you in….your content should do this too. You have to keep people interested enough to delve a little deeper, to actually READ what you have to say. Using great headings, subheadings, Images and bullet points will encourage readers to “tap” into your content.

What about the individual segments then? How creamy, how moresish, how utterly mouth-wateringly delicious…no wait, that wasn’t the point…. The clever thing about the segments is that each one, individually, is still instantly recognisable as part of the whole. It proudly carries its’ Terry’s branding like a shiny badge. In the same way, your content, whatever form it may take, Facebook post, video, blog, mail shots, etc should carry your core message with it. It should be reassuringly consistent. Your audience should feel confident that what they are getting is true to your brand and the foundations of your business.

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And finally, we come to the fact about Terry’s chocolate oranges that Dawn French so famously denied in the hugely successful TV ads: they are meant for SHARING. And so is your content; there’s no point having tasty and tempting content if no one’s going to see it! Get it out there, offer it around: tweet about it, post about it and encourage others to share it. There were certainly no refusals when Naomi shared the chocolate oranges out at the networking events, and they were shared even further in the delicious #chocorangeselfie that followed.

So, when you next write something, make sure it’s as enticing and shareable as a chocolate orange. Keep it consistent with your brand and ensure that it’s good enough to keep readers coming back for more. Now…I’m sure there was a spare chocolate orange around here somewhere…..