Content, whether it’s social media, a press release, blogs, or Web copy, doesn’t have to be read. Most of the time and effort you put into writing it is wasted on skim-throughs and an overbearing amount of competition from other websites. But content doesn’t have to waste your time, not when you take the right approach.

It boils down to writing content that is intriguing to a specific audience. The “generalized” content you write is hit-or-miss 90 percent of the time. Take the following topics as an example:

  • How To Create a Personal Budget
  • 10 Ways to Make Homes Eco-Friendly
  • Why You Need to Learn Car Mechanics: 101
  • 6 Methods for Losing Weight

Very generic, right? The only one that is somewhat targeted is the car one. Unfortunately, “car owners” is an extremely broad category as it stands. The idea is to attract specific readers and increase content searchability, otherwise known as topic targeting.

Let’s revisit the above examples:

  • How College Grads Should Create a Personal Budget
  • 10 Ways for Homeowners to Cut Power Bills in Half
  • The Basics of Roadside Maintenance for First-Time Car Owners
  • 6 Methods for Losing Weight Without Dieting

There. Now we have topics that certain people will be more interested in reading. It’s important to accept the fact that not everyone reads your content. You don’t need to write for that super-specific one percent, however, but you should aim for certain readers in order to reel in more clicks.

Finding an Audience

Building up online readership is a topic for another day, so for now we’ll stick to finding an audience that may be interested in specific content. Take a look at your demographics, recent trends in sales, and who is active on social media and blog comments. Is there a pattern? Do you see one group under-represented? Content targeting is a good way to reach out to new clientele as well.

To increase follower engagement and overall readership, you can always poll your social media fans on what they want to learn about. How, for instance, did your business come to produce a specific product? Why is this service better than a competitor’s? What are 10 ways to use this product that I haven’t thought of before?

Asking the audience does several things. For starters, it gives your fans something to talk about on social media. This excitement leads to clicks once the piece is written and, hopefully, shares and likes. My content company specializes in tailoring blogs, social media, and other marketing for businesses in any industry hoping to capture leads. Check out the rest of our website or visit Grammar Chic, Inc. for a full list of what we can do to help you help yourself.