Page 47 - The Content Code: Six essential strategies to ignite your content, your marketing, and your business - PDFDrive.com
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drives web traffic, but there are other benefits: “It’s good for our business to
recognize bloggers who do an outstanding job with their content. I don’t see any
conflict in recognizing competing blogs to our own. Instead, I have the view that
all ships rise when more attention is brought to those doing great work for the
industry.
“In many cases, the winners of the Top Social Media Blog Contest have told
us that getting on the list has been a big goal of their business, or it has literally
helped propel their industry stature and authority. Of course this drives an
enormous amount of interest and traffic to the site but there are other benefits.
First, it helps us identify up-and-coming thought leaders who we may want to
have on our podcasts or speak at our events. Second, it is a gift of sorts that
establishes a lot of good will with those who are finalists and winners. Third, the
winners post award badges on their sites, providing more exposure for our
brand.”
In this example, Social Media Examiner effectively helps people achieve
status with its content, and it sends their content transmission sky high.
Another common tool for creating personal achievement through content is
quizzes, which explains why they appear on so many sites that depend on
advertising for their revenues. In 2014, eight of the 10 most-shared articles on
the entire Internet were quizzes. Sharing positive or funny quiz results fuels our
identity and ego. Others learn more about who we are, what we value, and our
tastes.
MIT cultural analyst Sherry Turkle11 says that people turn to quizzes to fulfill
an irresistible need to quantify the human condition. “Basically, we’re trying to
get a number,” she said. “And people will use a quiz to get that number. It gives
people something to look at, an object to think with.” She adds that people have
always loved quizzes, but in the pre-social media days, we primarily took them
for ourselves. “Now they’re specifically for performance,” she said. “Part of the
point is to share it … It’s the conflation of who you are and who thinks you’re
okay.”
So when you’re making quizzes for your audience, you’re giving them an
opportunity to learn something interesting about themselves and a chance to start
a conversation with their friends. It’s hard to say that about a lot of other forms
of content.
3. Make it exclusive.
In a web world where you want the content to flow freely, how do you use
exclusivity—holding content back—to your advantage?
Information is abundant, and almost any content can easily be found for free.
