There are few things quite as disheartening as dedicating a lot of time to creating some content, putting it out into the world, and then getting very little engagement – if at all. In fact, it can be so demoralising that it might even feel like you’d be better off giving up entirely…
Don’t!
In this article, we’re going to show you how you can improve your content performance significantly through increasing your relevance and demonstrating authenticity. Let’s get to it!
What is meant by ‘relevance’ in content creation?
Relevance is (as you might have guessed) “the state of being closely connected to something”. That said, just because your content is relevant to your business, industry, or products / services, it doesn’t automatically make it relevant to your audience.
The key in relevancy when writing content is ensuring that you know exactly who you are writing for and whether or not they actually have any interest in reading it at all.
For example, if you are a data analyst and you are only creating content about how your job works and what your day to day looks like, very few people are going to be interested. However, if all of your content is focused on the outcome of your job, and what you do for your clients on a daily basis (i.e., making businesses more money by leveraging their customer data), then you will get far more engagement.
Yes, how you do your job is relevant – but it isn’t relevant to your audience, and they are your number one priority when creating content.
But relevancy isn’t just about making your content more engaging for your readers; it’s important for your SEO as well. For example, in order to succeed online within your local community, you have to be relevant to your local community. So, if you are a small business and you wish to improve your local SEO in Melbourne, you’re going to need lots of high-quality, geo-focused content that is relevant to Melbourne and the local residents.
In the same breath, if you are a travel agency in Georgia, you could share content about “The best things to do in Georgia this Spring” or something to that effect, for example.
Without relevancy, how will Google ever be able to rank you accordingly?
What is meant by ‘authenticity’ in content creation?
- “Oh my god! Hey guys! It’s me, your favourite content creator and I am just out here living my best life and being my most authentic self!”
It makes you want to throw up in your mouth doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, the word “authentic” has lost all meaning today because everyone claims to be authentic…while ironically being the total opposite.
Not only that, but many people use “authentic” and “unique” interchangeably, despite their unique definitions.
- Unique: one of a kind.
- Authentic: true to oneself despite any external pressures.
In short, authenticity in content creation is all about finding your voice, your values, and spirit, and then sticking to it consistently.
Yes, tailor your writing to your audience by making the subject matter relevant to them and their needs – however, don’t change who you are fundamentally, or your voice, in order to fit in.
Your brand must be unapologetically you! If you can commit to that, people will be far more interested in reading what you have to say because they will believe in you!
Final thoughts
So, let’s have a quick recap:
- Relevance in content creation means writing about things that your audience is most interested in.
- Relevancy also means letting Google know what your focus keywords are and helping them to rank you accordingly.
- Authenticity is about finding your brand voice and sticking to it – consistently. Be unapologetically you.
