10 Secrets of Content Writing

With the arrival of 2020, the world around us has changed dynamically as well as psychologically. Businesses and organisations have gradually understood the importance of a robust digital presence and the new media industry is booming like never before. There is a great demand for both exceptional content writers and unique content writing strategies. Many content writing trends have emerged and gained value drastically in 2020. For content to cut through the noise and stand out for the reader to take notice, many important factors play a role. When content is diverse, transformational, and value-driven, it can impact your target audience in ways one never can imagine.

So, lets understand these wondrous content writing trends that have showcased an evolution in styles, tonality, structure, and language.

Content writing has become reader-centric

Content is the king and the readerbase, the kingdom. Brands and organisations today are interested in content writers that deliver more than just words. Content writing today revolves around what the reader wants and hence, it must possess potential to gauge the reader's attention. Be it an engaging story or product promotions, the readers’ interest is the in-focus parameter to evaluate for any kind of content writing style and any purpose this content is set to serve.

More Content Equals More Value, More Value Equals Better Reader-base

Any piece of content with a length of more than 1000 words or around is considered long-form content. Some might say that no one reads such long pieces, but that isn’t the case. 1000 worded contents have become the new normal in the digital realm, gradually steering away from short form content that limits value-sharing. Topics based on a special niche may range even longer and certain sets of audiences live to read long-form content as they can get all the information they want, in one single article/blog post. From the choice of words to the structure of the written piece, all elements of content writing can be effectively used to get the message across in an elaborate manner with the help of long-from content.

Personalised Content Writing

In a digitally savvy world, the end-user craves human connection even when it's through a blue-light emitting screen

All kinds of social media platforms and websites aid in connecting one human to another, transforming the way humans bond and thrive today. So if the writer's style makes the brand or the company look more personalised and user-oriented, audiences will love the content even more. This trend can be encashed upon by building a personal human connection between the brand and its audience. The audience, their interest and motivation, all play a key role in deciding the content and its orientation.

SEO-Oriented Content Writing

The brand's website, social media handles, product descriptions, ranking on the top of the search engine list is a bare minimum demand in the marketing world today. To top the SERPs, the content should be optimized in a way that search engines can understand what your content’s topic is all about. Companies today, hence, focus to create an in-depth SEO content strategy to reach their target audience faster, better, and more consistently. Including relevant keywords, hashtags, and managing to keep it value-based and customer-focused are some key skills that a content writer must have, in this niche of content writing. SEO methodology is a boon in the digital marketing industry, and a trend topping across charts used to create a lasting footprint on the web.

Less Text, More Visuals

Did you know that the human brain is built to consume visual information much faster than text? Yes, you heard that right. Humans can process visual information 10x faster than text-based information. Adding relevant images, graphs, infographics and diagrams helps to provide more value with the same word-count. This trend focuses on the economy of words and the power of visual comprehension together. Just as PPTs are time-saving in the business world, content-rich visuals are a tool to engage the audience and drive more information home.

Let the Reader Navigate

We all, as humans can understand things well when we can build a mind-map around them. Apart from that, patience is a lost virtue and time efficiency has taken its place in this fast paced world today. In content, elements such as topic, introduction, purpose and key takeaways help the reader decide whether the content is useful or interesting to be read in detail or not. Being able to contemplate what the write-up is trying to indicate is a reward for the reader to keep reading on. A comprehensive overview is both, time saving as well as an indicator of how well the content has been framed. Hence, content that is well structured is regarded highly, as compared to fluid writing.

Formatting is Key to Engagement

Overwhelming amounts of content being published daily and diminishing attention spans of the audience of today has made it tough to engage them. If the content is not interesting or hard to read from the very beginning, the reader won't go beyond the first paragraph. This trend was formulated when writers realized how formatting played a pivotal role in content writing. Good formatting can make content consumption easier and much more interesting. This trend can teach you about how good formatting, usage of the right fonts and sizes for heading, usage of bullet points, and visuals in the right places to support written content can add flavor and elegance

Content that Drives Action

Content writing has almost always been considered as a different field, as compared to copywriting. However, since the past couple of years, we have seen these two styles of writing starting to merge and blur the boundaries between them. Every now and then, the content writer is told to keep the content crisp, slightly promotional and inclusive of a CTA, while also being value-driven, informative, and informal. When lines get blurry, and content is so efficiently packed with value, it can have a much larger impact. Hence, content with CTA has been trending wildly through 2020 and is still a popular choice.

Niche-based Content for Refined TG

Content writing based on a particular niche is becoming the new normal. Brands and companies no more shy away from content that may limit their reach as long as the reach is convertible. As long as the content is bridging the wide gap between confusion and clarity for any niche, it can create a loyal audience-base. Niche driven content is trending today because the quality of the audience and better engagement will always trump over big numbers of readers with lower engagement.

Strategy-based Content

Unlike 2011, where people who uploaded content were bloggers talking about their day or their opinions on certain things, 2020 is a rightfully different scenario. Today, companies too are posting content that is relevant for their target audience and can capture their attention. However, another major change in the way content operates today is that now, it is more strategically planned. This enables easier integration of SEO strategies and better performance of the content created. It also has allowed content creators to build a strong internal linking web, gaining better status quo from the search engine.

No matter what the trend, content writing has become a core essential for digital marketing and presence, not only for large enterprises, but also for influencers, content creators, and small scale companies. It is the only thing that can help you pave your way towards promising organic reach and conversion rates.