Having content on your site that engages with your audience is likely to be one of your key content strategy objectives. But how can this be done?

Well in 2011 the Content Marketing Institute asked a group of ten online content experts the question, “How do you make content more engaging?” The answers were highly illuminating.

Appeal to the emotions

One of the keys that came out across all of the answers is the ability to get the audience emotionally involved in what is being said.  This means allowing your readers to see the human element behind your content, whatever content that might be.

Paint a picture, tell a story

When telling a story or painting a picture through text and/or images, content creates empathy as the audience puts themselves into the story being told.

When a person is emotionally engaged, they retain information better

Studies in psychology show that although women are more prone to process information emotionally, men must also be engaged on an emotional level in order to retain that information and act on it.  Since the goal of business content is to get the reader to act upon what they are reading, it is important that content includes the right emotional triggers to be most effective.

What’s important to your audience may be different that what’s important to your business

Another key to engaging content is knowing what is important to your readers; and that is not always a reflection of what is important to your business.  To do this, put yourself in the shoes of your ideal audience and then develop content with them in mind.  Listen to your readers and respond to them according to need.  Pay attention to what they are saying and glean information from it.