However, there’s too much noise.
Consider that every single minute, the following things happen:
- YouTube users upload 72 hours of original video.
- Bloggers post 1,400 new posts.
- Facebook users share 2.46 million pieces of content.
- More than 277,000 tweets are sent.
Multiply these statistics by 1,440 times per day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year—and it quickly becomes clear that we’ve reached a point of total content saturation.
The question thousands of marketers, businesses, and bloggers have is, “How can I make my content stand out?” There is no simple answer, but there are a few tricks you can use to help cut through the noise:
1. Find your voice—and stick to it.
What sets the best writers of all time—including Shakespeare, Dickens, Faulkner, Hemingway and Twain—apart from the thousands of other authors who’ve published books over the past few centuries?
They all have their own distinct voices. They don’t try to copy other people. Instead, they write in a unique way that clearly tells readers who they are.
If you’re mimicking everyone else, don’t expect to get noticed. The only way to stand out is to find your own voice and stay consistent. Your voice might not be everyone’s favorite, but you’ll garner a following and enjoy higher engagement.
RELATED: Tell better brand stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and your blog.
2. Choose topics people care about.
You might love crafting stories about your favorite cat and all the crazy things he does, but does anyone else?
If you aren’t writing about topics that interest people, then you’ll never have an audience. Find a topic that you’re passionate about and then do research to decide whether it has any potential. Google Trends is a good place to start.
3. Go visual.
Content marketing is becoming increasingly visual. Though there’s room for traditional blog posts, complement your writing with compelling visuals. The most effective options include infographics, memes and short videos.
4. Cut out the fluff.
It’s better to write high-quality, 500-word blog posts than low-quality, 5,000-word blog posts.
Don’t throw in superfluous information to increase the length of your content. The average individual’s attention span is shorter than ever, and you can’t afford to lose them. Cut the fluff; be concise.
5. Say something controversial.
It seems that nobody wants to offend anyone or say anything that could be remotely divisive these days.
It’s time to get over this boring approach to writing and instead say something controversial. Controversy sells—and it’s a sure-fire way to stand out.
You don’t have to say something inflammatory to be controversial, though. Simply taking a contrarian stance can do the job. If everyone is writing about how the sky is blue, publish an article about how the sky is green.
It can be incredibly challenging to rise above the noise and engage with readers in meaningful ways on the internet, but it’s only going to get worse.
As more content is produced, standing out will become even more important. Heed this advice and carve out your own niche.
Anna Johansson is a freelance writer, researcher, and business consultant. She also is a columnist for Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post and more. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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