If you wish to dominate the virtual world, your content needs to be highly engaging – there are no two ways about it!

We try all the ‘textbook’ ways to make sure that our content hooks viewers long enough to help us achieve our end goal, whether it’s a simple sign-up or a straightforward sale. We follow the standard tricks of embellishing our content with subheads, bullets, images, infographics, and videos.

But there’s a thin line between doing and overdoing. It’s necessary to make efforts to attract your audience, but crossing the line of engagement while doing so can negatively impact your website views and hurt your business as a whole.

You must have seen innumerable articles on how to engage your audience. In this piece, however, we shall offer you insights on the mistakes you must avoid while you focus on increasing your content engagement.

Rule 1 – Create controversy, but within limits

Experts advise you to create controversy in your content to keep your audience interested. Though this is a good move, caution and proper research are needed before you claim something as fact or take a stance on something you aren’t sure about. Bear in mind that your ultimate aim is to create engagement and not inflame a controversy. So, it would be ideal to choose a topic that is open-ended and leaves room for debate. This allows you to strike up a conversation with your readers.

Rule 2 – Do not constantly ask for support

Maintain dignity while you ask your audience to share (or comment on) your posts. Understand the difference between requesting support and pleading for it. Yes, you may have put a lot of effort into creating your content, but it’s up to the reader to decide whether it is worth sharing. Everyone has their own perspective on things. If you get too pushy with the share-and-subscribe requests, it can quickly become annoying and you might lose a potential subscriber once and for all.

Rule 3 – Infographics are cool, but how much is too much?

Data depicted via infographics is certainly far more appealing than textual information. Neatly done infographics can help you engage with your audience better. However, you need to ensure that there is a cap on the amount of information you include. Too much text can be highly disengaging if it’s not balanced with appealing graphics. Your infographics should not only be light on the eye but also offer useful information. Do not plug something in purely for visual relief.

Rule 4 – Links shouldn’t delink the reader

It is appreciable that you’ve created other quality content pieces and would want your readers to view those posts as well to get a better understanding of the topic under discussion. But be warned that bombarding readers with too many links, even if contextual, can turn them off. Let’s face it, nobody cares to encounter a hyperlink in each sentence of every paragraph.

So, the next time you think of producing engaging content for your audience, pay heed to these four tips – and go grab those eyeballs!

Additional Readings

Great content marketing examples for audience engagement Vol 1

Great content marketing examples for audience engagement Vol 2

5 User-Generated Content Mistakes to Avoid