International Content Creation
I just read Denise Wakeman’s 7 Tips to Create Better Blog Posts and realized how my reading habits have changed dramatically over the last few years. I used to always take the time to read meaty articles, but not any more. I now skim through everything I read and within a few seconds decide whether I want to give it another minute or two and a second evaluation, or if I want to stop reading immediately. After the second review, I usually stop reading the article, unless it really grabs my interest. And only then will I take the time to read it properly. Yes, everything I read goes through 2 reviews before I decide to read it.
So I need white space and frequence subheads in blog posts – otherwise I cannot skim through it properly. When I skim through an article the first time I only read the title, subheads, the first couple of bullets, maybe a short callout or a quote and 2 sentence paragraphs that look interesting. That’s it… and this is not a lot of content to grab my interest, is it?
Another new habit I’ve acquired is listening to audios. Whenever I’m doing a task that does not occupy all of my brain space, I put on an audio version of something I want to read.
Multiple New Habits In Consuming Content
I’m not the only one who has changed their habits in consuming information. Many others have too. And this is not including the new habits we have of reading the different types of content now available on social media.
Social media platforms have specific atmospheres about them:
- Facebook is full of networking games
- LinkedIn has a business feel to most of the conversations
- Twitter folk do not like sales pitches
Have you noticed the variety in content styles between each of these social media platforms?
And looking at this from the other side, from the readers point of view, there are even subgroups of further differences in how people like to consume content. When you add cultural preferences into these different ways of consuming content, things can get complicated.
Below we are going to look at the different types of content from two different angles:
- Personal consumption preferences
- The broader audiences you want to reach
And finally we’ll see how complex content creation can become when international audiences also listen in to what you share with the people next door to you.
3 Different Personal Preferences For Content Consumption
Here are 3 different reasons why you need different types of content in your online marketing.
1 – Connecting With People With Different Time Constraints
Let’s face it, some of us always busy for certain information. Some of us will always take the time to read certain types of information.
Who do you want to reach? What are they like? How much time do they want to spend reading your stuff?
2 – Grabbing People’s Attention With The Right Information
Sometimes the same information delivered with a slightly different point of view is all it takes to grab people’s attention.
Do you know how your readers prefer to get the information you want to share with them?
3 – Engaging With People Who Consume Your Content In Different Environments
It is easy to understand how sound should be avoided in some environments. If many of your readers use phone applications to visit your site, they will not appreciate anything slow to load. The same people who connect with you during their business hours for a certain type of content, may also like to connect with you first thing in the morning with another type of content.
Do you know where your readers prefer reading your content?
3 Different Audiences For Your Content
But you cannot only look at the personal preferences in how people want to consume your content. There are also the different ways you can target your audiences where you need different content. The next 3 points look at different factors you can use when creating your content.
4 – Bringing People To Take The Next Step Most Appropriate For Them
We all write content for a reason. What do you want your reader to do after reading your content? Different readers will be willing to take steps of various sizes.
Do you have content with the most appropriate obvous next step for your audience?
5 – Appealing To People From Different Cultures
You need different content to engage effectively with different cultures. Even when these cultures speak the same language, you will get a better response from your audience, if you use the right vocabulary and hit the emotional buttons that appeal to the specific culture you want to connect with.
Does your content speak to your audience? Can your audience easily identify themselves with what you say?
6 – Avoid Excluding International Audiences
The web is a global one and different cultures have different communication styles. What is polite and friendly in one culture, can have the opposite effect in another. What can seem insignificant in one culture can have a big impact on your communication with another cultures. This is easy to understand. But when you look closely at the content you publish online, who is it for? It is great to write for a specific audience, that’s what we should do. The question is whether there are any small things we can do to facilitate reading by international audiences.
Do you put international readers off without realizing it? Does this bother you?
Complex Global Audiences
The last thing to remember is the complexity of today’s audiences.
7 – Managing Mixed Audiences
Situations can become complex: you may have international readers who use phone applications to read your online content while your reader next door wants to take read the same content slowly with his morning coffee.
What do you do? Is there a way to publish content strategically on different social media platforms?
Getting Your Content Right
Consumption preferences for different market segments will differ for each social media platform. This is why you need to:
- Adopt one social media content plan at a time
- Engage with your readers to tweak it and find their preferences
You only know how to write web content when you know what, where, when and and how your reader wants to read it. But the list of different online content above shows us the two trends we also have to be aware of:
- The changes in how different people deal with the amount of information they have to process
- The variety of the different types of content businesses need to publish online
What about you? What do you think about your online content needs?
- What are your business goals for the content you publish online?
- What does your audience want to read from you online?
- What different kinds of content do you need to publish online to reach international audiences?
More on International Content Creation:
- An International Development Template
- Foreign Language Communication Simplified
- International Content As An International Business Development Strategy
- The One Important Step Missing In Many Guidelines For Good Websites And Landing Pages
- Third Transition To A Global Market Internet Business
- What Are Your Words Saying To Your International Market?
- Web Content Conference In French
- Who Do You Need To Write Your Foreign Content
More in these Get International Clients Business Guides:
- Connect With Your International Markets
- International English
- Culture Customized Content
- Cultural Web Tools
She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
