Content used to be king, now it's the whole royal family and Taylor Swift's collective fanbase when it comes to keeping your brand and business growing. Content is the driving force behind online visibility, customer engagement, and brand loyalty. Whether it's a social media post, a blog article, or a video, content needs to captivate your audience, rank well in search engines, and encourage interaction. With the rise of AI, content creation has become easier, but does using an almost human impact rankings? Let's dive into what makes good content for each platform, what types of content are most engaging, and tips for creating content that resonates with your audience.

1. Creating Engaging Content for Social Media

Social media is fast-paced and these days highly visual. Whether you're using Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok, the key to success lies in creating engaging, shareable content. Here's how to craft content that works best for each of the most popular platforms:

What Makes Good Social Media Content?

• Short, Visual, and Engaging: Social media platforms are all about quick consumption. Attention spans are short, so content that grabs attention within the first few seconds performs best.
• Relatable and Authentic: People crave authenticity. Posts that show the human side of your brand—behind-the-scenes looks, user-generated content, or casual, relatable posts—tend to engage better than slick and formal marketing.
• Interactive: Content that invites interaction, such as polls, quizzes, and questions, encourages audience participation and increases engagement rates always gives your algorithm a boost.
• Trending Content: Keeping up with trending topics or challenges helps content go viral, especially on platforms like TikTok and X.

What Types of Content Rank Best?

• Videos and Reels: Video content consistently ranks higher on social media platforms due to its engaging format. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook prioritise Reels and Stories because they encourage quick, repeated views.
• Infographics and Visuals: Posts with visuals (photos, infographics, or memes) get more engagement than plain text posts.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Encouraging your audience to share content about your brand increases credibility and reach, ask your super fans to work with your brand and get involved.
• Short, Punchy Copy unless you need to be a thought leader: On X and Threads, short, witty, or informative tweets with hashtags get higher engagement. On LinkedIn, thought leadership posts resonate more.

Social Media Content Tips:

1. Leverage Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience.
2. Post Consistently: Maintaining a regular posting schedule helps build brand visibility and engagement.
3. Use Captions and Subtitles for Videos: Many users view videos without sound, so adding captions can keep them engaged when in stealth mode.
4. Monitor Analytics: Regularly check your social media insights to see which posts perform well and why, rinse and repeat as you develop your formula.

Does AI Make a Difference?

AI can streamline social media content creation by providing insights into audience behaviour, suggesting optimal posting times, and generating captions or hashtags. However, human creativity and authenticity still drive the highest engagement. AI tools like Jasper or Copy.ai can assist with ideation and content planning but should be used in conjunction with a human touch for best results. The robots are there to help you, not replace you.

2. What Makes a Good Blog Post?

Blogs are crucial for boosting SEO, driving website traffic, and establishing authority in your industry. But what exactly makes a good blog post?

What Makes Good Blog Content?

• In-Depth, Informative, and Valuable: Long-form content that answers user questions in detail ranks best in search engines. Aim for at least 1,000-2,000 words per post. This isn't the domain of a quick video or a snigger worthy meme, this is where people expect to go deep.
• Keyword Optimisation: SEO is key. Conduct keyword research to find the terms your audience is searching for, and strategically place these keywords in your headings, subheadings, and content.
• Scannable Content: Break up text with headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make your blog post easily digestible.
• Well-Researched and Credible: Back up your claims with data, links to reputable sources, or quotes from experts. Well-researched posts position your brand as an authority. Resist the temptation to stuff with fluff, and make every word count
• Engaging Storytelling: Weave stories into your content to make it more relatable and memorable.

What Types of Blog Content Rank Best?

• How-To Guides: Detailed guides that solve specific problems tend to perform well in search engines. These posts can also rank for 'featured snippets' on Google, driving more traffic.
• Listicles: Posts like 'Top 10 Tips' or '5 Best Tools' are popular because they offer bite-sized, scannable information.
• Long-Form Content: In-depth articles that cover a topic comprehensively tend to rank higher due to the value they provide.
• Case Studies: Sharing real-world examples of how your product or service solved a problem builds credibility and attracts niche audiences.

Blog Content Tips:

1. Include Internal Links: Linking to other relevant posts or pages on your website improves SEO and keeps users on your site longer.
2. Use High-Quality Images: Adding visuals, charts, or infographics makes your post more engaging.
3. Optimise for Mobile: Make sure your blog is mobile-friendly, as a large portion of readers will access your content from smartphones or mobile devices, the rule is still mobile first for readability and accessibility.
4. Call to Action (CTA): Always end your posts with a CTA—whether it's encouraging readers to comment, share the post, or explore related content.

3. Creating Engaging Video Content

Video content has skyrocketed in popularity across platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. It’s an effective way to capture attention and convey complex information quickly and engagingly. Our brains love the immersive sensory experience of watching, listening and sensing, it triggers our dopamine more, which makes us feel good, which is why the platforms have been pushing it for years now, as they know how to get us hooked and keep us hooked.

What Makes Good Video Content?

• Short and Engaging: Videos under 2 minutes often perform best on social platforms. For YouTube, longer, well-researched videos (10+ minutes) tend to rank higher.
• Storytelling: Videos that tell a compelling story—whether it’s about your brand, a customer success story, or an educational narrative—resonate more with audiences.
• High Production Quality: Clear audio, good lighting, and a professional look are critical. You don’t need a Hollywood budget, but poor production quality can hurt your credibility.
• Educational and Entertaining: Videos that either educate or entertain (or both) tend to get the most engagement. Tutorials, product demonstrations, or behind-the-scenes videos are great examples. A little humility and vulnerability go a long way too.
• Call to Action (CTA): Always include a clear CTA at the end of the video, guiding viewers on the next steps (subscribe, visit your website, etc.).

What Types of Video Content Rank Best?

• Explainer Videos: Short, concise videos that explain a concept, product, or service perform well on platforms like YouTube.
• Tutorials and How-To Videos: People search for solutions on YouTube, making how-to videos highly valuable. These rank well because they match search intent and often appear in Google’s video search results.
• Live Videos: Live streaming on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube creates real-time engagement and helps build community.
• Product Demos and Reviews: Videos that show your product in action or provide reviews tend to build trust with viewers and rank well, especially for eCommerce brands.

Video Content Creation Tips:

1. Hook Viewers in the First 5 Seconds: The first few seconds are critical to grabbing attention and preventing viewers from scrolling away. This is where the immersion happens and the majority of brand saturation is reached.
2. Optimise for SEO: For YouTube, ensure your video title, description, and tags are optimised with relevant keywords.
3. Transcribe Your Videos: Adding transcripts or closed captions improves accessibility and boosts SEO.
4. Thumbnail Design: An eye-catching thumbnail can significantly increase click-through rates (CTR) on platforms like YouTube.

What about using AI with videos?

AI tools like Pictory or Synthesia can help you create videos quickly by generating video scripts or even auto-editing clips. AI-powered video creation apps can assist in turning written content into short-form videos, which are excellent for platforms like Instagram and TikTok. AI-generated content helps streamline video production but may lack the emotional depth and storytelling that human-created videos offer, see previous comments about the power of actual humans. Use AI video tools for making the process of bringing your vision to life more streamlined.

No matter the platform—social media, blogs, or video—good content is rooted in providing value to your audience. To create engaging content the TL;DR is this:

1. Know Your Audience: Tailor your content to their needs, preferences, and behaviour.
2. Prioritise Quality Over Quantity: Consistency matters, but never sacrifice quality.
3. Use Analytics: Monitor what’s working and optimise your strategy based on data.

AI can certainly assist in content creation by automating tasks and generating ideas, but human creativity, strategy, and authenticity are still critical to creating content that resonates and ranks well. The future of content creation lies in finding the right balance between AI efficiency and the human touch with the deep understanding of what problem you are solving for you audience at its heart - even if that is only entertainment.