Five reasons why people read content

With the most fabulous content management software in the world, all the right processes and procedures, and a potential readership of thousands, the question still remains: what do people read, and why?

This is an important question, not only for the mass media that want to sell advertising space (and thus need lots of readers), but for all creators of content. Whether the audience is small or large, broad or niche, understanding why people read content will enhance any content-based system.

Perhaps the first question isn't why people read content, but why do authors want readers? And the obvious lesson learned from the Web 2.0 world is that people are motivated by public acknowledgement.

Behold the blogger who gets 50 reads to her piece about her pet hamster. Fifty is a ludicrously insignificant number - barely enough to account for her circle of casual friends. But it's enough to motivate her to write more; it feels, a little, like fame.

This may seem trite, but the more the Internet grows, the more obvious it is that this kind of ego (or, more kindly, peer popularity) is a keen driving energy. Without it there would be no open source, no blogs and no Facebook (though this last might argue the case in the wrong direction).

Authors need motivation, and in a way, they are the easiest people to motivate. Give them readers, and they're happy. For corporate content, some financial remuneration may also be required.

Every day, newspapers, television programmes, magazines and radio engage in an exercise of mutual confirmation of each other's content. The big stories are covered everywhere, and with the repetition, they become "audience magnets".

This may seem trite, but the more the Internet grows, the more obvious it is that this kind of ego (or, more kindly, peer popularity) is a keen driving energy.

Jarred Cinman is product director at Cambrient.

Many recent examples suffice to prove the point: the kidnapping and murder of Leigh Matthews, the "chainsaw dog killer", and, most recently, the drinking habits of Minister Manto.

The idea here is the same employed by Hollywood movie moguls when deciding to write a new script or commission a sequel to a popular film. The second option is always easier, because the sequel comes packaged with equity. That equity is an existing community of interested people who will go back for more.

What can the humble corporate content author learn from all this flash and glam? When writing content, try tie it into a bigger, existing story that already has some interest. This may seem more challenging when writing about toothbrushes than kidnapping, but with some creative thinking, it's always possible.

And of course, topical is also relative. Topical to accountants is the changes in tax laws. Topical to philatelists is the latest valuation of a rare stamp. Topics are always there: they just need to be found.

Examining some of the top stories daily on sites such as Digg and del.icio.us reveals that another popular kind of content is something that's genuinely useful. Everyone may think their content (or opinion) is of use to someone, but the acid test is simple enough: after reading the content, can the reader go off and do what they normally do quicker, better, faster or with less difficulty? If so, the content may be said to be genuinely useful.

There are many other x factors needed to make useful content appealing (some of which are covered here), but genuine usefulness is a comparatively rare quality, and when it's there, is unmistakable.

To make content useful, authors can:

* Offer practical advice, which is at the same time not simple common sense (this is usually found by focusing on what their particular talents or skills are).

* Review, summarise or clarify other popular or topical information.

* Offer personal experiences - provided these can be learned from.

* Offer summaries of research, interesting facts and figures: this is the kind of content people can re-use themselves, and it is always sought-after.

Common experience is a powerful drawcard. While it's not always easy to know what common experiences will be of interest to people, and what not, some simple guidelines are:

* Powerful common experiences are often emotional. "Experiences writing office memos" is likely to get 0 diggs. "Almost dying in a car accident" or "My experience being shot in a hijacking", because these are emotional and strong experiences, may well appeal to others with similar stories.

* Causes are gold content. Causes can be anything from issues that have arisen in an office environment to things with global significance. Because people care about causes, they are drawn to content about those causes.

* Get people talking. Content that invites discussion and debate is also a natural magnet for crowds. This is achieved by offering comment facilities with each piece of content, and publicising how many people have commented on each piece. The more that do, the more that do.

One of the major changes in the so-called modern world is the overwhelming amount of information (content, really) with which we are bombarded on a daily basis.

What is less well understood is that everything is competing with everything for space in the average person's life. It's not neatly boxed so that someone compares two business documents against one another, but leaves Facebook and MSN and humorous video clips in a different category. The disciplined, dedicated might, but for a lot of people they will be distracted from the boring to the exciting no matter which content domain it belongs to.

The quickest payoff possible is a visual, particularly a striking photograph. It takes an instant to consume, and the impact can be as great as that contained in a whole book. Second prize is diagrammatic content. And third is what is now called "scannable" content.

By scannable, I mean that a reader can get the message without having to read in the traditional way. Putting a headline and tagline under a news story is a simple form of making content scannable. On Web pages, and documents for that matter, a lot of thought needs to be put into how to make the content consumable in bite-size chunks, adaptable to the time the reader is willing to spend. They can drill into the content by stopping and reading more closely if something grabs them.

This is a simple and effective technique to implement, and the results can be significant.

Controversy is hard to manufacture, and can have unintended consequences, so it is not always appropriate. When used for its own sake, it can also come across as arrogance rather than a genuine attempt to stir up the waters.

Still, applied with the right intention and care, controversial content can act as a lead in to other content behind it. This is the basic sales strategy that newspapers employ, and it never fails.

Applying this to corporate content may seem impossible. However, the choice becomes simple: either accept that some content has no inherent appeal, and people have to read it out of obligation or because it's their job. Or recognise that people are people, at work or out, and in competing for their time and attention, any content author must understand the content context into which their information is moving.

Writing content, particularly in a corporate context, is still the same job of work. It has to be accurate and pertinent, and satisfy the information needs of its intended audience. The tactics here simply help to make it stand out in the confusing and crowded landscape of words and sounds. And that's good for everyone concerned.

* Jarred Cinman is product director at Cambrient.