Boring Industry, Meet Awesome, Quality Content

You can’t write awesome, quality content for a boring industry. If you’re trying, stop now. You can’t, because you don’t know the secret. Until now, you probably didn’t even know there was a secret, yeah?

• No topic under the sun bores everyone.
• No product is totally useless.
• No industry is completely boring.

So, what’s the secret for writing engaging content for a boring industry?

It’s one word.

Interest.

If you’re trying to write quality content for a boring industry, the problem isn’t the industry; the problem is you.

• You don’t need the industry.
• You don’t need the product.
• You aren’t the target market.

End of story. My work is done. Carry on.

Oh, wait – you have to write for the industry anyway? Cool. Let’s fix the problem, then.

Turn your boring industry topics into awesome high quality content.

I fibbed a bit at the beginning. Quality content actually is possible, no matter what the industry is. In fact, there’s no such thing as a boring industry. Somebody out there is interested in what you’re talking about.

The notion of a “boring industry” often comes from people outside of the target market. They don’t understand the industry or they have no interest, therefore, it’s boring. However, if you need one of its products or services, the content can be both relevant and captivating!

The key lies in shifting perspective. Craft your content to meet the specific interests and needs of your audience.

Generally, there are two people who have a problem with “Ah, man, that’s a boring topic.”

Business owners often think they’re the only one who finds their industry interesting.

We had a client who found his business fascinating. He likes numbers. He was aware that not everybody does, and assumed anything he might share on his site would be boring.

To some extent, he was right. Not everyone was interested in impact investing. In fact, most weren’t.

But that was okay! We weren’t trying to get people interested in impact investing. We were talking to those who were already interested! All we had to do was find out what parts of impact investing they found interesting.

Once we did, his content took off, up to and including getting picked up by a large media firm. As a content marketing strategy, we had to call that one a success.

You know the industry, now learn your audience.

Marketers are the other types of people who think a topic is boring. That’s why, as marketers and content developers, our first order of business is to learn your industry and its audience. We have to be able to show as much interest in the topic as you and your target audience. That’s the only way we’re going to create more engaging content.

If you’re a business owner, you already know your industry. But do you know your audience?

Cast your you aside. Your wants, your needs – they don’t matter. What matters – who matters – are the people who want the product. You have to put yourself in their place.

Not in some tree-hugger, esoteric, crunchy-granola feel good way. It’s time to get down to hard tacks and walk down the line of questions. If you were your target market the following questions should become part of your content creation process:

• Why would I be interested in the product or service?
• What benefit do I get from the product or service?
• What features set the product or service apart from everyone else?
• What information about the product, service, or usage of the product/service would they be interested in?
• What benefit do they get from that knowledge?

Because, you see, they are interested. So half of your work is done. Your work is to make your particular business or product offering stand out based on the user intent. In other words, fully answer whatever questions they’re searching for, in a blog post, social media post, and/or call to action.

For content to be engaging and interesting, you have to cast your perspective aside and learn to get inside the head of your target customer. Take some time to research common products and services in the industry. Better yet, see how your competitors are publishing information.

Learn how they work. Learn about the positive and negative aspects of each competitors’ actions. This will help you combat them in the best possible way: with better quality content.

No matter how much you think you know about them, researching your customers and their motivating factors is an ongoing process, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. You can find the forums, blogs, and social platforms they use to ask and answer questions. This will also help you learn about the words and phrases they use.

Learn your customers’ challenges.

Pain points – every industry has unique challenges that its customers face. Take the car wash. How exciting can a car wash be?

Let me ask you this. Did you know that bird droppings can damage your car paint if you leave it on there? So can tree sap and road salt. All that salt on the road to keep you safe in the winter is eating at your beautiful paint finish.

Just driving down the road can cause scratches and chips that can lead to rust. On top of that, water spots can etch the paint, as can brake fluid and bug splatters. Now, if you’re someone who really enjoys a clean car, that might be an interesting article.

Learning customers’ pain points is one of the best ways to create compelling content. When you highlight a solution someone has been searching for, you’re guaranteed to capture their interest.

Learn to tell stories.

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can turn technical details into exciting content that captivates your audience.  People love listening to stories and you have enough information to create one. By weaving data and insights into stories, you make the content more relatable and memorable.

For example, a company in the industrial equipment sector might share stories about how their machinery helped a client overcome a significant production challenge. All of a sudden, the company’s brand is humanized and showing real-world applications.

Humanize your content.

This is a good follow up point. For your brand to be “human,” you have to introduce-or keep- the human element. The human element makes technical or dry subjects more relatable.

This could involve featuring employee stories, customer testimonials, or case studies that highlight personal experiences and successes. For instance, sharing how a product or service positively impacted a customer’s life adds authenticity and emotional appeal to your content.

Engage through interactive content.

Interactive content such as quizzes, calculators, or interactive infographics can engage users by requiring their participation. This makes the content more engaging and provides a personalized experience for the user. For instance, a financial services company might offer a retirement planning calculator that provides users with tailored information based on their inputs.

Pay attention to what it looks like.

Even the most compelling content can be overlooked if it’s presented in an ugly way Investing in high-quality images, clean layouts, and readable fonts makes a site easier to use. It also makes it easier to stay engaged in the content. For example, custom graphics or professional photography can make your content look better (and thus more valuable).

Conclusion

To be sure, writing compelling, quality content isn’t easy, no matter what the subject is. Done correctly, it can take several hours for a single article. But whether the material comes hard or it comes easy, don’t let yourself get in the way.

Remember that it’s only boring to you, because you aren’t the target market. Write in a way that would excite you if you were, and I guarantee you’ll never struggle with writing for a boring industry again.

Are you ready to put your content to work for you? Now’s the time. Contact Level343 to discuss your project.