| Victoria Harres 
Digesting a page in print is nothing like experiencing content digitally. The digital world allows for a much more interactive experience. The expectations viewers have when consuming your digital content are much higher and the job of the publisher is more complex. Yet, we can get so focused on what the words in our message will be that we give little consideration to the broader experience someone will have with our blog post, article, press release or white paper. If you want audiences to return and engage with you again and again (who doesn’t?), your entire content package – or content experience – must be considered. And it needs to be considered long before you upload, publish, and distribute your content. A major reason for this is that search engine algorithms are continually giving more weight to human behavior. As shown by the best practices in PR & SEO: Still Driving Discovery, you will be rewarded with better search visibility when you publish content that people spend time on, interact with, and share across their networks. When starting down the content creation path, keep these five simple things in mind to ensure your viewers encounter the best experience possible and you achieve the results you desire. Words convey: Whether it’s an article covering new product features, an ebook about your industry’s latest trends, or a cute cat video, the first requirement of a great content experience is providing quality information that delivers on your headline’s promise. Even if a non-speaking feline is the only featured character in your story, you need to think carefully about what you want to say. For instance, a video can’t reach its full potential without a captivating title and appropriate tagging. Fluffy walking a tightrope is not certain to go viral unless you make sure people can find it. The same applies to your blog post or product announcement. Words are essential to any online content experience. They help introduce the content, categorize it, and tell your story. So choose your words wisely. Visuals engage: A captivating title and great story are a must, but to hook your audience you need to consider visual elements. Content that includes an image or video delivers more views and inspires more sharing. Jamie Heckler details this in her blog post and infographic about The State of Multimedia in Press Releases. Visuals help readers connect with your message or story, and social media users are much more likely to share something with an engaging photo or video than something which is text only. If you’re writing a white paper, think about adding call-out graphics that highlight a quote or statistic used in the text. If you’re publishing a blog post, add a header image and other multimedia to break up the text and help illustrate the topic. A press release will ultimately perform better if you include a video, and it’s hard to find a story on any media site that doesn’t include a photograph or other graphic element. Remember that your photos and videos don’t always have to involve professionals behind the camera, but they do need to help your story.  Directions convert: Whether you’re on a road trip through Texas or trying to find something online, everyone appreciates direction.
Clear road signs can save so much time. Digitally speaking, you need to make sure your audience can find their way without getting lost or confused. A clear call-to-action can be worth its weight in gold — or leads. Point your audience in the right direction by offering more than one road sign or opportunity to take action. The second call-to-action serves as a reminder about the desired destination, in case your audience missed the first opportunity to follow your path. Sharing expands reach: If your readers share your content, you have the potential of reaching a much broader audience than your own. But, first, you have to set your content up so that it’s easy to share. Write headlines that are short enough to be tweeted, and include one or two lines in your content that stand alone and would make the perfect tweet (right length + interesting fact). Additionally, make sure the page where your content is published has buttons for easy posting to Twitter, Facebook and other key social media channels. These also serve as a reminder or call to action for your readers. No place like home: Your content and the website or page it is housed on must work together. They have to complement each other to ensure your message is easy to digest and as accessible as possible. The appearance of your content is the first impression you’ll make and visual appeal does matter. It draws the reader in, helps your content achieve authority faster and keeps your audience on the page longer. It must also be search optimized to add to your content’s discoverability. Ultimately, you want your reader to have an exceptional experience with your content that leads them to the next step. A rich content experience was top of mind during our recent redesign of PRNewswire.com. We wanted to offer a content experience that satisfies all of our audiences’ individual needs and flows well. Check out the press release to see how we made it even easier to find the news, resources, and solutions you need, then let us know what you think! Author Victoria Harres is vice president, strategic communications and content at PR Newswire. Her team leads social media, PR, creative and blogging for the brand. Vicky was the original twitterer on @PRNewswire and continues to be part of that crew. If she's not at her desk, you'll likely find her in the garden. | 
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