We can talk all day long about making sure your content has the right keywords in the right places, is long to enough to get Google’s attention, incorporates a story, the pros and cons of using AI to create content, etc. But at the end of the day there’s only one question your content needs to answer: so what?
Passing the “so what?” test is simple. All your content needs to do is demonstrate why your audience should care.
Keep in mind I said “simple.” Not “easy.” Those are two very different things. Most of the simplest things in life are also the most difficult. But good content that engages the reader needs to be simple and it needs to pass the “so what?” test.
People have more demands on their time and more content to consume than ever before. If your content doesn’t immediately tell them why it deserves their precious time and attention, they’ll move on to the next thing.
And when I say “immediately,” I mean that literally. On average, you only have about 7 seconds to grab someone’s attention before they decide whether they’re moving on, so don’t waste time.
Table of Contents
- How to Make Sure Your Content Passes the “So What?” Test
- Is It Useful or Interesting?
- Research Your Keywords
- What Are the Stakes?
- Keep Digging
How to Make Sure Your Content Passes the “So What?” Test
Now you should have a clear understanding of why making sure your content answers the all-important question: so what? But knowing why doesn’t do us any good if we don’t also know how. So let’s talk about how to create content that passes the “so what?” test.
Is It Useful or Interesting?
I stole the above image from Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, both of which I highly recommend. I had to use this image because it really says it all when it comes to brainstorming topics for your marketing content. Ideally, your content should be useful and interesting and relevant to the products/services you provide, but if you can only get it to check one or two of those boxes, that’s enough. If it’s neither useful nor interesting, move onto the next idea.
Research Your Keywords
You might be wondering why I’m bringing up keywords now after saying in the first paragraph that keywords don’t matter. It’s not that keywords don’t matter, it’s just that they are not enough on their own to keep your audience’s attention.
But knowing the keywords and phrases your audience is searching could give you insight into what they care about. For example, when I researched keywords around content distribution, I learned that my audience cares about ways to be proactive about getting their content in front of people until Google figures out which searches to match with your content and where to rank you.
Getting content in front of its target audience sooner rather than later answers the “so what?” question. Content distribution is the how. Getting content in front of people sooner is the why.
What Are the Stakes?
Incorporating a story into your content is always important for grabbing and keeping your reader’s attention. It’s a great way to inject emotion into your story, but you can’t have emotion without stakes.
I’ve quit on a lot of TV shows because I just didn’t care what happened to the characters. The shows failed to answer the “so what?” question in a way I found satisfying.
So before you create any piece of content for your brand, whether it’s a blog post, a video, a social media post, etc. consider the stakes. How will answering this question make your audience’s lives better? What will the consequences be for them if they don’t get this solution?
Putting the stakes front and center in all your marketing efforts is key to any successful marketing strategy because it answers the question: “so what?”
Keep Digging
Answering the “so what?” question once is rarely enough on its own. You have to dig deeper.
Let’s go back to the example of content distribution and helping people be more proactive about getting their content in front of their target audience. The conversation could go something like this:
Q: Why should I care about content distribution?
A: It can help drive traffic to your website.
Q: So what?
A: More traffic means more conversions.
Q: So what?
A: More conversions means more money!
I’m not saying it always comes down to money, but if you work in B2B, it almost always comes down to the bottom line, especially when multiple people are involved in the buying decision.
If you need help creating content that passes the “so what?” test, we can help.
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