4 Ways to Provide Value to Your Audience

When it comes to creating content, it’s easy for us to dive into topics that we enjoy. However, the challenge lies in ensuring that this material is truly meaningful to our followers.

A flawless Instagram feed and interactive stories are a good way to intrigue your audience, but long-term loyalty requires something more.

Here are 4 ways to create valuable content, and generate a readership that’s truly invested in what you have to say:

1. Discover your expertise, and own the hell out of it.

I used to feel shy or embarrassed to call myself a “writer,” even after I had been published in several notable publications.

Eventually, I recognized my worth and ran with it. I came to the realization that I excelled at developing content that people wanted to read, so why not leverage it?

While promoting your own skillset can feel uncomfortable at first, it’s a crucial component of making an impact.

In order to have any sort of influence, your audience needs to trust your knowledge and judgment.

So don’t be afraid to play up your strengths. Identify areas where you can provide key insight, and share your knowledge with confidence.

Because if you don’t have confidence in yourself, how can your audience have confidence in you?

2. Ask for feedback.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably come across a few of my story polls.

With the exception of my “ab or leg day” question this weekend, I typically request my followers’ feedback on potential blog topics.

Rather than simply asking “Would you read this,” I dig a little deeper. I ask them to choose their biggest challenge, and tell me which topic they would prefer to learn more about.

Asking for feedback is essentially a form of customer service. In order to have customer success, you need to attentively listen and react accordingly.

This feedback can offer useful insight around future content, and also help you identify areas to repurpose past content that has proven to be valuable.

Along with guiding your content strategy, asking for feedback is a good way to connect with your followers on a personal level and remind them that you’re on their side.

3. Offer a solution.

Whether you’re selling a product or selling yourself, always place your primary focus on how YOU can help THEM.

Analyze your target audience or prospective customers, and determine the challenges they face. Tap into your expertise, and start offering solutions to these problems.

For example, my followers are mostly rooted in the blogger/small business space. I recently wrote a blog post about pitching yourself, as this concept is a common challenge for this particular audience.

Problem-solving through content can be tricky at first, but it’s a crucial way to boost your impact.

4. Cover trending topics, but add a unique spin.

A large factor in the development of valuable content is the ability to weigh in on common conversations.

Think about which topics are populating social media at the moment, and determine a way to add your unique voice.

Here, it’s especially important to make sure that you’re offering a fresh spin or interesting angle.

If you’re reiterating what everyone else is already saying, there’s no real incentive for readers to stick around.

In order to generate long-term interest in your content, you need to continuously give your readers something to get excited about.

You might get stuck here and there, but the enhanced effort will make all the difference – and your engagement will show it. 

Were these tips helpful for you? What are some other ways that you offer value? Let me know in the comments!