We want to create engaging content but we don’t always feel like typing a lot. For some, it’s a constant struggle to get our thoughts on to paper (or in this case on pixels). Typing isn’t always required to create content your readers want. Marcie Hill showed us 5 Ways To Create Engaging, Sharable Blog Posts Without Writing… A Lot, in her New Media Expo 2014 presentation. Check out these quick and easy ways to create great stuff that your readers will want to see and share.
Photos
Over 1 billion people will buy a phone this year and most of them will have cameras. Most of us take pictures all the time. These can be great sources of content for your posts. With more than 350 million photos uploaded to Facebook each day and 55 million to Instagram (35 million are selfies), it’s obvious that people love pictures.
Get creative. Take a look at things from a different angle and show your readers something they don’t see every day. Don’t fancy yourself a good photographer? There are plenty of online resources to help you take awesome pictures, even using your smartphone camera.
Infographics
We all learn in different ways but most seem to learn better visually. That’s one of the reasons that infographics are so popular. They take information (sometimes dry and boring stuff) and break it down into easier to understand and consume visual representations. Though they do take some research to get the info together, infographics can be a great way create engaging content without writing much. They’re also highly sharable. Pinterest users love them and with the site driving more traffic than Reddit, LinkedIn, and Twitter combined, it has the potential for huge traffic.
Audio
In a spot you can’t type? Some of us get our best ideas while we’re driving or when we’re away from our computers. Bloggers can audio record their thoughts and ideas to make easily sharable content for their audience in a hurry. Most smartphones have built-in audio recording apps and you can even use an audio transcription service to translate those recordings to text if you like.
Not only is audio great for recording while on the go but it’s also great for people to listen to when they don’t have access to a computer. Lots of people listen to podcasts and other audio programs in the car on the way to and from work. You might find a new audience you didn’t know was out there.
Video
People watch over 6 billion hours of video a month on YouTube. Video is huge. Be part of those 6 billion+ hours of viewing by recording video for your blog. Interviews, events, thoughts, and more can all be made into great video posts. With the built-in editing tools on YouTube, and the numerous other tools such as iMovie and more, anyone can make their video look great and draw tons of viewers.
Animations
Looking for a simple and super sharable way to attract attention? Animated GIFs are a form of content that everyone loves. People are highly amused by them and they love to share them. Tumblr is a great source to search and find them but you can also easily create them yourself. GIF Brewery for Mac and Giffing Tool for Windows both allow you to simply capture any on-screen video and turn it into a high quality animated GIF. Capture video from YouTube and overlay hilarious text in minutes with interfaces easy enough for anyone to use.
We all consume content in different ways. Though text may be great for many, there are other ways people look to consume too. While we might not always be up for writing out every post, there are still tons of options for great sharable posts that will resonate with your readers.
Try out these text alternatives on your own blog and let us know how your readers eat it up!
