Why is Content Important?
Effective branded communication is more than just a knowledge of words and their meaning. We need to make sure we're connecting with our audiences.
What do we mean by 'content'?
'Content' refers to the words, images and sounds that we produce. We need to develop a relationship between our University and the people with whom we need to connect and engage: our audiences.
Those words, images and sounds will convey:
- the answers to questions that our audiences might have of us
- the actions that we want our audiences to take
- what we stand for as an organisation, and what our values are
Content isn’t just about providing information. It is also a tool that we use to influence, persuade and inspire our audiences.
How does good content help our audiences?
When produced well, our content can:
- help our audiences feel understood and welcome here
- enable our audiences to get something done
- inspire our audiences to do something that we would like them to do
However, when content is not well produced it can:
- leave our audiences feeling frustrated, misunderstood or excluded
- increase the cognitive load and effort that our audiences must experience
- put them off wanting to engage further with us
Content is therefore something that we must craft with care and nurture over time.
The act of creating good content is more than simply putting one word next to another. It is about:
- fully understanding our audiences, what they need and what motivates them
- knowing what we and they want to do or achieve through a particular item of content
- understanding the most effective ways of using content to help them in the right place and at the right time
We've designed this guide to help you understand how to treat your content with the care and nurture required to make it effective.