Having content on your website is one thing.  Having great content on your site is quite another.

If you want to use content to drive traffic, whether it be traffic back to your site or to the plethora of social media channels out there, you need to make sure that the content you’re creating is the stuff that leads to social shares, links, engagement and virality.

So what is this content exactly? What makes it that intrinsically fabulous so that it speaks to an audience who in turn wants to consume it, like it, and share it?

These 7 things:

1. It has a purpose. An end goal. And a very specific targeted audience in mind.
2. It’s visually compelling.  It looks good because it makes great use of graphics.  Photographs, videos, infographics, and other images grab attention.
3. It’s authentic.  The antithesis of generic garbage that used to suffice.  Anything less than real doesn’t cut it in the online world anymore.
4. It answers the questions that people are asking.  It serves a purpose, it’s useful – a way of solving the issues that web users are seeking information about online.
5. It’s not long-winded.  No one has the time or attention span to read through a long composition.  So make it short and concise. To the point.
6. It’s actionable.  What do we mean by this? It’s practical information that people can apply in real life. It teaches a lesson without telling someone what to do.
7. It has a headline that stands out and a body of text that not only keeps the reader engaged but also makes them want to share it.

So what do people actually like reading?  What does this type of content look like?  Here are just a few examples:

1. Think Lists

Remember, people like reading something that’s to the point.  Concise. Informational. Useful. So when they see a blog post with the headline 15 Easy Ways to Lose Weight Quickly, they’re bound to be intrigued before they’ve even started reading the entire piece.

2. Visual format

People like looking at pictures.  We’re just made that way.  We’re visual creatures drawn to images.  Infographics in particular are incredibly popular.  And it’s easy to understand why.  It’s information in visual form.  And this type of content tends to do better than text-filled pieces.

3. The How-To Guide

If you can create that how-to guide that becomes the go-to resource in your particular industry or domain, you’ve got a winner right there.  People love being guided, especially when it has to do with information that they require that can be found all in one place.  A guide might be longer than an ordinary blog post but if it contains useful information and is downloadable, there’s a good chance that people looking for this type of data will snap it up.

4. Video

As much as people are compelled by images, so too are they becoming increasingly obsessed with videos.  Remember to keep them short, 2 – 3 minutes, and make sure they’re good quality with a great script.  Videos are great for SEO and also for social sharing.

There are of course a number of other ways to generate epic content! This list is most certainly not the be-all or end-all of the type of content you can create.  So play around, experiment, and see what works for your brand.  Make a plan and follow it.