What is Content Design?
Sarah Richards from Content Design London famously states: “Content design is answering a user’s need in the best possible way for the user to consume it”.
Writing, accessibility, and user experience are the fundamental trinity of content design. Content design enables you to create content that is tailored to the demands of actual users.
The goal of content design is to generate a more organised and user-centred content creation.
The content design keeps you from scribbling words without much thought. It’s a strategy to increase content and integrate it with user demands while reducing clutter.
As a matter of fact, the content in question doesn’t have to be in the form of text. For example, a video may be the best feasible solution to cater for your consumer needs. As such, content design can help you break free from a text-centric worldview.
When designing content, ask yourself some questions. You need to think it through. The golden rule here is to ensure that your content adds value to the users.
Is this piece of content needed? What should be the subject of priority here?
Prioritising What Really Matters: Wants and Needs
Content design is essentially a process of determining what a user wants and what they need. Although they may wish to learn how to address a particular problem, they will require assistance to do so.
Next, you must also balance the demands of your business. In certain circumstances, your content should go beyond simply answering a seemingly effortless query due to the difference of the underlying need.
Another vital thing to remember is never to take things at face value; do your homework. Of course, you can also ask for help from others who know their stuff!
Here, data is your trusted friend.
Content Design Process
Content design is not complicated. Having said that, it does need you to reconsider how your work approaches.
Without further ado, let’s have a look at the process of content design!
- Research
This step is the foremost and most crucial step of the content design process. This step entails you do thorough research about the topic of your specific subject. Gain valuable insights through research and data.
Essentially, this step needs you to understand users’ minds, focusing on their wants and needs. By the end of this step, you’ll be able to understand:
- Who your target audience is
- The desires and needs of your target audience
- The language and channel they utilise
- The wants and needs of your organisation
- What and how to prioritise
- Discover user needs
To truly understand your user, you need to know how they behave as well. To put it simply, you need to get inside their minds.
You can find a more detailed explanation of the user journey here.
- Language and sentiment
Similar to SEO, language is very crucial. You need to use the right words! Failure to do so will result in a significant traffic loss or even no traffic at all if the terms used are not aligned with your target audience.
For instance, research if people search for “bubble tea” or “boba tea” to make sure you are optimising your keyword.
You can use Google Trends or sites like Ahref to do much-needed keyword research.
Additionally, you need to ensure you know everything there is to know about your subject and any related notions. Then, you’ll be able to get a complete picture of what you’re up against.
You should take significant consideration about sentiment. The fact that language fluctuates with people’s moods is something that content design informs you of. When people are upset, they employ different terms.
Check to see if your topic is being discussed in a positive or negative manner. If someone has a question regarding your product, you should address it in your content. Sentiment acts as the mould of your strategy.
- Write in plain language.
Using plain language does not equate to dumbing down your content. Instead, you’re making your content more accessible to a broader range of audiences.
Leave out the use of jargon or professional words. Avoid complex expressions and use plain language to help people understand your content. Only then will your readability increase!
To understand this process better, you can check this website.
- Ask for feedback
Criticism is always essential to improve oneself. Getting feedback, particularly in person, is a terrific way for you to grow as a content writer.
Getting criticism is a surefire way for you to gain new insights to make your content better. So, do not hesitate to ask for constructive feedback from experts! Criticism will also help to improve you in the long run.
- Continue improving
Last but surely not least, you need to keep improving. Use feedback from users to make your content more readable and enjoyable.
We hope that this article helps you to create customer-centric content. Remember, you must not only deliver content, but you must deliver the right content. When the customer is at the forefront of your content design process, you’ll be sure to see an improvement in your business.
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