Why Use a Content Framework?
Did you know that content marketing delivers three times more leads than paid search!
The only downside is that content creation doesn’t come easy. According to a past report by PathFactory, 44% of digital marketers consider content creation to be their top challenge.
The good news is that using a content framework can simplify and speed up the process of creating content while simultaneously improving the quality of each and every piece of content you put out there.
In this article, we will outline the benefits of using a content framework to guide your writing and then go over four content marketing frameworks that the most successful content marketers use.
What is a Content Framework and Why Should You Use One for Content Creation?
A content framework is a pre-defined structure designed to guide content creation. It’s like a blueprint you can follow when creating any type of content. It details what content to create and how to organize it for maximum impact on your audience.
The benefit of using a content framework is that it forces you to think about your audience and their needs and your content marketing goals on the other hand.
With all this clear in your mind, you can easily create content that wows potential customers and helps you achieve all the goals of content marketing as follows.
Create Stellar Content Fast
When using a content framework, half the work is already done. You already know what to write about and how to present it. All you have to do is fill in the gaps. No wasting time trying to decide how to approach a piece of content. This way, you can create excellent content fast no matter what you’re writing about.
Increase Click Through Rate
A framework helps you create powerful headlines that make a great first impression and pique curiosity. Whether on a search engine results page or a social media page, potential customers are enticed to click through in order to learn more.
Increase Engagement and Reduce Bounce Rate
One of the requirements when designing a content framework is to get to know your ideal audience in details. Knowing their pain points, hopes, and desires helps you produce content that connects with your target audience and keeps them scrolling.
Improve Search Engine Ranking
The kind of content you create when you follow a well-designed framework is high-quality, engaging, and shareworthy. Google and other search engines notice such outstanding content and reward it with higher ranking.
Improve Brand Perception
Maintaining brand consistency is crucial to gaining customer trust. Having an organized and agile framework you can use when crafting any type of content will help you keep your brand messaging and voice consistent. And if you’ve a team of content creators, having a clear content framework can help keep everyone on the same page.
Increase Conversions
Content marketing rakes in conversion rates six times higher than other methods. [CMI]
Last but certainly not least, having a content framework will positively impact your bottom line. It’s a results-oriented approach that integrates your own goals and those of your audience. This alignment of interests results in a win win situation for both parties.
When readers are already delighted with your content, they are much more receptive to what services or products you’ve to offer and more likely to order or sign up.
The Best Content Frameworks for Content Creation
So what’s the best content framework to use to reap all these benefits? Below are four tried and tested frameworks that successful content marketers utilize. Read all about them and pick the best one for the kind of content you’re working on.
1. AIDA Framework
Let’s start with the copywriting classic: the AIDA framework. Created by E. St. Elmo Lewis all the way back in 1898, it has stood the test of time and is one of the most popular frameworks for good reason. It’s a simple yet effective content creation framework that brings results.
The acronym stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It’s a copywriting framework designed to persuade readers to take the desired action. Here’s a brief overview of how it works:
Attention
When following the AIDA framework for content creation, the first step is to grab people’s attention with a captivating headline that entices them to click through and find out more.
Whether a reader is searching on Google or comes across your article link on social media sites, the headline is the first thing they see. They judge your article and decide on whether it’s worth clicking on and reading based on your headline.
It’s, therefore, your opportunity to make a powerful first impression. Here are some great resources on crafting powerful headlines:
Interest
Once the visitor lands on your web page or blog post, you’ve about 10 seconds to hold the attention generated by the headline and create interest to keep scrolling. This is where a compelling introduction and a body packed with value come in.
Use the introduction to give the reader a preview of what to expect and get them interested in reading more. Here are some effective ways to grab interest with a compelling introduction.
- Address the issue at hand with a problem statement or question
- Empathize with the pain points. For example, you can share how you used to struggle with the same problem before you discovered a solution
- Mention the results of a relevant statistic or study
In the body section, deliver on the promise you made in your heading and introduction by thoroughly addressing the reader’s search intent. What answers are they looking for? What do they want to achieve? Here’s how to turn the visitor from a browser to a reader:
- Address their nagging questions and issues
- Leverage the power of story telling to engage the reader
- Share stories of people who’ve done what the reader is looking to do or case studies showing the impact of your products or services.
- Include relevant statistics and studies to support your points and keep the reader’s interest alive
Proper formatting is also crucial to maintaining interest. It doesn’t matter how valuable your content is if you don’t lay it out properly. Follow these formatting guidelines to ensure your content is easy to scan and read.
- Use short paragraphs and plenty of white space
- Use subheadings and bullet points to break up the content and make it easy to consume
- Write like you’re having a conversation with a friend and use simple language
Desire
At this stage, your goal is to transform the interest into desire. The reader already likes your content but you want to get him or her to want the solution you’re offering. So how can you accomplish this?
By making the reader feel that they have found a solution and then leading them to take the desired action. You can accomplish this by:
- Highlighting the benefits of what you’re offering
- Creating a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action. For example, make use of a limited time offer
Action
The ultimate goal of creating content is to get the reader to take a specific action or actions. Having set the stage by grabbing attention, creating interest, and igniting desire for a solution, you can now go ahead and ask them to do what you wanted all along.
The best way to do this is with a call to action. It tells the reader what to do next and is a very powerful strategy for generating leads. Here are examples of call to actions you can use:
- Sign up for our course
- Order our product
- Subscribe to our service
- Join our mailing list
- Follow us on social media
- Request the visitor to share the post
2. PAS Framework
You can never go wrong by focusing on the reader’s problems. This is what makes the PAS content framework so powerful and effective.
It will help you solve the problem the reader is facing in an actionable manner. The framework was developed by Jonathan Long and the letters represent Problem, Agitation, Solution.
Problem: The first step is to identify the specific problem the reader is facing right now. What are they reading your content to solve? Doing this requires you to define your audience and understand their pain points, needs, and wants.
Agitation: The next step in the PAS framework is to get the reader to care about their problem and desire a solution. You can arouse desire for a solution by showing them what a problem-free reality would be like.
Solution: Finally, you can show the reader how you can help solve their problem. Introduce your solution in an actionable way so it’s clear what the steps they need to take to solve the problem are.
3. LIFT framework
LIFT is a great framework to use when creating educational content. Following the Listen, Inform, and Teach process is a very effective way to teach readers about something.
Listen: The key to teaching effectively is to understand the needs of your audience. You can identify what needs and pain points to address by listening to what your customers say. What do they often complain about? What are the biggest challenges they are facing right now?
Inform: Once you’ve listened and known what to address, you can then teach readers about the topic. Lets say customers complain about their jewelry tarnishing quickly. You can teach them about the causes of tarnishing and what materials are prone to tarnishing. Make use of relevant statistics, examples, and stories to keep the content engaging.
Teach: Lastly, teach the readers what they can do to solve the problems behind their complaints. If the topic is how to keep jewelry from tarnishing, you can list actionable steps they can take to keep tarnishing at bay.
4. Who We Are, What We Do, How We Do It
Finally, here’s a tried and true framework to follow when creating website content. It’s designed to answer every question visitors might have about your brand while showing them your unique selling proposition.
Who We Are: The first step is to tell readers who you are. This is your chance to introduce your brand and the team behind it. You can also share your mission statement and core values.
What We Do: Next, talk about the services or products you offer. Use easy to understand language and even add examples or use cases to communicate what you do effectively.
How We Do It: Here, you can explain what you do in more details. What is your process? What tools do you use to deliver results? What makes your strategies effective at delivering the desired results? Using case studies is an effective way to illustrate your approach and results.
In Conclusion
Content is one of the most important element of a website (if not the most important). And creating outstanding content is a surefire way to help win the digital marketing game.
Using a well-designed content framework is the best way to make the most of the power of content marketing. It can help you write stellar content fast, rank well on search engines results, and increase conversions.
The top four content frameworks successful marketers use include the AIDA, the PAS, the LIFT, and the Who We Are, What we do, How we do it frameworks.
All these frameworks can help you create great content that both visitors and search engines love. All you need to do is pick the most relevant framework for the type of content you’re creating and follow it.