As promised, I’m continuing my discussion of relevant content and what it means. Just for fun, I’m taking a cue from one of my favorite shows, Alton Brown’s Good Eats, and from my all-time favorite episode, “Casserole Over.” For the uninitiated, that means I’ll be launching into the third person. Here’s to fun reading; but, more importantly, here’s to better understanding.

While looking to see what others had to say on the topic of relevant content, the writer had the pleasure of finding web content strategist Kristina Halvorson of BrainTraffic.com. Kristina perfectly summed up the writer’s thoughts on what makes content relevant when she said: “Web content must work for me.”

That’s why the writer spends what some might call an inordinate amount of time talking to clients and others about who their audience is. The writer believes that finding out and knowing exactly who the “me” is for that company, brand or entrepreneur is, indeed, mission critical. How, she wonders, can web content work for “me” if you don’t know who “me” is?
 
Since one of the best parts of the writer’s job is asking other people questions and listening intently to their answers, the writer invariably asks the question, “Who is your audience?” and sits back and waits patiently for the answer.

The writer notices that often she is taken on a very circuitous path toward, well, a “non-answer.” Other times, she’s regaled with demographic and psychographic profiles, such as “married couples ages 25-45 who stand on one foot every other Wednesday.” But perhaps the all-time, most-frequently given answer is this: “Everyone.”

Egad.

Everyone?

Everyone, believes the writer, cannot and must not be your target audience. The writer urges everyone (pun intended) to remember that relevant is relative; meaning that what’s relevant to you may not be relevant to the next person. The writer insists that defining and understanding audience must come first and foremost.

So for the sake of today, the writer would like to move on from the discussion of audience and begin her look at what makes content relevant. Relevant content, the writer says, is content that is of value.

To be relevant and, therefore, valuable, the writer believes content must be:
 
Accessible – The writer says content has to be found to be useful. Optimizing for search, yes, she says, but also using it logically on the site itself. Her advice? Think judicious use of links, adding related content and unburying important information (like those guilty parties who, for example, hide their phone number or mailing address).

Timely – The writer thinks relevant content, like cake, is delectable; but can otherwise get stale if left untouched for long periods of time. The writer would like to gently remind the reader that the very definition of relevant content is that it pertain to a person or persons in a particular state. If such state changes, so, too, should the content. (In other words, keep up with trends, changes in behavior, buying habits, priorities, etc. People change. So should content.)

Useable – The writer subscribes to the belief that people go online to complete a task, whether that task is to find information, make a purchase, play, interact with others, or the like. Content, she says, should help guide and support them in the completion of their task.

Engaging – The writer espouses that relevant content must be interesting, fun and/or compelling to read. And, in her own circuitous fashion, she points back to the need to know the target audience to accomplish this.

Alas, the writer believes enough has been said for today. And so she is off to continue her quest to define relevant content until all in the land know and believe its objective and importance, as well as how to get it. She shall return soon with more ideas.

Possibly related posts

• Big copy challenges we don’t talk enough about (0)
• Where’s the information? (Web content mistakes and how to avoid them.) (0)
• The Search for Relevant Content – Part 4 (0)