5 Ways to Boost Your Brand with a Listicle
Listicles.
They are all the rage with the kids these days thanks to companies like Buzzfeed and HuffPost. Your Facebook newsfeed is filled with posts like “24 Twitter Jokes From This Month That Broke The 50K Retweet Barrier”,” 20 More Ways I’ve Failed at My 20s” and “Five Tools in your Swiss-Army Phone.”
You may be thinking, “I’m not really sure what a listicle is or how I should use it for my brand.” Let’s break it down into 5 steps, listicle style.
1. Choose a topic that would be a “top pick” for your readers
Listicles are articles written in the form of a list. While this type of article seems to be a new fad, these style of article dates back to newspaper articles from the 1800s! The format is really simple: find a topic that allows the writer to list steps or variations. When choosing your topic, think about what your brand deals with, what will your audience perceive and the medium you will use for publication. It is best to use listicles as blog posts, as they have lost their form in print media.
2. Write with an intent to be skimmed
Listicles were created to be a quick and interesting read for those audience members that do not enjoy reading long-form writing. Keep your steps or points short and concise.
3. Links are your best friend!
When you are writing a blog or website, you can share more information in listicle form by including embedded hyperlinks to additional information for important details. This is also useful for linking back to older articles that share a common topic or details that you have included in the article. It keeps readers on your site longer and encourages further exploration of the site.
4. Memes and videos and GIFs, oh my!
As mentioned before, most readers are only here for a short time and for a good time. Improve your reader interaction and interest in the article by including memes, videos or GIFs. In fact, sometimes GIFs can be your entire listicle—if you craft it properly.
5. This Shocking Headline Will Get Any Reader’s Attention
The final step to any listicle is to create an amazing, clickbait headline that grabs your reader’s attention. The key to your headline is telling the reader they have to read it because it relates to them. Think of it as a sales pitch from that sketchy car salesman that seems to work every time. It is enticing and seems to good to be true and often it is.
Now, it is your turn. Create your first listicle and share your success down below in the comments.