"4-Steps Framework To Get Higher Engagement By Distributing Content To A Larger Audience."

You wake up in the morning, rub your eyes, and get ready to jump off the bed. Suddenly, you see Lord Jesus standing near your bed and smiling at you. He says, “I’m impressed by how you dedicatedly offer prayers to me. I’m giving you three gifts. Enjoy your life forever.”

• A Masters' degree from the University of South Florida;
• A high-paying job in Tata Consultancy Services (Number 1 Ranked Employer); and,
• An opportunity to live with your family and friends in the home town. 

Can you ask for anything more? Isn’t it a dream come true?

Our today’s guest in #LetsLiveContent series got all these three gifts. Yet, she became a queen of content and marketing. Ask her why she did engineering in the first place and all she replies, “I’m even glad I made the right choice after the wrong one.”

A Writer-turned-marketer and Recipient of "Most Influential Content Marketing Professional - Top 50, India" award by World Marketing Congress twice in a row, Esha Panda is our today’s guest. 

If you’ve made a massive career shift or are thinking of doing it, you’ll resonate with Esha’s story word-by-word (if not letter-by-letter). 

Yes I Made A Massive Career Shift - The Journey That Followed Was Least Imagined 

Here I present one of the best articles in #LetsLiveContent series, after which you’ll never fall behind other writers in finding new content ideas or editing your article until it looks sharp as a knife. 

From B.Tech to marketing, you’ve travelled two different corners of the world. How’s been the journey so far?

I wasn’t even remotely interested in engineering, science, or anything related to technology. Since my school days, I wanted to become a journalist. However, because of societal norms and peer pressure, I had to choose science stream in 11th Std. Later, I pursued bachelors in technology (b.tech), and then went to the US to do masters. 

But, even after that, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life working in the technology domain. So, I returned to India, stayed for two weeks in my hometown in Calcutta, and then shifted to Bengaluru, which is a hub of opportunities and startups.

I decided to create a magic around words and make a career into content writing. However, every recruiter was more interested in finding out the reasons behind my massive career shift instead of gauging my ability to write content. 

Finally, a startup trusted in my skill set and offered me a position of content writer. That’s how I stepped into the world of content. 

After working with them for about 8 months, I joined KnowledgeHut, where I learnt the nitty-gritty of marketing and other verticals of content, along with mentoring a team of content developers. It was a turning point in my career because I went deep into the world of digital marketing.

In my present role in [24]7.ai, I am not confined to just content anymore. I still handle a major chunk of content and make crucial decisions, but my responsibilities also include employer branding. I manage branding activities related to internal communications and all social media platforms. 

My career journey so far comprises some sharp turns and steep slopes. Overall, it has been adventurous. I believe it’s the beauty of being into the content field. If you’re a content writer, you’re relevant everywhere. 

Content was always there, but its prominence is growing day by day. It is at the core of any marketing strategy because of which the importance of content and writers has increased multifold now. I’m thoroughly enjoying this phase and keeping my fingers crossed to see what’s next in the store for me. 

Is Artificial Intelligence going to be a friend or enemy to content writers?

More of an assistant, less of a friend. And let’s not even discuss if AI can ever compete or beat the ‘human’ writers. AI and bots are as good as the data you feed them. They depend on us, not the other way around.

Humans can only infuse emotions, not bots.

Look at Grammarly, probably the most advanced AI-powered tool at present for checking grammar accuracy and other key aspects. It suggests grammatical errors which have become obsolete/irrelevant in the modern world. Even the Grammarly’s tone detector can never predict the tone of an article as accurately as humans. If the best-in-the-class tool is not up to the mark, how can other AI products compete with the writers?

Writers are in a safe zone and space, and will always be.

Should writers go for specialisation into a niche or have a diversified skill set to write on multiple topics?

Specialisation in a niche helps a writer bring experience and core domain knowledge to the table. However, in a fast-changing environment, you can’t restrict yourself to one niche. I would always suggest that the writers come out of their comfort zone and explore new domains and avenues. Write on new topics, try to create content in a format you’ve never done before. 

Companies and clients are always on a hunt for those who are jacks of multiple trades - social media marketing, graphic designing, copywriting, email marketing, etc. Hence, keep trying new things and learning from wherever you can.

I started with writing articles and website copies. Today, I do script writing. Also, I shoot videos for myself and my company, and contribute to the visual designs for our Instagram page. 

You post content on various platforms in multiple formats. How does it help in developing your personal brand?

It helps a lot. I have never hesitated in experimenting with formats or platforms to see what is working, what isn’t. Experimenting helps you focus on the process, not the results. 

In my initial days, I was a regular contributor at Youth Ki Awaaz. Today, when I re-read those articles, I can measure the improvement in my writing. When I started, I thought it’s necessary to include complex words and jargons in your writing for it to become captivating.

However, soon, I figured out that simple words and easy-to-read sentences enrich your writing because the reader can easily understand the underlying message. When you keep writing and experimenting, you grow alongside your career. 

How to make sure that your content stands out from the competition?

When you genuinely add value instead of just spinning off the existing information, your content can out-beat the competition. Exhaustive research makes sure you’re not restricting yourself to the first five Google search results. 

If you don’t have prior experience of writing on a particular topic, you shouldn’t feel shy of going in depth and reading extensively. Go through various articles and research papers, collect facts and figures from available resources, and talk to industry experts. Watch out for what your competitors are creating to ensure you’re on the top of the current trends in your industry. 

Reading to writing is like oxygen to a human life - indispensable for existence.

You should have a never ending hunger towards reading to become a polished writer. I read at least 5-10 articles in a day, even those which are not necessarily related to the topics I am working on. While scrolling through the LinkedIn feed, if an article captivates my attention, I read it. I intentionally read writings of relatively new and inexperienced writers because they inculcate fresh voice, raw perspectives, and out-of-the-box thinking into their articles and posts.

The Guardian, Huffington Post, Forbes, Entrepreneur etc. are my favourite destinations to visit and read industry news. Besides consuming the information, I look at the writing style, sentence formation and usage of vocabulary. A writer should be as watchful as a hawk.

While researching for a topic, be well-aware of the reputed bodies and credible sources related to that field because they provide the most authentic information. You can pull reports, statistics, and industry trends from the online journals like Huffington Post, Forbes, Entrepreneur, etc. Besides, Google News is an effective source to find the most recent news and current trends going on in a particular industry. 

Researching might look like a challenging task, but once you get well-acquainted with the resources, it becomes easy as a pie. 

What goes into editing an article or a piece of content?

Editing and proofreading are different, although used interchangeably. While proofreading revolves around checking grammatical errors, syntax and typos, editing involves making your content relevant, crisp and presentable. 

“Write Drunk. Edit Sober” - as the wise ones say!

While writing, pour your heart out. Even if you’ve unstructured thoughts, put them in the document freely.

Once you’ve finished writing, keep the document aside for a few hours, or if you’ve enough time, for even a day or two. As humans, we always feel accomplished about ticking off a task in our to-do list. We can’t instantly find errors in our writing because we’re attached to it emotionally. 

Take a break, grab a coffee and shift your focus. Then come back with a fresh mindset and reader’s eyes. Read the entire piece and find out the loose ends and missing flows. 

Imagine, you’re scratching your head around a never-ending to-do list in the middle of the day. If you come across this kind of article, will you keep everything aside and read the article till the last word? If yes, you’ve done a superb job. If not, edit mercilessly until your answer becomes a ‘yes’.

Along with making content crisp and relatable, editing also includes the presentation part. Insert relevant gifs, stock images and photos, especially if you’re writing for the millennials and Gen-Z. 

Here is Esha’s article on what mindful editing could do to your content -

Inside The Mind Of A Viral Content Creator - The Best-kept Secrets In Less Than 7 Minutes

How do you promote your content?

I adopt a 4-step framework to promote my content and captivate the attention of a larger audience - 

1. Cross-platform promotion - When I publish on Medium, I link it back to one of my articles on LinkedIn. Similarly, when I write a post on LinkedIn, I drive traffic to one of my articles on a blog or a publication. 
2. Clear and direct Call-to-action - After reading your post or article, the reader shouldn’t feel confused about what to do next. I insert direct and transitional CTAs at relevant places to tell the readers what I want them to do next. 
3. Engagement from the key influencers - When the key influencers comment on my posts and I reply to their comments, it forms a conversation thread which gives a tremendous boost and credibility to my name. But before inviting them on my posts, I engage with them on their posts too and build a personal relationship.
4. Engagement with everyone who comments - People often publish and forget to check the comments or reply to them. It’s wrong. If people are giving you their valuable time, you need to reciprocate. I engage with everyone who comments on my post, thanking them for spending a few minutes to read and share their thoughts. Even when someone criticises or puts a negative feedback, I reply in an affirmative tone. You need to acknowledge your audience and their efforts. 

What are the relevant KPIs for you to measure the success of your content?

I don’t focus on likes or vanity metrics. Success of content can’t be measured in terms of numbers only. It’s more about the value you are creating and lives you’re impacting. For me, the number of conversations matters more than the number of likes or comments. 

However, from an organisational point of view, you need to monitor the vanity metrics as well. For every social media platform, we focus on a relevant engagement score. You can’t compare the engagement score of Twitter with that of Instagram or LinkedIn. 

You can’t achieve success overnight whether you’re expecting likes or comments on your social media posts or traffic on your website or blog. Give time to the content to perform and yield desired results. 

How does content creation and distribution strategy look like at [24]7.ai?

We focus heavily on creating people-centric posts. Everyone loves seeing the photos where the employees are smiling, having fun, involved in various activities and enjoying their time while working in the office. For us, this kind of content performs really well to drive engagement and ignite conversations. 

Besides posting content which shows up in the feed, we keep our audience engaged through stories, polls, quizzes, etc.

We do a lot of topical marketing, relevant to a particular trend, issue or festival. Our post on International Women’s Day went viral and garnered huge traction. Right now, we’re creating and posting content on COVID-19, which is also very well received. Watching the trends closely and creating topical content around it can do wonders as people are always looking to get more information and updates on a particular issue or trend. 

Here’s a post from Esha on how brands are rewriting the story of coronavirus.

Hashtags play an important role here because when you capitalise upon a trending hashtag, it helps you broaden your reach and enhance visibility. 

Receiving the “Most Influential Content Marketing Professional” award from CMO Asia, twice in a row, is a monumental accomplishment. How was the feeling?

I really feel honoured to receive this award back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. I was recognised alongside the stalwarts who’ve served the content marketing industry for over a decade or even more. Second time, it was even more special since I was also a moderator for a panel discussion on Content Marketing strategies. Overall, I feel overwhelmed with what I’ve achieved so far. 

To anyone who’s targeting this award or any other recognition, I’ll suggest that just keep writing. People are watching your work secretly without letting you know. 

Be versatile with your content, write on industry trends, and add value to people’s lives. Everyone might not engage with your posts, but they’re definitely reading, consuming, and keeping a note of your posts and articles. 

What are your top go-to resources for finding fresh content ideas?

I religiously follow Brian Dean’s articles on Backlinko. I also read a lot of Medium articles because they’re written in a unique format. Besides, I’m an avid reader of Copyblogger articles. 

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Connect with Esha on LinkedIn. She is super active and responsive to the messages. Tell us in the comment section your favourite key takeaway from this article. Also, don’t forget to share this article with 2 of your friends who might get benefitted from it. 

Here are a few more articles by Esha for you to binge on -

Hitting the “sweet spot”: Relooking the tenets of Leadership

Dear Corporates: The “Underperformers” May Actually Be Your Potential Assets And Here’s Why You Fail To See That

For more such amazing interviews, follow #LetLiveContent.