Share article
The rules of the game have changed. It’s no longer enough to just craft compelling content anymore; you have to think about how that content is delivered. Google favours websites that offer a variety of content formats; if you aren’t engaging in video and audio, you’ll be overtaken by sites that do.
That’s where the watch, read, listen principle comes in. By giving users the chance to engage with your content in their preferred format, you open the doors to higher traffic, more interest, and — ultimately — better business. Want to know how you can action these principles? You’re in the right place.
What are ‘watch, read, listen’ principles?
Simply put, it’s about recognising that your audience is diverse, with varying preferences for how they consume information. You’ve got a webpage — but how do you get more from it? How do you make it watchable (i.e. a summary video) how do you make it listenable (i.e. a podcast) and how do you expand on the ‘read’ of it all (i.e. a branded PDF).
Each of your users will have a preference to how they want to consume your content, and catering to those preferences is key. The highest-performing sites cottoned onto this long ago, ensuring that their webpages are rich in subject matter but also routes of engagement.
That was a brief examination of the ‘how’, but here’s some ‘why’ to go with it:
1. Getting more from your content
You’ve put effort into creating striking content — why limit how people can consume it? A single piece of content, when repurposed effectively, can engage different audience segments.
2. Making your webpages more appealing to Google
Search engines favour pages that provide a richer user experience, and incorporating multiple content formats can significantly improve your rankings.
3. Making your webpages more appealing to humans
In the digital age, people have access to everything, everywhere, all at once. They’re used to being able to find content that meets their needs — the demand has changed.
So, it’s about utility, increased SERP relevance, and a more engaging experience for users that do find you. In other words, watch, read listen principles bring more people to your site — and make it more likely they’ll want to stay when they get there. The idea is sound, but how do you action it?
Watch: elevate your message with a video for users that favour visual dynamism
Video isn’t just a ‘nice-to-have’ anymore — it’s an expectation. From short summaries to in-depth explanations, video can bring your content to life and capture the attention of visual learners
- Summary video: create a short video that summarises the key takehomes from your page. Use engaging visuals, animations — and clear narration / music wouldn’t go amiss either.
Example: for a blog post about ‘How to make Google search engine results pages work harder for you’, create a video highlighting the key learnings, with accompanying visuals.
Read: supercharge your written content for maximum impact
As much as we’re banging the drum about going beyond the page, never underestimate the power of well-written content. That should be your baseline — copy that sparkles — but it also needs to be easily digestible and accessible. The written content on your page counts as ‘read’, but you can take it up a notch with infographics, interactive content such as quizzes or polls, or a fancy branded PDF.
- Branded PDF: give users the opportunity to download a PDF version of your pages content — formatted with your branding (this is key). This allows users to save the content for later, and is also a great opportunity to reinforce your brand identity.
Example: convert a blog post on the difference between Digital and Traditional PR into a beautifully designed PDF, with some additional tips and resources thrown in for good measure.
Listen: tap into the power of audio for a wider reach, and more accessible content
Audio is a fantastic way to reach users who are multitasking, visually impaired, or simply prefer to consume information through listening. Here’s how to incorporate audio into your content strategy:
- Podcast episode: expand on the topic of your page in a podcast episode. This allows you to delve deeper into the subject matter and engage your audience in a way that’s accessible to those with impairments, and more appealing to those that prefer to take their content on the go.
Example: find a really interesting topic — like the question of whether or not thought leadership content is still relevant — and turn it into a more comprehensive analysis in the form of an audio dictation or podcast episode.
An example of watch, read, listen in the wild:
Considering the enormous power of watch, read, listen principles and multi-format content in general, a surprisingly small amount of companies do it — even less do it well. This page from Ericsson is an example of how to do both of those things.
They took a compelling topic — ’The Changing Role of the Modern Marketer’ and built a responsive, value-packed webpage around it, complete with dynamic animation, engaging stat pullouts, and more. But they didn’t leave it there — they also explored the topic in a video, which they linked, a podcast, and a PDF. They watch, read, listen-ed the page with aplomb, basically.
They even compiled the three formats at the bottom of the page for easy access. If you want a real-world example of how to do this right, look no further.
In summary: the power of multi-format content is undeniable
Look, when it comes down to it, it’s all pretty intuitive: making your page richer, more engaging, results in better search performance and better user engagement. It’s not that surprising. The craft is in how you execute on that knowledge.
It’s about making written content more dynamic and interactive, turning it into a video that pops off the screen and captivates users, and reworking it into audio that meets users on their terms.
As our CEO Rich put it (in his monthly newsletter, which you absolutely should subscribe to if you want these hot ideas fresh off the presses), if you don’t build it, they won’t come.