There is no way to deny how important e-learning has been in the last few years -especially during 2024-.
This way of learning allows millions of us to access a numerous amount of information that can help us improve our skills, increase our knowledge and basically seek self-improvement from almost anywhere around the world -as long as you count with internet connection of course-.
Moreover, as more and more people are growing fond of E-learnig, E-learning Companies keep looking for ways to create engaging content with the intention of driving more attention towards technical topics.
But sometimes technical content can be a little overwhelming for those who don’t know much about these topics.
In this sense, tutorials, walk-throughs, and other types of technical content can be too hard to understand at first. This is why it is so important for E-learning Companies to adapt their content to make it more understandable and approachable for a wider audience.
The Importance of Making Technical Content More Appealing
We all know how important content is for any business.
Moreover, when you are creating content that involves coding, programming, or other technical topics things can get challenging. Which is why structure and styling it’s so important.
In this way, the information has to look as appealing as possible if you want to engage the reader.
Moreover, you have to make things dynamic and compelling in order to immerse the readers into an exciting read.
With that being said, it is easy to admit that nowadays that’s not an easy task at all, mainly because our attention span is very short.
Actually, in the spring of 2015, Microsoft Canada published a report named “Attention Spans.” This report included a quote from Satya Nadella that stated “attention is the new currency”.
And that is completely true. Attention drives awareness, interest, and sales (a.k.a. the ultimate marketing goal).
But what’s the deal with attention? Is it really so difficult to obtain?
Well, about this Nicholas Carr states that technology is changing the way that we read.
He highlights the fact that we are losing the habit of “deep reading,” in which a reader is absorbed and immersed in a text, taking it in at their own pace, and without distractions.
When you’re in “deep read mode” your attention is centered on whatever you are reading, hearing or seeing -a paradise for marketers, for sure-.
In this way, as we are now living in a world full of ads – I mean, come on, we see ads everywhere; even while trying to listen to our favorite playlists- It gets more and more difficult to stay away from constant distractions.
Even if it’s not an ad, it can be a notification. And, at the end of the day, you can’t find yourself reading as you used to.
In short, we get unnacoustumed to deep reading.
So, we could say that nowadays where technology is significantly changing our reading habits, by reducing our attention span; it is more difficult to get and retain a reader’s attention.
However, there are many ways to make content more interesting and appealing. And that’s what we are here for!
How E-learning Companies Make Technical Content More Appealing?
Making appealing content is what E-learning Companies -and basically every single company out there- are trying to do lately on their sites, blogs, or newsletters.
What’s interesting about this is how we have seen content evolve throughout the years.
Nowadays, everyone is competing for attention and recognition. In order to succeed, you have to rely on better strategies.
Some E-learning Companies are implementing measures oriented to deliver the information more dynamically.
In this sense, we’ve spoken to Brandon Ahmad, an expert from the IT industry who’s been in the EdTech industry -a form of E-learning- for years, and asked him for some tips.
1. Writing Style: Keeping things casual
There is nothing better than reading casual enriched content that actually delivers some relevant information. Reading an informative, conversational-style article is always refreshing.
You can learn something relevant while feeling like you are having a conversation. This helps to deliver the information in a more “understandable” format that will keep the reader engaged.
One of the things Brandon Ahmad implements in his Instructor Brandon blog is a very casual writing style.
There is something special about reading articles like that. It makes you feel like you are having a conversation with a friend, a human-like interaction far from robot-like paragraphs that scare people away.
That is the first piece of advice on making technical content more appealing.
Moving on, we have visuals!
2. Visuals: Infographics are your best friend
Text by itself can be very informative, that’s for sure. But sometimes, you need to spice things a little bit.
And, this is where infographics enter the conversation. Any sort of graphic element that you can add to your content will make a huge difference.
In this way, images are a powerful communication resource you can use to make your content more interesting to follow. You can use them to illustrate a concept or explain a process in a visual form that will drive more attention to the covered topic.
Some people are extremely visual and learn better by picturing information. So, with this methodology, companies are able to make sure their information is delivered efficiently. Hence, they can make more engaging content.
In short, infographics are a great way to break the monotony of pure text in order to make things more appealing.
For example, Instructor Brandon’s technical blogs are normally structured with two infographics.
These infographics explain a process or a concept of the main topic. This way, they are able to deliver the information not only through the text of the article but also through the infographic.
Now, let’s move forward.
3. Video explanations
Videos are a great resource to explain technical content, especially tutorials.
Including videos in your content will drive more attention and engagement from your readers.
In fact, According to a Hubspot study, 83% of consumers consider sharing video content with their friends if it is of their interest.
This is one of the reasons why implementing this type of content in websites is recommended to increase engagement and drive attention towards products.
Publishers agree that adding video to text articles can drive engagement and the amount of time spent on a website. In this way, the video content must be relevant.
A great way to mix your text with video content is by pairing how-to articles with tutorials.
Moreover, a study conducted by Wistia found out that people spend 2.6 times more time on websites with video than those without video content.
The truth is that video is more entertaining and appealing. With this in mind, some E-learning Companies out there even create fictional animated characters to be the star of their show and make things a little bit more fun to watch.
I mean, who doesn’t want to see animated characters explaining to you about Supply Chain Management in Dynamics 365, for example? In this way, Instructor Brandon uses this method to make explainer videos and include them in their articles.
Consequently, they make the content more appealing for those who are looking to learn about development or Supply Chain Management in MS Dynamics 365, for example.
In short, it is always important to mix things up a little bit to make more exciting content.
Summary: How E-learning Companies make technical content more appealing? These are the things E-learning Companies do to make their technical content more appealing: ● Writing style: keep things casual. ● Include images and infographics to illustrate the content ● Add videos to the content. |
Finally: How E-learning Companies Make Technical Content More Appealing?
As can be seen, there are many ways in which content can be more appealing.
More importantly, being creative and thinking out of the box helps companies engage more users in the long run. The goal is to create interesting and informative content that provides some value to the readers. In exchange, you will obtain something as valuable as their attention.
In the long run, the key is to find the balance between the quality of the content itself and the ways it is presented.
And don’t forget, despite what is commonly believed, us humans don’t have the same attention span as a goldfish.