Applaud's Knowledge Management includes a scorecard feature that evaluates your articles across four key areas: Readability, Accessibility, Engagement, and Relevance. It's designed to help you create content that's clear, useful, and easy for employees to understand.
The scorecard acts like a content assistant, checking your article and giving suggestions to improve its clarity and impact before publishing.
Readability
Readability is essential because it helps employees understand information quickly and clearly, reducing confusion and increasing engagement. When your content is easy to read, users can grasp key points without effort, which saves time and improves the overall experience.
To improve readability:
- Use short, simple sentences
- Avoid jargon or overly complex wording
- Structure content logically with clear headings and bullet points
The goal is to make each article engaging and easy to understand, without losing significant meaning or detail.
Accessibility
Accessibility ensures your content is easy to follow for everyone, regardless of reading ability, background, or situation. It's not just about formatting; it's about ensuring your message reaches as many people as possible.
To improve accessibility:
- You should organize your text logically, beginning with the most essential information.
- Use short, direct sentences.
- Avoid long or complex structures that may confuse the reader.
- Choose familiar words and a tone that's clear and inclusive.
You aim to ensure the content is technically correct, understandable, and approachable for a broad audience.
Engagement
Engaging content captures attention and keeps readers focused while delivering your message. To make your article more engaging:
-
Structure it well
Use a compelling headline, followed by clear headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Break up long sections to make scanning easier. -
Use active techniques
Include real examples, brief stories, or relatable scenarios to bring your content to life. Ask questions or include calls to action to prompt interaction. Use visuals, for example, infographics or diagrams, to support complex ideas. -
Make it informative
Focus on what matters to the reader. Highlight the benefit of each section, showing how the content helps them do something, understand something, or solve a problem.
Relevance
Relevant content resonates with your audience; it speaks to their role, context, or need. Relevance builds trust and makes the information more memorable.
To improve relevance:
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Know your audience
Tailor your examples, tone, and level of detail to the reader's role or level of experience. -
Provide value
Ensure your content offers clear benefits, answers fundamental questions, or solves problems. -
Connect to their experience
Readers are more likely to absorb and remember familiar or applicable information. Use inclusive language and avoid generic or disconnected examples. -
Build credibility
When your content is relevant, clear, and practical, readers will trust what you've written and return to your knowledge base again.
Originality
Original content helps your articles stand out and feel fresh, even when the topic is familiar. It shows creativity, effort, and thoughtfulness, which can make the information more memorable and more likely to be shared.
To improve originality:
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Present a new angle
Explain common topics that reflect your experience, insight, or company-specific approach. This helps your content feel distinctive, even if the subject isn't. -
Avoid copy-paste content
If you're adapting existing policies or documents, rewrite them to suit the tone and purpose of your knowledge base. Keep language clear, friendly, and task-focused. -
Use your voice
Personalise your writing with a confident, clear tone. Draw on real scenarios or questions you've encountered to give the content more depth. -
Encourage sharing and learning
Original content often sparks curiosity. When it's well written and insightful, readers are likelier to engage with it, act on it, or share it with others.