Content creation is a critical part of any successful business strategy. Creating relevant and engaging content, however, can feel overwhelming. It is also very time-consuming. Where do you start?
How to Get Into Content Creation
When you begin creating content for your website, blog, or social media platforms, there are many elements to consider. However, creating content to fill space is never a good strategy and will prove to be a waste of time and company resources. Below are some helpful strategies on how to get into content creation that will benefit your business.
Identify Your Target Audience
One of the first things you’ll need to consider is your target audience. Who are your clients or customers? Who are you writing for? With online activity increasing, consistent and quality content is king, and you want to be identified and known as the expert in your field. Identifying your target audience is one of the first steps to creating content that will connect you with your target audience.
Identify their Needs
Once you have identified your audience, start by putting yourself in their shoes. They have a need, and you have the solution, but it isn’t as easy as simply pitching your product on your website. Keep in mind that the content you write now may not produce paying customers until months or more down the road. Consider what your potential customers may be searching for online and what kind of problems they may be looking to solve.
Here are a few ways to help you identify the specific needs of your clientele:
- Perform Keyword Research. Use analytic tools to find out what your target base is searching for online.
- Ask your current clients. Customer feedback can be a valuable litmus test, and polls or small surveys can be insightful for finding out the current needs of your target audience.
- Ask your team. Your team interacts with different aspects of the business and may have a different angle to present. They can be a wealth of knowledge to help form ideas for new content.
- Check out the competition. While you do not want to copy the work of others, looking at what your competitors are doing can help identify if you’re in the right target zone.
Make Yourself the Expert
Your target audience will be overwhelmed with information, and you want to be sure you are proving that you are an expert in your field. Establishing yourself as an expert does not happen overnight; in fact, it is a long, proven process that will establish a strong foundation for your long-term marketing goals. Quality content will establish you as an expert by offering valuable information that your potential clients can use.
Be sure to cite any outside informational sources you used in your research to back up your narrative. For example, avoid links to your competitor’s websites and use quality sources, such as studies and relevant news articles.
You might wonder if giving out free advice will hurt your bottom line. The answer to that is probably not as much as you think. Giving helpful advice will help build trust for your brand. Gathering a wealth of valuable information and organizing it well on your website or blog will help with bringing your audience back to you. This pattern creates brand recognition down the road when they have a bigger problem that they may not have the ability to handle on their own. Who will they trust? They will trust the brand that has established themselves as the experts through their display of knowledge in their free content.
Write and Refine
Organize your information into an easy-to-read format. Use short paragraphs with visual breaks to keep your audience engaged. Make smart use of headings to break up the content and focus on (but do not overuse) your keywords. Be sure that keywords are used in the title, a heading, first paragraph, mentioned in the article somewhere else, and at the end.
Have someone else edit the piece and use spell check. Typos are avoidable, and with an overwhelming amount of them, you may lose credibility with your audience.
Add a relevant photo as well. You must pay for stock photos or use your own to avoid trouble with copyright infringement.
Present a Plan of Action
At the end of your article, present a plan of action for your potential customers to connect and explore your services. For example, embed a contact form or provide internal links to forms that connect your customers to you. Keep them as simple as possible to keep them engaged, and then be prepared to follow up right away before they have a chance to go somewhere else.
Keep in mind that not everyone is looking for free advice; sometimes they want more understanding about their problem, and through the information provided, they discover that it’s not something they have the time or skillset for. So they’ve pinned you as an expert through your content, and you’ve landed a customer!
Other Tips for How to Start Content Creation
Your audience is looking for answers and information; keep your content simple and easy to read by using short paragraphs, easy-to-read headings, and avoid unnecessary “fluff.”
- Make use of listicles. These articles are formatted in a list-like format that makes them easy to follow. This article can, in part, be considered a listicle.
- Repurpose content for multiple platforms. This does not mean copy-pasting content from one platform to the next; instead, you’ll need to adjust it to fit the style of the platform. For example, you would not post a lengthy blog on Instagram but perhaps provide a snippet and photograph with links in your bio to the entire blog.
- Recycle popular content by seeing which articles got the most attention in the past. Then, put a new angle and refresh it with new or updated relevant information. Use your keyword research to help you find that fresh view.
- Post frequently and regularly so your audience can know what to anticipate from you. This will also help keep your website on the radar of search engines.
Many companies just don’t have the time to create original quality content to outsource. If you outsource your content, be sure that your writer is vetted, familiar with the business, or has the skillset to do quality research on your behalf. Provide your writer with ideas you would like to see written about and share your goals for where you would like to see the business move.
Still Unsure About How to Get into Content Creation?
Running a business is time-consuming, and you may find yourself putting content creation on the backburner. But, don’t let your business fall behind in this fast and competitive market. We have many satisfied clients who have trusted us to lift the load when it comes to marketing and providing high-quality, SEO-rich content to drive their business upward.
How to Start Content Creation – The Easy Way!
Start by contacting our team at Techna Digital marketing and allow our experts to show you what we can do for your business. We offer customized marketing strategies, including content creation, to get your business where you want it to go. We would love to hear from you!