We live in a world jammed with content! If you’re wondering what content creation is, the answer promotes itself in your everyday life. You read a descriptive post, you’re reading content. You see a video, you’re watching content. You pass by a banner; your eyes have just fallen on content. You even watch an Instagram story, you just had an encounter with content. Whether it’s brand or user-generated content, it’s all for your best interest.
Content creation relies on a process that starts with knowing your target audience, then generating a relevant idea. One that will be translated into written or visual content carrying your information and message.
To stabilize and reinforce its position, any striving company should be part of the content world. Digital content marketing helps inform the audience and give them all the needed answers. It keeps you engaged and even offer entertainment, giving you the chance to establish an ongoing connection with your customers. Let’s dive into the process and its tactics to help set up a powerful company!
Content Planning and Strategy
You can’t sail without a map and a compass to guide you in your journey! The same goes with content, without a plan and a well-established strategy, all your effort goes in vain. A content strategy is how you’ll promote your ideas, what tone you’ll use, and which mode will you choose. Let’s understand the process step-by-step!
What are your goals?
That’s the first question you need to ask yourself. For any strategy, there should be a set of goals to be followed. Whatever they are, they’ll be efficient, considering they’re SMART goals.
- Specific: Avoid broadening your goals, set clear and specific numbers for everything you wish to achieve.
- Measurable: You’ll always need to measure how far you’ve gone and progressed. Make sure to track the outcome of your goals and make any needed changes.
- Attainable: Keep in mind the position of your company in the market so you can attain the profit of your goals.
- Realistic: Aim high but with a limit of what you can actually achieve. Be realistic with your goals and align them with what you have and can work on.
- Time-bound: Deadlines are set for a reason! They drive you forward and give you a sense of responsibility. So, make sure to set deadlines for yourself.
Create a Persona
Whether you’re selling a service or a product, who are you selling it to? That’s your buyer’s persona. Your persona stems from a real-life audience but with some additions.
With your creative touch, you’ve to know more about their industry, interests, frustrations, even their favorite brands. Their most-used platform, should you be posting more on Facebook or Instagram? Should it be morning, evening, or night? Keep asking yourself and find answers. Act as a stalker! That will help you produce content that addresses your audience probably and interests them.
Be in your Customer’s Head!
You want to make sure that none of your audience faces the problem of being left out in your content. A new client is still in the awareness phase of your product or service. While a client who has known you for a while falls into the consideration process of acquiring your service. In their last phase, someone who has done their research will decide to purchase.
As a digital content marketer, you need to consider the client in all those phases and give them all the relevant information. Put yourself in your client’s shoes and consider what they would be asking about. Give answers and solutions to any problems they might be facing. Stand one step ahead of them with your content!
Choose your Format
Now you’ve done all the research, let’s translate it into content! What type of content it is? Is it visual or written? Is it blogs or captions? Will it be a series or a single post? That’s all you need to decide and you’re set to go. You have your persona, goals, and everything else to help you in that phase. Of course, content is flexible. You can write in a certain format and then change after a while, according to your new goals. Still, be consistent if you decide on a certain series of content. If you can’t stick to them, then opt for what you can offer from the beginning.
Content Promotion
What a waste of resources and effort if you do all of the above without promoting your content! You need to harness the audience’s attention to your content. Choose the platforms you’ll market your content at. Are you willing to have some paid ads to back you up a bit? You can target specific audiences according to your persona with paid advertising on social media. It will introduce your brand to new potential clients and widen your base.
Once you determine that all your content overflows from these goals, you’ll be able to reach your target efficiently.
In the digital marketing content creation world, the processes may seem dizzying. But, think of it! All the online platforms are filled with content and you need to stand out among them. So, procedures are your savior, they facilitate your way to a remarkable outcome. Now that you’ve decided on everything related to the content, all you need is to conduct them. Right?
How to Produce Content?
Another process is coming your way! A set of guiding rules will help you produce the outstanding content you need. Grab your persona along and let’s start the process!
SEO Research
With your persona, now, you know your target audience. It’s time to create quality content that will interest them. The question is, are the keywords you’ll be using searched on and known enough? That’s the role of SEO research. You look up the keywords relevant to your industry and used by prospects on search engines. After finding words of high inquiry, you’re ready to continue the process.
Idea Generation
Now that you’ve all your tools and equipment, you need to brainstorm. Search for the idea upon which you’ll write your content. Read extensively on what you’re writing about as that will help you generate ideas. Came up with an idea?
Writing
Finally, we’re writing! After all the processes and the research, you’ve made it to this point. Now you can ink down your content! Try to be clear when writing though. Produce titles and meta titles if needed to organize your content. Be unique and create a different piece to attract attention.
Editing
When it comes to editing there’re no specific rules to follow. You either ask for other’s help for fresh eyes or leave your content to ripe and get back to it! Either way, all you need is clear, simple content. With the right paragraphing and spacing, make your content appealing to the eye and easy to read.
Publishing
Now, you’re a click-of-a-button away from setting your content free! Publishing your content with a certain timetable will boost engagement with your audience. If it’s a series of posts, they will be waiting for you ahead of time, which is perfect for your promotion. Also, remember to follow the trends and engage your audience during holidays.
Why is Content Marketing Important?
When it comes to content creation, we’re speaking of a constant inbound marketing strategy. You’re giving your audience unlimited access to information regarding your brand or service. Content creation is a connection between your brand and the audience. A chance for you to stand on common ground with them and imprint your brand in their mind!
Your content will help you with:
Leaving an Impression
By creating creative content, you draw your audience’s attention and desire to purchase.
Social Media Traction
Digital marketing content creation is your ticket to increase your views and engagement on your social media platforms.
Selling Better
Customers are more likely to purchase items after reading a post, a blog, or watching an entertaining video. Your call to action also plays a great role in attracting your clients, increasing your leads.
Some of the researches done on content creation marketing has proved that:
- Content marketing is 3X effective than traditional marketing, with less cost.
- About 60% of online purchases come from reading a blog or a piece of content promoting your brand.
- A regular posting process of blogs raises your brand’s reach by 3X more than the usual.
Content walks hand-in-hand with your company’s growth. So, pay much attention to it and strengthen your public base.
What is User Generated Content?
For more credibility, the user-generated content will help uphold your position and firm your ground. It’s the type of content that is not created by the brand itself, but by those who have tried the service. A review, an easier known word for it, the audience’s reflection on your service!
So why gain interest in that type of content?
Building Credibility and Trust
People trust tangible experiences! Having your service evaluated by users will give others reason to experience it themselves. The more you care about establishing that trust, the more customers you’ll gain.
Purchasing with No Hesitation
Your user-generated content will give definite answers to your clients’ “what ifs?” There will be no place for hesitation and fear of being offered a bad service as you’ve already promoted your authenticity.
Desiring your Brand!
A customer with a good review, a beautiful photo, and a flattering caption will drive others to try too. A network of people wishing to experience your service can be built through others. That’s how important user-generated content is!
Creating more Content
User-generated content can help you sit back and do all the hard work for you! When people speak out about your brand, in return, you’ll have an ongoing source of successful content.
Inbound Marketing Vs Content Marketing
It’s all marketing so what’s the difference?! Content marketing has been demonstrating a great value in the market in the latest years. To such extent that the term content marketing has been mistaken with inbound marketing which is a broader term.
Inbound marketing is a set of strategies that help a company establish solid ground in the digital world. So, inbound is the umbrella term under which content marketing falls and is considered one of those strategies. Though content marketing is a fundamental piece of that umbrella, it shouldn’t be mistakenly interchanged with it.
Want to set off with your Content Marketing?
Join Digital Experts for a well-planned and strategized content marketing campaign. Here, we have a team that will help you earn your place and emerge as a powerful company in the market. By translating your mission and objective into appealing words, you’ll gain a wide base of audience. Contact us now and get ready to reach the top!