Mastering Content Creation

Content is critical to the success of any business that has an online presence.

But what really is content and why is it important? How can you get to master content creation for the best results?

What is content?

At its most basic, content can simply be defined as information. In this case, it is information that one produces and disseminates to an (online) audience.

Content comes in a variety of forms including:

  • Blog posts
  • Videos & Audio files
  • Infographics
  • E-books
  • Emails
  • Reports
  • Images etc

How can you improve at creating content?

You may be surprised to learn that according to MarketingProfs.com

2 million blog posts are published everyday!

This means that the competition to get eyeballs on your content is very fierce. The fact that social media and entertainment websites are also vying for the attention of internet users does not make it any easier.

It’s not all doom and gloom though because according to Content Plus,  70% of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads. This means that people will read blogs when they are relevant and engaging.

Creating content takes time and it would be a major waste of that time if no one reads your content. To produce content that actually gets seen you need a deliberately organised content creation formula.

Follow these steps and you will be on you to mastering content creation.

 

  • Understand your audience

 

The first step is to begin by understanding your audience so that you can create content that resonates with them. If you create content that does not connect with them then they will not read it i.e they will deem it irrelevant.

 

This means that you need to carry out some form of research. You can do this through surveys, social polls or even questionnaires. If you have a website you can check your analytics to know the type of content your users spend more time on and the search terms they use to find your website.

 

You can also use Facebook insights to learn more about your audience eg their ages and their interests.

 

You can then use your findings to create ‘buyer personas’ which are representations of your customers. You should then be able to know your audience’s interests, aspirations, needs, values and questions.

 

These are also called pain points.

 

If you do this step right then you will be half done.

 

 

  • Write down the objectives of your content

 

After understanding your audience you then want to clearly state the objectives of each piece of content.

 

You should have different types of content for different goals. You should not be ‘selling’ with every piece of content that you produce. That is a sure way to lose the interest of your audience.

 

Some pieces of content like motivational posts, for example, may have the goal of connecting with your customers on an emotional level by appealing to their aspirations and values.

 

Other posts may be purely for information purposes with the greater objective of establishing yourself as an expert in your field. When your customers see you as an expert they will be more likely to do business with you.

  • Create the best, more detailed content that answers your audience’s questions

 

You will not be the only one who will be creating content to attract the attention of your readers. Your competitors are likely to be doing the same.

To be a cut above the rest you have to create the ‘best’ answers to your audience’s questions. Make sure your content is well-researched, simple, straightforward and in-depth. Always strive to do more than what your competitors are doing. That way you will establish yourself as the go-to person in your industry.

You will need to look at your competitors content and see which formats are getting more engagements. You should then produce similar, but better content.

If you just create shallow content then you will turn potential readers away. Remember its quality over quantity. Do not just aim to churn out plenty of content. Go for quality.

  • Experiment with different types of content

People like to consume content in different formats. For example, some prefer videos, other prefer blog posts.

Monitor the engagement levels of these different formats. Create more of the content format that your audience prefers. You can measure the engagement through shares or comments etc.

  1. Create content that is evergreen

Creating high-quality content is time-consuming and ideally, you want to create content that has a long shelf life. Such content will keep giving your traffic long after you publish it.

You will also be able to continually share this content so that you can reach more people.

  1. Share your content on the platforms where your audience is likely to be found

Sharing your content online is a great way to get it seen. Know where your readers hang out and share it there so that they can see it. Depending on your objectives, you can even promote the content through ads so that you reach more people.

You can also post on forums that are in your space so that you can get new followers there as well.

  1. Engage with consumers of your content

A great way to create warm relationships with your readers is to respond to their comments on your content. If they have questions answer them. Making sure you respond to all comments will keep these readers coming back to read more.

A connection will develop and they may begin to trust you and ultimately buy from you.

 

A special tip: make sure you put in a call to action of some sort at the end of each piece of content. You must tell your

Reader what to do e.g comment or share. This will increase the responses you get

  1. Produce content regularly

If you are not consistent people will tend to forget you. You need to create a schedule that you stick to. This will ensure that your brand is always in your customer’s minds.

Ready to be a content creation master?

Wealthy Affiliate is the perfect learning space for all internet marketers. They walk you through the process of creating your own website. Check the video above

It’s now time to put these tips into action. Start working on them now because like a lot of things in life, you will get better at creating content through practice.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this post. Did I leave anything that can help you in becoming a content creation master? Are you already creating content? If so what tips are you currently using?

Are you planning to start creating content from this point onward?

Please share your comments below. Do not forget to share with your friends if you found this post useful.

 

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