Content creation is the process of coming up with ideas or topics that resonates with your audience, the content could either be written, visual or audio with a medium of accessibility which could be a blog, a website or a streaming platform.
Why create content.
You can’t talk marketing and not make reference to content as it is the new oil in marketing when you create content you are providing free (in some cases) and useful information to your audience, thereby attracting potential customers to your website and retaining the existing ones.
The following stats elaborates more on this
- Content marketing brings in 3X as many leads as traditional marketing and costs 62% less.
- SMBs that use content marketing get 126% more leads than those that don’t.
- 61% of online purchases are the direct result of a customer reading a blog.
- Companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month get 3.5X more traffic than those that post four or fewer posts per month.
Credit: Hubspot
Steps to content creation.
Research and Keywords.
Creating a template describing the attributes of your audience and their possible questions goes a long way in determining the steps to take and even your research efforts.
Coming to keywords use of tools like Google keyword planner, Ubersuggest, Ahrefs and so on shows you the search metrics of a keyword and also other keyword ideas this will help you determine if a keyword is worth creating content on.
Ideas.
Now that you’ve determined which keywords to target, it’s time to brainstorm some content ideas. The use of topic clusters, meaning you create a long-form, comprehensive pillar page based on a keyword that then links to content you’ve created on related subtopics.
Writing.
This can come in various forms it could be through video, audio or even graphics but in whatever form it comes have it in mind that the voice of your audience should be used, their persona, also the uniqueness of your content goes a long way as the use of meta titles, descriptions and other form of teasers will help increase the relevance of your content.
Editing.
there are a few things that should definitely look out for as you refine your content, like active voice, clear language, short sentences, grammatical errors (Grammarly is a very good tool to consider for this )and plenty of white-space. Consider having a colleague or manager review your work, too if possible.
Publishing.
Publishing content is as simple as clicking a button, it’s also not always that simple as it’s always better to maximize the effect of your content by publishing during time sensitive events or committing to a publishing schedule like publishing content on specific days of the week.
Content creation tools.
While Content management systems will help you manage your content, it won’t help you create it. That’s where content creation tools come in handy. These are especially useful if you’re artistically impaired, like me, or if you don’t have the capacity to hire help. From GIFs to infographics, these content creation tools will help you look like a professional, regardless of what kind of content you’re making.
Canva will help you create beautiful designs for any platform, from social ads to Facebook cover photos to infographics. The software features aesthetically pleasing templates that you can customize with colors, images, and text … for free.
Giphy The GIF has replaced emojis as a completely normal form of communication, and, therefore, an acceptable way to present content. Giphy allows you to search millions of pre-created GIFs in their database or even create your own.
Vidyard is a video hosting platform that was made for marketers. The software allows you to customize your video by adding overlays, text, or CTA buttons, split test, transcribe, and has SEO features.
SurveyMonkey is a leading survey creation platform. Why might you need such a thing? Because a good marketer knows that customer feedback is critical to an effective marketing campaign.
MakeMyPersona is HubSpot’s own nifty tool that will walk you through the process of creating your buyer persona. You can generate a document to reference throughout your content creation process.
Anchor is the podcasting tool for beginners. It’s free, allows you to record and store unlimited episodes, and you can easily upload to any third-party platform.
Content platforms.
Content is everywhere, but its success relies on your ability to adapt it to the medium on which it lives.
Social Media.
There is an art to creating content for social media. But it’s well worth your time since there are 2.6 billion users across social media platforms worldwide. Plus, someone who follows you on social media is like a warm lead — they already like you and are interested in what you have to say. So, you have an eager audience that’s ready to engage with your content.
Blogs.
The purpose of blog content is to support your business by attracting strangers and bringing in qualified leads. Blog content is a free resource that’s not often directly tied to sales, but don’t underestimate the power of a well-crafted blog to ultimately generate revenue for your business. Research shows that companies that blog more get more traffic and more leads than those that don’t.
Websites.
Website content should focus on three things: your persona, your target keywords, and your solution. Not unlike your blog content, the copy on your website needs to guide visitors to your solution in a cohesive and natural way. Think of web content like a map to your product.
Be careful not to turn visitors away through social media feeds and other distracting elements. Once you you’ve attracted a potential customer, you must do everything you can to keep them there, and that’s the key function of your website content.