You need to start creating content right now, but how, what and where should you create it to have the most desirable impact on your business?
Before you start creating content, consider what exactly you need to create and if it will appeal to your ideal customer. Let’s take a quick look and see how to decide what content you’re going to make.
What Is Content?
So what exactly is content? Everything you see in your online life is content. It really is that simple, but:
- Memes
- Videos
- blog posts like this
- Podcasts
- Tweets (for as long as Twitter lasts)
Content has three purposes. Content is material that:
- Educates
- Informs
- Entertains
An individual piece of content may serve only one of those purposes, or it may satisfy a combination of two or even all three.
In satisfying one of the content purposes,
Why Should You Create Content?
You should create content to satisfy a visitors need to answer a question, build their knowledge or gain an introduction to a subject. If creating a blog is part of your strategy to Grow Visibility, the pages you create with it should be targeted to your audience with the intention of helping them answer their questions.
Creating content that firstly informs, then educates your visitors should be your target every time. If you can entertain them at the same time, that’s a bonus. If your website exists for entertainment purposes, then entertainment should be at the top of your list.
What Content Can You Create?
Anything can be content. You can create blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts and even adverts could be considered to be The type of content you can create is almost limitless, but we can imagine category types that all content can fall into.
Just remember, the content you create should provide answers for your prospective customers. Self-promotion has its place, but if you want to be successful at content marketing, the content must serve your prospects before serving your ego. Both are important, one is vastly more important than the other.
What Content Should You Create?
The content you should create is often different to the content you can create. You can do anything you like, but will it resonate with your audience?
You should create content that educates, informs and entertains in quantities that keep your audience engaged. The format of the content needs to match up with the best way to deliver the content on the platform you’ve chosen. Then, you need to consider the stage of the sales funnel your prospects are currently in.
Create Based on the Sales Funnel
Create content with different messages depending on what your audience needs to see or hear
At the top of the sales funnel where you are creating interest, content designed to promote other content is essential. If you have a blog, people wont just turn up; you need to promote it. Create graphics, short videos and write short-form content to spark that interest.
Different parts of the sales funnel require different types of content. The top and middle will typically include more images, paid adverts and short-form content such as preview videos and Tweets.
These pieces of content are usually hosted natively on the app or social media platform you use. Podcasts and vlogs are great as the funnel moves from the very top and narrows down into the middle. Mid funnel, prospects will be aware of your product or service and want to learn as much about it as they can.
The end of the funnel should be content hosted on your website. This content could still come in any form, but most often, it’s the sales focused posts on your company blog. Your ultimate goal could be achieved at any point in the sales cycle and yo may have many small goals at different parts of the sales cycle that lead up to your ultimate goal.
Choosing a Format
So how should you choose the format of the content you will create? When considering the format of the content you should create, it’s important to consider the amount of time you will have to create that content. Even if you outsource content creation to an agency, if you want to have a podcast, do you have the time to actually record the episodes? Will you be able to provide a subject matter expert to host it and will you be able to sustain it with topics?
Don’t forget about your target audience. Do you think they want to absorb content in the form you can deliver it? The written word is still powerful and will usually be towards the bottom of your sales funnel. It will generally be on your website at a point where your prospects are ready to make a purchase.
Get Started Creating Content
The most important step is to actually get started creating your content. We have a few basic templates you can use to plan and create content for your audience and a comprehensive content marketing service to get it done for you every month.
Content process
When you want to create content, first list the types of content you should create and arrange them into parts of the funnel. Decide if your highest priority is increasing awareness or making immediate sales and prioritise the content types and messages that will help you achieve that.
Work on those content types yourself, or get together with the right freelancers, influencers or agencies that can create and publish the content for you. Once you have the plan, you’re in control.
Just remember, not everyone likes to read, not everyone likes to watch videos and you will not always be able to produce every type of content consistently. Your goal is to find that sweet spot where you can deliver what your prospects need in a format they enjoy that you can create consistently without putting a drain on your resources.
Ad hoc Content Creation Service
We also offer an ad hoc content creation service covering everything from writing customer outreach emails to updating sections of your website. For this, you get the equivalent of three hours worth of work done for you at any time.
Projects can vary greatly, including but not limited to:
- Graphic design to entire website landing page builds
- Blog posts of 500 -800 words
- Press releases 500 -800 words
- Design of double sided flyers with images, colours and the graphics you may need, and up to 500 words of copy
- The design, sending and reporting on a standalone email campaign
- Small jobs are tackled with a quick turnaround, always less than a working week.
The other great thing about this package is if you need a highly-qualified marketing professional to check content you’ve already created such as proofreading documents, flyers, email campaigns, brochures and more, you can use your monthly hours for this.
Every month if you do not use the service, then you can roll over up to 2 hours per month, up to a total of 12 hours.
Let’s start creating content today!