Content creation is the behind-the-scenes process that enables Google to provide the ideal solution to your issue. It encompasses the YouTube videos you watch to unwind after a challenging day.
Creating content is also instrumental in enabling people to find out about your business, brand, and products.
Moreover, this content aids in the attraction, engagement, and satisfaction of potential clients and existing customers. It drives fresh traffic to your website and ultimately contributes to the financial success of your business.
To put it differently, if you’re not generating content, then you’re falling behind.
What is content creation?
The process of content creation involves coming up with topic ideas that are attractive to your target audience, developing written or visual content based on those ideas, and then sharing that information with your audience through various formats such as blogs, videos, infographics, and more.
Why is content creation important?
Creating content is the most effective inbound marketing strategy, as it involves offering valuable and complimentary information to your audience. This helps draw prospective customers to your website and also enhances customer loyalty through meaningful interactions.
As the content marketing stats demonstrate, you are generating significant value for your company.
- Almost 40% of marketers say content marketing is an essential part of their marketing strategy. 81% say their company sees content as a business strategy.
- B2B marketers have data that says content marketing is a successful tool for nurturing leads (60%), generating revenue (51%), and building an audience of subscribers (47%).
- And 10% of marketers who blog say it generates the biggest return on investment.
Starting with the creation of various types of content, let’s move ahead and assess your content strategy, as it directly correlates to the growth of your business.
Content Creation Ideas for Blogs
The type of content creation that you are currently consuming is blog posts, which have the ability to educate, entertain, and inspire your audience through written text. Whenever someone enters a query on Google, the search results typically consist of blog posts.
According to 56% of marketers, blogging is their most effective content strategy, making it a worthwhile investment of time and effort.
Getting started on writing can be challenging as you try to find a specific direction. Alongside opinion pieces and posts announcing products, here are some established suggestions for creating blog content.
1. Answer a Question
If you’re unsure about which question to address first, begin by addressing questions that are more beginner-friendly. These questions can lay the groundwork for the further development of your blog.
Thinking about the questions you had when you were a beginner can be another approach to using questions as a starting point. Even questions from your recent experiences can be valuable for others in your industry.
After determining the appropriate questions, proceed to write a comprehensive response. It may be helpful to briefly overview the specifics, however, this is the area where you can offer the most benefit to your readers.
Earning people’s trust can be enhanced by anticipating and addressing their questions, which is especially important as individuals tend to feel hesitant to ask questions due to a fear of sounding unintelligent. Moreover, this practice can positively impact your search engine rankings.
2. Compare and Contrast Solutions to a Problem
One more method to cater to your readers is by assisting them in making a choice. Although numerous solutions can be found online, it can occasionally be overwhelming due to the abundance of options.
By sharing your expert opinion, you can assist potential buyers in making well-informed purchases, particularly if you possess expertise in your niche.
When selecting items to compare, ensure that there are more similarities than differences between the products.
For instance, it wouldn’t be ideal to compare email marketing software with a project management tool.
In writing compare and contrast blogs for a product or service, it is important to maintain a high level of openness and transparency. Ensure to include a comprehensive list of all the potential advantages and drawbacks that come to mind. Subsequently, delve into thorough explanations regarding your thought process behind these assessments.
3. Teach Something
When aiming to utilize your blog as an instructional resource, it is crucial to consider a few aspects since educational blogs have gained substantial popularity.
When selecting a topic, it is advisable to begin with a narrow focus. Rather than addressing a wide subject, opt for a specific niche topic that professionals in your field may inquire about.
Instead of focusing on website design fundamentals, provide instructions on creating the home page specifically tailored for an automotive dealership.
When you begin writing how-to blogs, it is important to keep in mind certain aspects.
- Use short sentences and paragraphs and create a clear structure. This will make your instructions easier to follow.
- Avoid jargon and technical terms if you can, and use examples to make new information easier to understand.
- Keep in mind that your directions should be easy for a beginner to follow, so don’t skip steps or offer shortcuts.
Your readers can benefit from these tips, which will not only enhance their learning experience but also drive more traffic and interest towards your educational content.
4. Daily, Monthly, or Weekly Series
Creating a sequence of blog posts proves beneficial for your readership and contributes to the growth of your blog. Typically, a series will span a predetermined timeframe, allowing you the flexibility to publish it daily or on a specific day each week or month.
By creating a series, you can produce content that can be readily adapted for different platforms. For instance, if you manage a social media blog, you have the opportunity to transform a series of blog posts focused on Instagram Reels into a podcast, ebook, or video.
This approach facilitates thorough exploration of a specific subject, serving the purposes of creating internal and external links, as well as positioning you as an authoritative figure in your field.
5. Quizzes and Surveys
Conducting blog surveys is an effective method for gathering input from your audience, which can positively impact various aspects beyond just website traffic.
You can also make use of responses from quizzes and surveys to:
- Figure out other types of content your audience likes
- Choose which products to promote and sell
- Grow your social media following
- Go viral with interactive content
- Anticipate customer service issues
To ensure a successful quiz or survey, it is important to establish your objectives prior to beginning the creation process. By keeping your quizzes concise and providing incentives, you can enhance the rates of response.
What is Content Strategy?
To begin with, let’s establish the precise meaning of content strategy. In essence, content strategy refers to a plan that effectively addresses business needs and objectives by generating and disseminating content. That’s fairly straightforward. However, what specific elements contribute to the success of a blog content strategy?
How Do You Develop a Blog Content Strategy?
Let’s begin our discussion by establishing company goals and then delve into the details.
1. Create Clear Objectives
It is necessary to have specific, measurable goals when creating a digital content strategy. Before engaging in content marketing, it is important to understand the objectives you aim to accomplish. Do not proceed with the writing or purchasing of articles for your website or blog without addressing this aspect. Content marketing specialist Neil Patel suggests a range of common goals that you can consider as initial targets while developing your SEO content strategy goals.
- Improving your brand’s ranking on Google and other search engines
- Bringing past customers back to your company for repeat business
- Converting website or social media visitors to valuable clients
- Generating fresh leads for your sales team
- Building awareness of your brand
2. Identify Your Audience
Do you have a clear understanding of the individuals who will be reading your well-crafted blog posts, e-books, and social media shares? It is important to create personas for each potential audience in order to collect information about their preferences, online presence, and the most efficient way to reach them. By targeting your SEO content and delivery channel towards these personas, you can effectively address the problems and challenges they might encounter, offering a value proposition that demonstrates how your business can alleviate their concerns.
If you don’t already have comprehensive data on your audience and their preferences, you will need to conduct research as part of your SEO content strategy. One way to obtain this information is by surveying your current customers.
- The topics in which they are most interested
- The biggest challenges and issues they face
- Their level of education
- The publications they read, both online and off
- Where they spend time online
- Their content delivery preferences
- Demographic information such as age and gender
- Their career or industry
- Income level
- How and where they spend money
3. Conduct Keyword Research
When developing your content creation strategy, performing keyword research enables you to focus on particular search terms that will increase the visibility of your content to your desired audience. Numerous free tools are available to assist with keyword research, but for content marketers who already utilize Google Analytics on their website, Google Keyword Planner is often the preferred choice to begin with.
For those who have no prior knowledge of keywords, it is best to begin by understanding the distinction between commercial and informative keywords. Commercial keywords aim to attract an audience actively searching for products and services, thereby enabling you to entice visitors to make purchases on your website. These keywords typically include terms such as “buy,” “purchase,” and “affordable.”
Using informative keywords can establish your brand as an industry expert. These keywords should inspire readers to explore, interact with, and distribute your content. In an ideal situation, content containing appropriate informative keywords will capture the interest of industry blogs, news sites, and professionals who could offer valuable links and shares. While commercial keywords focus on transactions, informative keywords enhance authority and enhance the caliber of your content.
4. Get To Know Your Competitors
By conducting a gap analysis, which involves familiarizing yourself with your competitors, you can identify an exclusive content niche that your industry lacks. Select a few key competitors and evaluate their web content and blog posts from the past six months. Take note of the subjects they discuss, the tone they adopt, and the tools and resources they provide for website visitors. Creating a spreadsheet to compile this information will help you identify the areas where your brand can truly make a difference. It is important not only to be aware of your competitors’ activities in terms of digital content strategy but also to scrutinize their omissions.
According to the Convince and Convert blog, it is recommended to utilize this straightforward method to identify the “one thing” that truly emphasizes your brand in your content.
- Make a list of the messages your company plans to or already uses in its content.
- Review competitor websites to see where similar messages appear.
- Eliminate messages that other brands have exhausted to uncover the “one thing” you should try to express as your company’s unique selling proposition.
In reference to the previous example, your bakery could be one of five bakeries in your town. All the shops provide freshly baked pastries, a delightful atmosphere, and complimentary Wi-Fi. Nevertheless, your bakery stands out by offering personalized birthday cakes. This should be the distinguishing factor for your brand.
In the process of familiarizing yourself with your competitors, it is advisable to utilize Google Analytics or tools like Ahrefs to discover the most successful keywords they use. This enables you to identify opportunities within your content strategy where you could potentially surpass your competitors, as well as neglected keywords that may significantly enhance your brand’s SEO performance.
5. Brainstorm SEO Article Ideas
If you have your keywords and you are aware of what your competitors are posting online, but you are uncertain about where to find a consistent source of ideas for your regular content releases (weekly, monthly, and quarterly), consider seeking inspiration for your web content strategy from resources like:
- Industry newsletters and blogs
- Content aggregators such as Feedly, where you can follow topics of interest
- Online forums such as Quora, Reddit and industry-specific message boards
- Reader and customer surveys
- Social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other popular platforms
- Google Trends
In order to enhance your content marketing strategy, it is recommended to record your ideas either in a physical notebook or a mobile application that you can readily access whenever you require some innovative suggestions.
