Most marketing starts with content. It doesn’t matter what type of marketing you are doing; it all begins with content. Brochures, business cards, blog posts, articles, vlogs, eBooks, eReports, podcasts and so forth are all content. Content comes in so many forms ready for your audience to digest. But, creating content that is easy for your consumer to digest depends on many factors. Consider these questions:
1. Who is your audience?
2. What types of devices does your audience use?
3. What social media do they use?
Types of Content
Knowing the answers to these questions can help you determine what type of content your audience wants to consume. You have many choices of types of content to choose from, such as:
* EBooks
* EReports
* Blog posts
* Articles
* Videos
* White papers
* Long form blog posts
* Infographics
* Memes
* Podcasts
* Newsletters
* Magazines
* Presentations
* Webinars
* In-person events
* Games and apps
* Researched reports
* Books
The truth is, you’re more than likely to offer content in more than one form, but the main form should consider the three questions. Some types of content, like blog posts, need to be frequent and regular; others can be less often such as games and apps. It depends on your niche a lot as to what you will be focusing on. But you can be sure that a lot of your content will be focused on blogs – at least to begin with.
Planning Your Content Creation
When you create any content, it’s important to ask the following questions:
* Does this piece advance my goals?
* Does my audience like to consume content in this manner?
* How can I re-purpose this content to add to longevity?
* Have I thought about my audience’s needs as I created this piece of content?
* What keywords should I include in the description or within the context of this content?
Before sitting down to create content, do the following:
* Poll your audience Â? Ask via a survey what forms of content they like consuming.
* Research your Google analytics Â? It’s there for you to look at free, so use it to help you get a better idea of what works and what doesn’t work.
* Study keywords Â? Aside from Google there are other keyword research tools that you can use to help you determine new keywords to use.
* Look at the results of former content Â? No matter what type of content you’ve used in the past, such as webinars and so forth, study how the results compare. What got the best results? Was it format or substance that made the difference?
* Talk to people outside of your bubble Â? You need a group of people whom you can trust to give you the truth, people outside of your audience and your immediate bubble. One problem is that sometimes people around you become “yes” people.
By working through your content creation in this manner, you’ll be more likely to create content that speaks to your audience in the manner they want to be spoken to, in the format they most enjoy.
