Where is the first place you go when you have a burning question that nobody can answer? Google, right? And why not? Google answers over four billion queries every day.
When you type your questions into Google, the answers that come up are what’s known as content.
Content keeps us informed, answers our questions, entertains us, makes us smile, guides our decisions, and more. It also helps attract, engage and delight customers, and ultimately brings in revenue for your business.
Why content creation is important
Content creation is important because it provides free, useful information which attracts potential customers to your website, and keeps existing customers through quality engagement.
It also generates some major ROI as the below stats demonstrate.
- According to Demand Metric, content marketing brings in 3x as many leads as traditional marketing and costs 62% less.
- In addition, small businesses that blog get 126% more leads than those that don’t.
In other words, content creation equals growth.
The content creation process
Every marketing campaign has a process. Content creation is no different.
To remove the guesswork and begin creating content, follow the below steps.
Image source: Hubspot
1. SEO Research
SEO research, otherwise known as keyword research, shows you the search volume of a specific keyword or phrase and lets you know whether it’s worth creating content around it or not.
Best practice is to target keywords that are attainable, in other words, ones that have a monthly search volume and keyword difficulty that matches your domain authority.
Trying to target highly competitive keywords when just starting out will not work. Trust us!
Instead target longtail, low volume keywords with low keyword difficulty. Somewhere around 200-1000 monthly search volume. This will give you the best chance at ranking and getting your content seen by more people.
2. Ideation
Now that your keyword research is complete, it’s time to brainstorm some content ideas. The best way to start is by creating topic clusters.
Topic clusters should be long-form and based on a keyword that links to content you’ve created on related sub-topics.
Use your main keyword to create pillar content pieces that cover the topic in-depth. For example, a guide to content creation. Then, once you have your pillar (main topic), you can begin creating shorter pieces that dive deeper into the pillar topic and target long-tail keywords.
3. Writing
- Write for your chosen personas. These are your ideal customers. Use their specific voice, humour, and even their euphemisms, to come up with content that resonates with them.
- Take advantage of titles and meta descriptions to create curiosity.
- Create something different by infusing a unique style into your content or citing new research to strengthen your points.
- Choose one idea and reinforce it. Don’t confuse your audience by trying to explain too many semi-related topics in one piece.
- Be concise and clear. There is nothing worse than reading a piece of content that takes ages to get to the point.
- If you want your audience to value your content, don’t make them sift through all the jargon and confusing metaphors.
4. Editing
The process of editing is a very subjective one. Some edit as they go, others wait a few days and review their work with fresh eyes.
Either way, there are a few things that you should always look out for. For instance, including enough active voice, writing in clear language, and short sentences. It’s also a good idea to have a colleague review your work before uploading.
5. Uploading
Once you’re done editing, you’ll need to upload it. This could be on your website, in a mailer or on social media.
6. Promoting content
Once uploaded, it’s time to promote your content. This can be done through various mediums like social media, email marketing and pay per click advertising.
When promoting, think about the channels that most of your audience is on. For example, Instagram, Google, or your weekly newsletter and then focus on those.
It’s important to meet your audience where they are at and promote your content on those mediums.
Conclusion
Content creation often involves the practice of building, refining, and improving. If done correctly, it can pay off tremendously with your audience.
Once you master the content creation process, you’ll be able to generate creative work that not only delights your audience but also grows your business.
