We generally strive to not listen to rules. Rules are no fun. Rules put a block on creativity. The only time rules are effective are in things like tennis, no cheating on math tests, knocking on closed doors before entering, making ‘fetch’ happen, white and Labour Day.
But one rule we do stick to? When it comes to content, we borrow from a classic: if you don’t have anything useful to say, don’t say anything at all. If you can guess which movie that’s borrowed from, we’ll give you a piece of candy. Two if you can name the adorable woodland creature that uttered those very words.
We say it all the time, but it never hurts to say it again. When it comes to your brand and the ever evolving digital ecosystem we call home, the zeitgeist of social content creation remains as clear as ever: content, good content, is king.
STRATEGIZE
Before you even begin creating your content, you need to have a strategy. Content without a plan is much like driving in a car with no road map (or, for the digital natives, driving without the familiar voice of Google maps): driving around aimlessly, hoping that you’re going in the right direction.
A good strategy begins with identifying your audience. It might sound like a no-brainer, but we’ve seen plenty of content from established brands that produce and publish without a target audience in mind. Content that doesn’t speak to a target audience means zero brand engagement which means you’re speaking to an empty theatre. Good copy should resonate with your audience; great copy should speak to a problem they’re trying to solve, provide useful insight to your niche, and do so in an entertaining, unique fashion, all while achieving your goals.
SET GOALS
Speaking of goals, you want to define your audience’s needs and what the goal for your content creation is. Do you want to drive organic traffic? Are you aiming to attract leads? Perhaps your end goal is to increase sales or brand recognition? Whatever your content goals, they should be specific to your business and the audience you’re trying to reach so that you can better determine if your content met those goals.
Once you’ve discovered what content works and where you’ll be able to tailor your overall message to individual audiences on different platforms so you can connect with your readers and effectively increase your visibility. This is where you need to roll up your sleeves and mingle.
ENGAGE
In our ever flowing, content spewing, digital age, people, your audience, have to be very committed to visit a website directly by its homepage. And once they are there, getting them to stay if only half the battle. Getting them to keep coming back? That’s where you need to roll up your sleeves and really get into it. You need to get engaged with your audience. You don’t simply produce content and leave it on the site. You need to share it, promote it, effectively everything save for rubbing it in people’s faces. When your content is shared, you’re driving your authority with Google.
Post-it on bubble
It’s an easy pit-fall to slip into when you think that your job is done if, at the end of your work day, you’ve created good content. Sure, good content is a start. But it’s not enough. This isn’t like making spaghetti and throwing it against a wall to see what sticks. This is about planning things out, making your spaghetti by hand, taking the time to make a masterpiece in stages. Then throw it against a wall. Because you know it’s going to stick.
A first impression happens only once. You get 4 seconds to make one. And in our digital age, you want to make sure you optimize those first few seconds with the right content at the right time to ensure you’re making an impact. And that’s what we do. Creating original and unique content to s make those impressions last.