Spend more time on your business, not in your business with these simple content creation hacks.
Before getting into the hacks, I want to establish the importance of content creation for your brand. Here are five reasons you should prioritize it:
Content establishes your expertise. Sharing your knowledge, tips, and tricks needs to be part of your content strategy so you can show your audience your expertise and credibility in your field / industry.
Content keeps your audience coming back for more. Without an active stream of content flowing from your brand, your potential customers will have no reason to come back to your website, your social media channels, your podcast, etc. Keeping your platforms alive with relevant content will maintain and GROW your audience.
Content builds brand recognition. True brand awareness goes far beyond the recognition of your brand's name or logo. Your audience should know the personality behind your brand and what makes you different from your competitors. Getting to know the brand better is what entices them to become a customer.
Content boosts SEO. The more content you have the more discoverable and accessible you are making your brand! Always add the keywords you want to rank for in your content so your website will appear in potential customers search results.
Content creates leads. Get your brand in front of people. Every time you share a new piece of content, you're increasing the chances of getting your services or products in front of new eyes and beginning relationships with new customers.
Now that we all understand why content creation is important for your brand, let's talk about how we can make the daunting "creation" process a bit simpler.
Hack #1: Streamline your content creation by minimizing distractions.
Imagine this. You log into LinkedIn to send out a post that just came to mind that would be PERFECT for your audience. The second you log in, you'll see red alerts on your notifications and messages, so you'll "quickly" check on those. An hour later, you'll realize, after responding to your messages, you began aimlessly scrolling through your Feed and totally forgetting what you wanted to post about. Bummer. It happens to a lot of us. That's why you should use a scheduling tool for your content, like Buffer, Later, or Sprout Social. Then, set up a calendar event with yourself (maybe it's monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly) to hold yourself accountable for planning and scheduling out your content with no distractions. Tip: Write first, edit later. If you have a genius lightbulb moment, or even just the beginning of an idea, WRITE. IT. DOWN. The conception can be harder than the execution for some people, so when you have that random moment of inspiration, don't let it get lost. Create a document or note that you can easily access to drop ideas in the second they come to mind. When it's time to schedule out your content, you'll have a stockpile of ideas to pull from.
Hack #2: Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Reduce your content. Yup, you heard right. This one usually takes a huge weight off people's shoulders. I always preach quality over quantity when it comes to creating content, so if you ever feel like you are straight out of ideas or your posts are no longer feeling authentic, hit the pause button. Look at your schedule and the ideas you have for the month. I'd rather see you create 4 quality pieces of content per month than 18 pieces of sub-par content. Your audience will feel your lack of inspiration and interest through the screen. Don't force it.
Reuse your content. Let's say you pour yourself into a blog post that turns out perfect (and your audience is loving it too!). You can easily repurpose that content onto different platforms to maximize its reach. Turn the blog into an email campaign, send that blog out as a press release, create multiple social media posts out of it! You may have to make slight tweaks for each platform, but you've got the meat and potatoes complete so use it and reuse it!
Recycle your content. Re-post old content strategically. Some of your content may go unnoticed or forgotten (for a number of reasons that we can dive into in another blog post), so you can bring it back to top-of-mind by recycling it into your posting schedule. Proof everything, make any tweaks that are necessary, and get it back out there for another go. I recommend waiting at least three months until you re-post old content, but the longer, the better. There is no one-size-fits-all tip for this strategy. You'll have to take it case by case.
Hack #3: Make more evergreen content.
Evergreen content is content that retains relevance, is not time-sensitive, and continues to drive traffic long after it is first published. When you are putting a lot of time and energy into content, it's great for it to be evergreen so you can reuse and recycle it in the future.
Some types of evergreen content:
Listicles
How-to's
Tips
Reviews/Testimonials
BTW, these are not evergreen:
News articles
Statistics or reports
Pop culture
Trends
I am not suggesting that 100% of your content needs to be evergreen because tapping into the latest trends may help to grow your brand. But, it is something to keep in mind when you are investing a lot of time and energy into your content and are looking for long-term growth of your audience and website traffic.
If you need help devising or implementing a content strategy for your brand, let's link up. Email lucy@thesociallinkmarketing.com to set up a time to chat all things content creation.
Executive Mom Nest Advisor Lucy Carlisle is passionate about developing brand identities through storytelling and design. With a communications background, she recognizes aesthetics and storytelling are some of the most powerful ways to breathe life into your brand. Lucy's goal is to bring your prospective customers on a journey by developing personal connections and sharing stories that captivate and inspire audiences. Lucy has four years of experience in the ROI trifecta: marketing, advertising, and public relations. Her multi-disciplined approach allows her to navigate a multitude of marketing efforts. Visit The Social Link Marketing to learn more