Essential Knowings Before Creating Content
Creating content is essential if you want to be successful online, but it's not just about pumping out a ton of articles, videos, quotes or posts. You need to make sure a few basic things are in place before you focus all your energy on producing content or engaging a content creator who truly understands your business.
A lot of people I know are disappointed with the return on investment on their marketing efforts when it comes to content creation. Often they spend hours and hours creating content that they think is engaging but it’s not. Many engage generic help to run their content machine because they don’ have time to do it….with disappointing results.
When content creation is eating up your time without any positive outcome it could be due to several reasons:
You are addressing your content to the wrong audience
Your content is not aligned with your brand message
You don’t react to questions or comments
Your content is controversial
Your audience is good but not large enough
So, what can you do to not waste your time?
1. You should know that if you don't have the right audience, your content won't matter. Build the right audience first. Connect, engage and communicate with target prospects to spark interest in what you have to say.
2. Content creation is only one piece of the puzzle. Be aware that content is just one step in the social selling process. Think this process through before you decide on what to write or speak about in your posts.
3. Reacting to engagement is key to building relationships with your audience. Monitor what your followers say and how how they react to your posts. Direct message them, visit their page and engage with their work if it’s interesting to show interest and start building a relationship
4. It's more important to be interesting than to be right. People have different opinions. That needs to be respected. If you have a strong opinion expect others to not always agree with you. Constructive feedback is a good way to keep the dialogue alive.
5. Your audience is good but not large enough. You need to grow your network of followers continuously and actively to give your content a chance to be seen by new prospects. Spend time growing your network to expand your reach.
Don't forget that content is still king. By keeping your readers engaged with your content, you increase the chances that they'll stick around until the end and maybe even take the desired action, whether that's subscribing to your blog, signing up for your email list, or making a purchase.
So if you're not seeing the results you want from your content, take a step back and evaluate if you tick all the boxes above. You might be surprised at what a difference it can make.