Content is king – at least in Google’s eyes! And getting seen in Google is the name of the game if you want your business to be found on the internet.
Not only that, a recent article by SEMrush who focus on Search Engine Marketing, showed that:
- companies who blog, produce 67% more leads per month
- blog posts remain the most effective form of content over email, ebooks and white papers, and
- on average, long-form content (more than 600 words) generates eight times more page views, three times more social shares and nine times more leads, than short-form content.
So how do you go about creating great content for your website, your socials and your email marketing without spending all week doing it so you can get those extra leads that you need?
Here’s six easy ways you can incorporate content creation into your weekly plan:
1. Set Aside a Dedicated Time to Create Content
Like anything if you don’t make the time, it won’t happen. You know that. Set aside 2 hours a week and focus on creating content. Whether it is one 2-hour block, two single hours on different days or 30 minutes a day, four times a week – it doesn’t really matter. Do what works for you and your business.
Whichever time-blocking method you use, use that time to the best advantage. Don’t spend the first 15 minutes catching up on emails or Facebook notifications. Focus for the full time.
Two hours can be challenging to do in one stint, but if you like to know that it’s “done and dusted” for the foreseeable future, two hours can be a great way to get it done. Turn off your phone, shut down your email and social media and focus.
2. Create a Content Creation Plan
Creating a content creation plan can help you plan out your content for a specific period of time. Plan it out for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. That way, when you start your dedicated time next week, you will know exactly what you need to do. Having a plan with themes or topics can help focus your attention on what needs to be done. It also helps you to identify resources that you could use in your content creation as you go about your business. It’s amazing what the mind will see when you give it a focus topic to seek out. Save these resources into a dedicated file then you will have them when it comes time to sit down and create.
3. Consider the Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what to create content about? Start with writing down all the questions you get asked often by your customers. What is it that comes up time and time again? Creating content about those questions means you can point people to the answers and you won’t feel like you are answering the same questions all the time.
These frequently asked questions can be turned into blog content, social media posts, or the subject of a series of emails that you send to customers to help them connect with your brand. You might even be able to identify certain themes that run through the questions – these can be turned into a mini-series focused on a particular target market or issue.
4. Use Google Search and Answer the Public
When you type a keyword related to your business into Google, what auto-completion options does Google offer? These are based on things that are searched a lot, so might make a good topic or theme for your content.
If you haven’t tried Answer the Public then today is the day! Type in one word or a short phrase and the website will tell you the types of questions and searches people are using in relation to that word or short phrase.
I just typed in “content creation” (the key subject of this blog) and got a list of 43 related questions! Why content creation is important? Benefits of content creation, where content creation happens, is content creation profitable? I also got a list of other phrases that people search regarding content creation. And you might notice that I have included some of these answers in my opening paragraphs above. Why? Because I want this blog to be found for those keywords and I want to help you create great content!
5. Review your Traffic
As you build content it is important to review your traffic statistics. Which content is bringing people to your website, building engagement on your social media profiles or prompting people to contact you?
Checking your Google Analytics and social media stats over time may well give you an idea of what is resonating more with your target audience.
Then do more of this! Not everybody sees your content the day you create it. Not everyone opens every single one of your emails or sees every one of your social media posts.
Repeating content on a semi-regular basis, or a twist on the same topic or theme, means that different people will see your content at different times.
Different headlines will resonate better with some of your audience, different wording or images for the same topic might just hit the spot for others in your target audience.
And not everyone is ready to read the content when you publish it. They just might not be in the right head space or looking for your product or service on the day you hit “publish”. But by having it on your website it creates an archive of information that people can find many years down the track.
You might be amazed when someone reads a blog that is 4 or 5 years old and makes contact, but that is the benefit of adding content to your own website – it is there forever and not at the whims of social media magnates.
6. Outsource
If creating content is really not your thing, there are plenty of ways to outsource some or all of it.
A base level might be having a marketing person who can help you put your plan together. Having two brains on the one topic can help inspire you – and it may be all the assistance you need to get you started and you can happily go forth and create the content identified in the plan.
If that isn’t enough, then you could consider having a social media manager put together the posts based on the blog content that you have created – sometimes once you’re done with a topic, you’re done with it and having someone else create fresh views of the same content can be helpful.
Still not convinced? Then why not outsource the blogging too? Having someone to actually sit down and do the writing on the topics you have come up with, incorporating the keywords that are important to your target audience can really take the pressure off.
Together you can create a content plan, with keywords and key messages and from there you hand it over to someone else to come up with the content – for your blog, your socials and your email marketing.
There is such a range of what can be outsourced if you think you need help with content creation. While you may be concerned about the cost, how would it look if you were getting 8 times more page views and more contacts via your website with more audience engagement on social media? What would 67% more leads do for your business right now?
Whether you’re coming into a busy season for your business or things are about to slow down, it is time to consider your content creation strategy and how you might take advantage of people’s appetites for answers, information and good quality service and products such as yours.
Interested? Want to know more about how you might outsource some or all of your marketing and content creation? Use the big orange button and get in touch.