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Industry-wide studies on consumer behavior from the Cohley Insights team.
Content creation can seem like a mystery at first. Why is it that certain trends and topics take off and others do not? How can you integrate yourself and your voice into a world with so many options? Luckily, there are several strategies that can take the guesswork out of content creation. We'll take you through nine tips that will help you deliver consistent, high-quality content that will attract the right audience and help you achieve your goals.
It's no secret that the world of content creation changes quickly. From new apps to new trends, it feel like an impossible task to balance everything. While it may not be possible to keep up with every single new trend, staying current is a valuable tip to keep in mind. Creating content that is flexible and adaptable will help you incorporate current topics, trends, and styles of content. Keeping your content current will require you to be involved in your community. Take note of what people are talking about, writing about, and posting about. Your content will always be relevant to your audience and you can keep engaging with your audience regularly.
Checking in on competition is an important part of building a content strategy. Before you start posting content, it's crucial to understand the landscape you are entering. What are your competitors doing well? What holes do you see that could be filled by your content? As you continue to grow and improve in your content creation, checking and updating your initial research is a valuable practice. As trends change, your competitors may also change and improve. By checking in on your direct competitors frequently, you'll be able to make sure your content is as current, relevant, and effective as it can be.
Your audience is at the center of every successful content creation strategy. Without an established audience in place, any goal you set will be much harder to achieve. While it may be tempting to make content for the widest variety of people possible, defining a specific audience will allow you to have a more loyal, engaged base of consumers. You can define your audience with a few different strategies including examining your competitors, conducting a research project, and creating personas. When your content has a clear point of view, you will attract the right audience for you.
Outsourcing can be a great way to keep your content consistent. Consider looking into UGC (user-generated content) or partnering with content creators (hint: we can help you out with this) will help you create a higher volume of content without sacrificing your quality or time. This is a great way to involve your audience and allow them to feel connected.
Keywords are another great way to stay on top of current trends and produce relevant content. Looking into aspects such as search rank, traffic growth, and link building will allow you to understand the behavior and needs of your audience. Shaping your content around top-ranking and growing topics is the best way to make sure your content is relevant to your audience. You can do keyword research by first listing out the main products or services that you provide, simplifying those topics into specific keywords, and examining the results that appear when you search for your words. This will give you a better idea of how an audience is interacting with products similar to yours, giving you a pathway to fulfill their needs with your content.
Tracking your success is a great way to make sure your content is consistently performing well. Much like trends and competitors, your own success will need consistent research and updates in order to be the best it can be. In order to track your success, you'll need to choose a few specific points or metrics to follow as you create content. KPIs, or key performance indicators, are specific ways to measure performance. They can look different for every project but metrics such as engagement rates and click-throughs are a great way to start.
A buyer's journey, like a persona, is a great way get yourself in the mind of your audience. Being able to empathize with potential buyers is key to creating successful content and driving sales. A buyer's journey is an exercise that maps the journey of a potential buyer from the initial awareness stage to purchasing an item. The buyer's journey tends to include three phases: awareness, consideration, and decision. Think about the potential problems and questions will have at each phase of their decision. Be sure to consistently update your buyer's journey as you learn new information along the way for the best results!
With the increasingly large number of options for content platforms, it can be difficult to choose the right platform for you. While the decision can come down to a large number of factors, it's important to keep the format and features of each platform in mind. For instance, a five minute long scripted video would not perform well on TikTok and a quick thirty second video would not perform well on Youtube. Do some research into the guidelines and typical format of the content on different platforms to make sure you're fitting in to the formula.
Calendars are a great secret weapon when it comes to content creation! It can be overwhelming to post consistently without a solid schedule in place. Planning out your content a few weeks in advance will help you keep track of your posts and stay on time. Audiences tend to favor creators who post quality content on a consistent basis. A calendar will allow you to know what's coming ahead of time so you can prepare and deliver the best results. Either a traditional paper calendar or a calendar app will be your best friend as you begin your content creation journey!
There is certainly more to creating content than may meet the eye at first. However, with quality research and planning, you'll be fine. Remember that practice makes perfect and research makes for the best content possible. Take these tips and get ready to dip your toes into the content creation world!