The idiot’s guide to content creation

There has been a lot of chatter going on about content marketing these days. Discussions about content shock and content hacking have dominated the blogosphere of late, and continue to be the centrepiece of much debate. This much is for certain: content marketing is here to stay, and is set to become a permanent tool in the marketer’s ever-growing arsenal.

This is the reason why I’ve created this simple guide on the process of content creation – so you wouldn’t miss out on all the fun! From setting down your objectives to choosing the type of visual content to craft, I have it down here in a simple and structured format for your consumption and practice.

If you’ve (somehow) only just come across the concept of content marketing, and are eager to get started on it, this guide is for you. This guide will teach you all you need to know to jump headfirst into the process of content creation. If you follow the series of practical steps outlined below judiciously, by the end of this guide you should have a foolproof, high-quality content creation plan on hand which you can immediately employ.

Part 1: Define Business Objectives

It would be foolish to jump into anything without knowing what the end game is (your boss certainly wouldn’t like that), so your first step is to define the bottom-line: what are the business objectives you want to achieve with your content? 

It’s one thing to have high-quality content, but if it doesn’t result in an uptick in traffic to your website and ultimately increased sales, it is merely just a pretty piece that provides no measurable returns.

It is worth taking some time to consider this question together with your marketing team, and put these objectives down on paper (or e-paper). After all, it has been shown that B2B content marketers with a documented content strategy are arguably far more effective as compared to those without one.

Part 2: Decide on Your Topical Niche(s)

A common mistake that companies tend to make is trying to be all encompassing with their content. However, such a broad approach will end up appealing to no one, not to mention confusing your reader in the process, too. 

An analogy to prove this point: if you had a craving for a burger, chances are that you would sooner think of McDonalds rather than the nearby supermarket, though a supermarket might well sell generic burgers as well. However, McDonalds has successfully built a connection with burgers that their consumers identify closely with – and you should too. What topical niche(s) do you want your customers to identify your brand with?

Part 3: Choose Your Content Types

Animated GIFs, podcasts, memes, infographics, SlideShare presentations – and of course, the good ol’ long-form articles. And that’s just some types of content marketers use right off the top of my head. The question at the end of the day should be this: which content types will bring across my message in the most engaging and informative manner?

This question can easily be answered by considering industry trends that would interest your target audience. A report released by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs revealed that most B2B marketers (at 65%) tailored their content based on industry trends.  

For example, creating a meme for an investment company would probably not work as well as a whitepaper on investment trends (though you might just be surprised). On the other hand, a meme for an online toy store would serve the purpose of entertainment quite well, which would be perfect for their target audience – children.