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Let’s talk about content creation. There are many different theories out there about the best ways to create content for your business, but which will have the biggest impact? And which types of content will yield the biggest returns for your business?
Well, much like advice that a financial advisor might give you: your best bet is diversifying your investments. When you put all of your content eggs in one basket (like only focusing on Instagram content), you are missing out on other opportunities to grow your business.
So, how can you determine which types of content will best serve your brand? I’ve broken it down for you below. Here’s what you need to know:
Yes, Social Media Is Important
The number one question I get from clients is about how they can improve their social media presence. I think by now we can all agree that social media is an important aspect of business, but sometimes too much emphasis is placed on this medium. Yes, social media has leveled the playing field when it comes to marketing and advertising because it allows small businesses with small budgets to reach a wider audience on social media than they could have when TV/print were the only (and very expensive!) options.
Social media can have a powerful impact on brand growth, but it’s not guaranteed. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll go viral or be able to scale your business on any one platform. For this reason, you have to be thoughtful about which platforms you decide to show up on–not all of them will serve your brand well. Think about where your audience is; if you market to other businesses, LinkedIn could be a great place to focus your efforts, and if you market to moms who enjoy yoga, Instagram will probably be your best bet.
If you’re choosing to show up across multiple platforms–like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn–don’t just post the same social media content across different platforms. Instead, create a content strategy that allows you to utilize each social media platform to the best of its ability. They all serve up content to audiences in different ways, so make sure you understand the nuances of each platform before diving right in with content. In other words: don’t put all of your eggs in the social media basket.
Blogging Is Still Relevant
Many clients have asked me recently whether or not blogging is still worth it, and my answer is a resounding “yes.” Blogging often gets a bad rap, since the first thing most people think of is something super outdated that hit a peak in the early 2000’s, but blogging has undergone an incredible transformation in the years since. While blogging might not be as lucrative as it was 10 years ago (influencing 2.0 is now on IG and TikTok), it is still remarkably useful from a business standpoint.
Blogging allows for two things:
Additional education for your audience/more ways for ideal customers to get to know you better.
Giving your website a traffic boost with SEO.
For these reasons, it’s also important to be really strategic about what you choose to blog about. What do you think your ideal customer will be searching for? What are they researching? What would they want to know the answers to? Search intent plays an important role–just as important as keyword research–when it comes to blogging.
As for which is better when it comes to long form vs. short form content: there is no right answer to this question. Sometimes you can get the job done with 400 words, and sometimes it takes 1200. The goal is to write in an authentic and compelling way, no matter how long it is. As long as you are answering the searcher’s questions thoroughly, accurately, and without keyword spamming within the article, you should be rewarded handsomely by the Google Gods.
Content Marketing Also Includes Other Types of Content
There’s so much buzz around social media and blog content, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that your business can benefit from creating other types of content as well, including:
Emails: Email marketing might be considered its own separate “thing” but it absolutely falls under the purview of the marketing department. As such, it requires the same strategic approach (if not more so) as other content created by your business.
E-Books & Lead Magnets: These are often longer form pieces of content that are used to drive leads for your business. They should require a potential customer to opt into your email list in order to download whatever piece of content you’ve designed for them, and the goal is to eventually convert them to a sale. Essentially, you’re building a separate entrance to your marketing funnel with these types of content projects
Webinars & Courses: Webinars and courses can be a great way to diversify and expand your business. Webinars are a great way to showcase your knowledge and provide useful information to those that attend and give them a better understanding of the services your business offers. Courses are similar, depending on the type of business you have. If your type of business allows you to expand into courses, it could help you reach a larger audience and also yield passive income for your business.
Events: Events can either take place online or in person, but they are a great way to connect with potential clients and peers. When you host events as a brand, you are inviting a community to engage with you in real-time, and offering them something of value in the process. When it comes to seeing a return on your investment, events can be a heavy lift, but if they are well-executed they can have positive long term implications for your business.
What’s Next For Your Brand’s Content Journey?
As you can see, content is a very broad term when it comes to marketing your business. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for how to create content as a business; instead, you need to craft a content strategy that is customized for your business. A good strategy will reflect your goals, your target audience, and your pillars of content–and then apply all of it to content creation to make sure all of your efforts are worth the time and money investment.