I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase: content is king. But this isn’t just a phrase, it’s a very real fact for effective digital marketing. Strong and engaging content is the key driving force behind a successful digital marketing strategy and the key to building a strong online presence.
However, too many businesses face a common set of challenges when it comes to content production. So, today, we want to help by giving you some tips to create an effective content production strategy.
Common Challenges
Creating content is easier said than done. It’s not a quick, easy and simple proposition. It requires careful thought and strategy to plan for the following challenges.
Most people don’t want to do it
Unfortunately, not everyone is inclined to just produce content. Those who enjoy it are doing it, and they’re making a living out of it. For the rest of us, we either don’t see it as important in the first instance until we come around to it or we purely just don’t enjoy it so we avoid it. We see it more as a chore, where other things are more important, so we put it off for as long as possible.
So, to overcome this, make it a priority for the whole team to do, so it’s not just one person left struggling with a task they don’t want to do. Share the load. Everybody in the business should be producing some content throughout the year unless you have a dedicated content writer who wants to do it all.
People underestimate the time writing takes
Creating really good content takes time across the board. There are many more steps than you may think. From brainstorming the ideas, to actually writing or producing the content, to formatting it, to jazzing it up with catchy headings and bullet points, to formatting it live on your website, to making it functional for desktop and mobile, to choosing the images to go with it.Â
That’s all just to get it onto your website, then you need to share the content on your social profiles as posts for engagement. So, you need to write a headline and content for it and use an image for it to make it look good on your social channels, then you need to promote it by spending a bit of money boosting it to reach your audience.
And we’re still not done, then you need to do an Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) for it, which includes writing more content on the same topic, selecting more images, and creating it into MailChimp, SendinBlue, etc.Â
So, there is an immense amount of time and effort that goes into producing and sharing each bit of content. And you need to factor that into people’s time, resources, and the plan of attack required to do it.
Building a Successful Content Production System
Overcoming all of these challenges and sitting down and spending the time and effort that is required to create and share content can seem overwhelming. But you can overcome this with a strong content production system in place. A good strategy will take the strain off your employees and allow them to produce high-quality and consistent digital marketing content without feeling stressed or burnt out.
Make content creation a habit
The hardest part is creating the habit, but once it becomes a habit it will become easier and you’ll find high-quality content being churned out like clockwork. Find your required cadence and rhythm and work at keeping it up every day, every week and every month until it becomes a habit.
One great way to do this is by developing a content calendar that outlines what content needs to be created and when it needs to be out. Then, make sure your team follows this calendar to create a routine that is easy to manage.
Leverage technology for high-quality content
Technology is all around us and we should be using it to enhance our lives. By embracing technology you can make content production easier and more efficient.
Start with a clear brief from the client so you know what they want to focus on and include in their content. This will help you stay on track and create content that is relevant. You can do this by recording or dictating the conversation with the client into your phone, computer or other device to ensure you don’t miss or forget any important details.Â
Save resources by outsourcing
If you don’t have the staff or resources necessary to create the amount of content that you need, it may be necessary to outsource some of the writing and editing to trained freelancers or another dedicated content production company.Â
You can do this by sending any recorded transcripts or notes from the client to the content writer to enhance into new content or write new, original content based on the notes. This ensures they know what you and the client want and will be able to create relevant content.
Pay attention to detail
The most important things when it comes to digital marketing content are the quality and the accuracy of the information. To ensure the content is error-free, it’s essential to get a trusted employee or trained freelance editor to proofread the content and edit it before it goes live. This will ensure that nothing gets overlooked and that you’re consistently producing the highest quality content – and remember, the better the quality, the better the results.Â
Share the content online
The final part of every content production journey is publishing and sharing it. We don’t create content just for the sake of it, we create it to boost SEO and add value to customers. So, we need to focus on getting it to that audience.Â
Once the content has been checked and is error-free you can get an employee or web developer with a good grasp of the particular web system to upload the content to the website and ensure that it is fully optimised and looks great online.Â
Then, to help the content reach further, boost it and promote it across more platforms including your social media and EDMs. This promotion can be done in-house by your social media experts or outsourced to trained social media companies to reduce the strain on your resources or employees.
Enjoy results with a well-structured content production system
So, while all these steps may seem daunting at first, and like content is more effort than it’s worth, that’s simply not true. Content is king and you can make it manageable.
With the right content production plan in place, you can turn content creation into a habit that doesn’t waste your time or overwhelm any of your employees, even if this means outsourcing some of it for a while until you can get on your feet.Â
Remember, great content can be a significant asset for your business, driving growth and engagement, and making it well worth the time and effort.
