As a small-to-midsize business, you need to get the word out about the products and services you offer. Most often, just being good at what you do isn’t enough. There are a ton of companies out there that can do this, and maybe they even do it at a more competitive rate. So, how do you set yourself apart from the rest? Content!
Keeping a regular arsenal of blog posts, white papers, case studies, webinars and podcasts is a great way to position yourself as a thought-leader in the industry and may just be the thing that makes a customer pivot towards you. Yes, creating content requires planning and organization, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s definitely worth the time investment.
So, why does anyone need a content creation process, anyway?
We want to help our customers, right? To stay focused on that job to be done, we need to know what we’re doing every day. If we were haphazard in the way we completed tasks, we wouldn’t be providing much value to those that put their trust in us. Simply put, a systematic approach allows us to stay on track.
Think of it this way: if you begin experiencing some crazy pain in your foot, you would never just cut your toe off just to get rid of the pain. No way. You’d go to a doctor, get a proper diagnosis, understand the root of the problem, and then work to resolve it. (Seriously - if you’re thinking of cutting your toe off, seek help ASAP!)
Now, apply it to content: we don’t just put out a blog post for the sake of getting it out there. If there’s a message we want to convey to our audience, we take the time to properly research, write, and edit a piece around that topic, ending up with something that’s a lot more valuable to the reader.
Structure can be really good. So, let’s see what this means for content.
What does a content creation process look like?
One thing to remember about any process is that it should make sense, be applicable to all content, and be organized.
- Find inspiration in other sources
It starts with ideation. Inspiration can come from anywhere - Basecamp, Intercom, Asana, these are just some of the many companies we like to model our writing after. Pick one or as many as you like, anything relevant to the voice and tone of your brand and target audience.
- Brain dump to see what sticks
HubSpot offers a great Content Marketing course, where the idea of brain-dumping comes up a lot. This is where you jot down literally any idea that comes to mind in a 1 or 2 minute period. Some will naturally be garbage, but others may be onto something, so it’s a good practice to implement now and then. Encourage everyone within your company to give input and opinions. And make sure to keep track of your ideas using a content calendar.
- Keep your reader in mind
Tied to ideation and brainstorming is the need to always keep your customers in mind - how can you help them make progress in their lives? Why should they use your product or services instead of others? What other content are they consuming and how do you ensure that you stand out from what they’re already reading?
- Put together a plan
Next up, develop a roll-out plan for the ideas. Are they tied to a new service you are offering? What goal is attached to the idea (lead generation? KPI?)? Do you want to write about your product, the industry in general, or one of your customer’s experiences? Based on your answers and what’s going on in your company as a whole, you should have some sort of timeline for when content will be pushed out.
- Do a little research, and then some more research
Once you have an idea, goal, and timeline in place, it’s time to begin researching. As mentioned earlier, you need your content to stand out from the rest, so don’t just say what everyone else is saying. It’s okay to pull in facts, stats, and quotes from similar content, in fact linking to these external sources will help give your writing a boost. Just make sure to add a unique value. Become a resource for knowledge, and keep readers coming back for more.
And finally, writing can begin.
Rules to follow for effective writing
Depending on what rules you’ve set...
It’s really important to have an attention-grabbing headline that is direct and tells you what to expect out of the article. Make sure your post follows a consistent flow (for example: a direct opening, 2-3 sections elaborating on the topic, and a nice conclusion) and always end with a CTA (call-to-action) that ties it all together.
Beyond that, here are other tips that we choose to follow:
- Always keep your content calendar up to date
- Figure out where you want to create and house your drafts (Word doc? Google doc?); wherever you decide, just make sure you’re always tracking changes
- Organization is KEY to making sure something doesn’t fall through the cracks; a naming convention helps to keep things tidy, so create one that can be consistently followed across the board (ex: Title_Draft #_Writer’s Initials)
- Final versions should be listed as such (ex: Title_FINAL_SP)
- Choose header and body images that will support your article and get that bad boy posted!
- Bonus tip: if you’re just starting a blog, consider apps like HubSpot and WordPress, as they are pretty user friendly
Where you can improve
As you go about creating content for your business, always look at the ongoing results of your work and monitor for areas that can be improved upon. You’ll always find ways of doing something a bit better. Whether that’s integrating more videos into your posts or inviting guest writers to blog for you, you should never shy away from small changes. However, make sure you’re not deviating from your process. Even more important, take note of what topics and pieces of content have resonated the most with your readers, and keep answering to that interest.
To sum it up
Data is a big part of any company’s story and it doesn’t have to end with business information. Adding content to your pipeline is a great way to become more robust and valuable as an industry player. With many storytelling avenues available at our fingertips, there’s no excuse for not having unique, personalized content that tells your story!
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