Back when I began my journey on social media, I had no idea what “qualified” as content. (Let alone that there are different types of content or where to share it).
So today, we’re going to discuss what content actually is and the overall truth behind content creation for your marketing business.
First off, let’s define
What content is.
Content is blogs, tweets, text posts, videos, images, audios, and more.
In general, web content refers to the textual, auditory, or visual information online.
It’s important to understand that content is the key to getting traffic to any website.
Specifically, your own personal website. Don’t have one?
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, get a website!
Owning your own website is crucial to give a safe space for your content to live.
Now that we know what content is, it’s important to note that there are two main categories.
Types of Content
What I call “feel-good” content and “value” content.
Value content is crucial to expanding your reach and increasing your revenue for any marketer, solopreneur, or small business owner.
Value content is video, case/research studies, white papers, promotional offers, tutorials, blogs, and more created and shared with the intent to add something to the consumer.
It’s not just there to make you feel good like a social post of a puppy befriending a duck.
Value content informs, clarifies, validates, and assists the consumer in any unique, original, or exclusive way.
You want your hard work to pay off, so each value post created should be as evergreen as possible.
Evergreen content is content that is continually relevant and stays “fresh” for readers. So when creating content, do your best to provide relevant information that will more than likely stand the test of time.
Some of you may also be thinking “What’s the point? No one is going to see my stuff anyway!”
But that’s just not true. It’s currently 2021 and the other day I stumbled across an amazing blog that was written in 2014.
While the topic was less than trendy, it still offered information I could use even now. Think of it like this; physics hasn’t changed much since the apple hit Newton’s head.
Force is still = mass x acceleration, but each year physics textbooks can be and often are updated.
Try and keep the idea of “updateable but evergreen” in mind as you create your value content. Remember, though, is that even the best value content out there is useless if no one is finding it.
Which brings me to my next point:
What’s your content strategy.
After you create your content, you can’t just sit back and wait for it to reach your target audience.
You have to put your stuff out there! You have to reach people and show them the content you’ve created in order to add value to their lives.
How?
By spreading your information across social media platforms to increase your reach.
Otherwise known as content strategy. Having a solid content strategy plan is thoughtful planning, developing, and managing of your content. (Shared across as many platforms as you can think of!)
Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram, Pinterest, and others are great places to get a large audience’s attention.
It’s important to note that you don’t have to stick to just social platforms, though.
Traffic generator websites like Quora are also great for getting more eyes on your content, website, and ultimately whatever it is you’re selling.
I know there are tons of sites out there, but sharing your stuff isn’t just busy work- it will make a difference!
As a consumer, I was once in the market for my engagement ring. (Yes, I looked for my own engagement ring because it was going to go on my finger, and I wanted to make sure that I liked it!)
So, I searched and found this website that wasn’t just a sales platform but had a great blog, too. I found their posts on Facebook and an app at the time that was similar to Pinterest. They had posts about more than pricing, they had interesting content about engagements, gem cuts, where the diamonds came from, and even information about their competitor!
Being a bit curious, I looked at the competitors’ website and found nothing other than the product listing and prices.
Even though that’s what I’d originally expected, the site that offered value had raised the bar! In fact, that site offered so much value to me as the consumer, that I had to buy from them over their competitor!
It’s true: I was searching for something and found their content. But as a marketer of any kind, it’s so important that you put your information out there across as many platforms as you can. In order to increase your chances of reaching that person who is looking.
Needless to say, having a solid content strategy to share your value content is not only value to your business- but to others as well.
So, create your content, write those blogs, make those videos! Be sure to think about creating evergreen posts and be sure to share them as much as you can. You can do this!
