If you learn nothing else from this post, note this; digital content requires a deliberate effort. It is not a by-product or consequence of your day-to-day activities.
Let’s burn some fuel by running our engines. The number one reason why anyone will visit your digital platform is content. Whether it be storytelling, beautiful images or even giveaways. You got the idea? They come because of what you have to offer.
I get a lot of questions about what kinds of content works. The short answer is it depends.
Here are a few questions to consider when choosing content to put out
- What is your identity as a business?
- Who are your audience?
- Why would your content interest them?
- What platform is this content going to be delivered on?
- How do you structure this content?
- What resources do you need to provide this content?
Until you answer these 5 questions honestly, I’m afraid you’re just going to be groping in the dark. Sometimes you may hit, but you’re likely to miss a lot more often.
Something I hear quite often from clients is, “we produce a lot of content”. Media organisations tend to think that because it’s on the air or in print, it will automatically work for digital. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Radio and TV are predominantly free to air, so there will always be people watching and listening. Traditional print is dying with alarming speed. Any print organisation without a digital presence is unlikely to be doing well.
Same applies to regular companies too. There is a general thinking that the pictures, videos, or articles they share every now and then, are enough to bring visitors. If you learn nothing else from this post, note this; digital content requires a deliberate effort. It is not a by-product or consequence of your day-to-day activities.
That being said, let’s quickly take a deeper look. I’ll use a fictitious company as an example.
Let’s answer the above 6 questions for a company called XYZ incorporated. They are in the fashion business. They make clothes for adult men and women.
Their identity would be a trendy fashion company that creates stylish clothes for men and women above the age of 21.
Their audience would be income earners from 21 and above who are interested in looking good. These people probably attend social events and things like church regularly. They enjoy the compliments they get about their fashion sense and will be motivated to buy more based off those compliments. They very often don’t know which styles or colors are appropriate for the different events they go to and will need to be guided on fashion trends.
Knowing the kinds of content that would interest your audience requires some research. Don’t take it for granted that you know them. Talk to people, put out surveys. Do online research and more. The combination of your results will give you a clear idea of what they’re interested in.
Let’s say your audience want to see various options for outfits that would look nice on them. They also want more video. They could also want advice on how to dress to different events and how to match different colours appropriately. They could also want tips on accessorising. To go off tangent a bit, you may get more personal questions around how to dress on a first date and what kind of perfume to wear.
Your research will also tell you what platforms they are most active on. With all the information gathered, you are better able to decide where you want to engage your audience. There are many available platforms including social media. There’s website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more. I think a website is the most basic unit of engagement because first, you own your content and secondly there’s usually a low barrier to entry. Most companies don’t require you to register to view content.
Social media is ubiquitous and has the most active users, so you’re sure that people will see your content, right? These days, I’m not so sure. Simply being on social media and pushing out content doesn’t mean that you will get a lot of traction. I delve more into social media in a later article, so look out for that. The key takeaway here is that you must decide what will bring you the most value based on your goals.
Most people just get a nice photo or video and post on social media or website with a random caption. If you’ve read this far, you must realize that this tactic is most likely to fail. We are being deliberate with our content. Taking this back to our hypothetical research, we already have an idea of what the audience wants. How do we structure it? This brings me to storytelling and content planning. You want to tell relatable stories about your content to your audience and you want to plan it. You need to decide on a schedule for posting the content for maximum impact. Below I list a few content ideas that utilize storytelling and planning.
- 10 Classy Looks for your December Events
- New Job! 5 Ways to Mix Your Items on a Budget
- Matching Colors for Maximum Effect
- A Timeline of Dinner Outfits from Independence till Date
- Global: How People from 12 Countries Dress for The Beach
- Romance: How to Get a Second Date without Saying Too Much
I hope you get the picture. Each headline above tells a story, incorporates audience research and is relatable. You can decide to post each topic in one go or you could make it a series for a weekly or monthly period. It’s deliberately planned and scheduled.
Lastly, we look at resources. If you read my previous post here, I spoke about the team size you will need. I’ll also add equipment; are you going to be using a mobile device or do you have the resources to rent or buy high end cameras for photo and video. Can you record your podcasts on your phone or do you require a high-end studio? Are you delivering your content on your website or are you curating a better experience on a mobile app? In conclusion, there are a few things we need to consider before posting content. If you’re just starting out, keep it simple, keep it consistent and be deliberate. If you need more help, please feel free to contact me for a consultation.
