The 12 secrets to producing great content online
We produce content to add value, that is the aim. Your content marketing strategy is formed, of course, to create engagement around your business and also to give your clients more education around your niche.
However, do you find you are producing content (whether it be social media posts, podcasts, blogs, email marketing and everything in between) and you aren’t getting the level of engagement you are looking for?
What does it look like to not just have good content, but GREAT content? Super interesting, value-adding, easy to understand content?
Of course, you think your content is great, we only produce the best for our business! But just in case you want to up-level your content, gain more aligned clients and start making a dent in your industry, I have put together 12 secrets to producing the BEST content you possibly can! I know that is DEFINITELY what you want to achieve. Well let's go!
1. Make it your own
The content you produce needs to be YOUR own work, your own opinions and your own voice as a business. Yes, I highly recommend doing some research before writing but use your own philosophies and ideas to get that quality content out there. It won’t read well if you have copied it off another page (plus that is illegal). You also want it to be your voice and your style of writing! If you aren’t confident with your style or don’t know what it looks like for your business, please download my FREE guide “creating your own business voice).
2. Headlines and subs (for text and video)
Headlines are SO important, getting this right will mean someone clicking on your article as opposed to someone not clicking. Have a clear heading, make it engaging and be open and direct. To read more about headlines, please read my LinkedIn blog on this here. Now for subheadings, why are these important? WELL, they not only break up the text but they help the reader find what they are looking for and gives them a quick and easy option to read your content. For video, heading slides break up the video and make it easier for people to understand your message. Also, headings and subheadings help with SEO!
3. Determine where to post
When you have produced your content, you want to make sure you have platforms to post to. This could be just social, a blog with social share or anything else to get your message out there. Determining where to post your content is all about having a content plan. If you don’t have one, you must get started! Especially if you want to be consistent.
4. Re-purpose without re-copying
When you have produced a piece of content (podcast, video, blog etc). You want to reshare the message without copying every single element across different platforms. For your podcast, grab a good quote from it and use it in your stories on social. Repurpose your blogs into small social media posts or to form videos. You don’t want to just copy and paste but you want to make sure you have fresh content across all the platforms you operate.
5. Two-way communication
What do I mean by “two-way communication”? Two-way communication is talking with your clients rather than at them. You want to be engaging with your target audience, asking them to participate and replying to their comments. If you are constantly talking at your clients, they will feel undervalued. Ask them questions on social media or your blogs and videos. Start conversations with your content.
6. Provide value (even if it is free)
I can understand this is a hard one to come to terms with. Why would I provide free material? Then no one will buy from me. WRONG! Provide valuable content for free so people can see you offer amazing products and/or services. Give away free tips, tricks and advice in your content so people can trust your message. People will see how much value and knowledge you give and they will want more from you!
7. Watch, listen, read
When you are planning your content strategy (I hope you are doing this), make sure you cover all basis. You want to have content people can watch, listen to and read! These can be on one platform, but make sure you have variety. If you want to learn more about this, go to my blog “The four best ways to reach your clients with content - become a resource hub”.
8. Add visuals (for text and video)
To make your content more engaging and appealing, you want to have visuals in your text and videos. Add images to your blogs, have title cards in your videos to make it more engaging to watch. It is the little details that make a difference.
9. Have a call to action
When you are producing content, you also want to have a purpose. Have a call to action (CTA) in your content. This could be directing your clients to follow you, share their insights and experiences or check out a product or service you offer. Make sure you mix up these CTA so they aren’t all sales techniques. Remember it is two-way communication!
10. Have themes
Pick topics to talk about across your different platforms (without them being exactly the same). Have themes of the month or week to drive engagement and continue to develop the topic in further detail. This will also help with your plan!
11. Have a plan
HAVE A CONTENT PLAN! What days do you post where? When do you show up? I have created a simple tool you can use to begin a plan and start mapping out your content topics and social media platforms. You can download it below.
12. Make it easy to read
Of course, this is the goal. But what I mean by this is, make it simple to understand. Think about how much you actually read or engage with when it comes to content. Most of the time you don’t read every single word. Make your content easy to digest using simple language. Digestible content is key, don't be fussy perfecting every word. Get your message out!! Never delay.
Next steps
The next phase is to start trialing your content. Make a plan and get your platforms in order before you start delivering content. The more you practice writing, the better you will be. BUT we don’t always have time, so if you need to, outsource your writing. Just make sure you find someone who is aligned.
