Content Creation for Small Business

A lot of articles are written discussing content creation without really explaining what kind of content, and how should it be created. That’s like having a ballet dancer explain to you how to disarm a bomb in Italian (oh, you don’t know Italian either). That’s why I have decided to break down Content Creation in relation to small business.

Pick your Content Person:

With a relatively small task force the responsibility of creating dynamic content is frequently added to an already busy employee’s schedule. Oftentimes content creation cannot be at the forefront of an employee’s priority list. Finding an employee that is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the field you will be producing content for is the first step in the right direction. An individual must be passionate about the field because great, fresh, unique content takes time and research.

Alternatively, some interns do well in content creation. They usually have an aptitude for the Web and the additional research and writing will help strengthen their knowledge of the particular field. Lastly, if resources are available outsourcing a qualified individual to do part time content creation is another solution that works well. Again, make sure to find a person that is both knowledgeable about your field and the Web.

Determine Your Market:

The first step is to determine what kind of content you should create. I’m going under the assumption that whatever you’ve attempted so far has yet to show large dividends thus a practical approach would be to see what others, specifically your competition, are doing to generate traffic. What articles are doing well, and who is linking to those popular articles? Are videos, infographs, white papers, etc. doing extremely well for a competitor? Are you displaying the same kind of content?

These are areas where you can take away valuable information. Comparing what you have to offer content wise against your competitors will help you to cut areas that either aren’t working for you or that your competitor might have too much of a monopoly on. Additionally it will help to see what kind of information your potential visitors and linkers are interested in, thus allowing you to adapt a different content creation strategy.

Look to Vertical Search Opportunities:

Sometimes you don’t have the time or resources to provide the same stellar content a competitor is consistently putting out. Instead of attempting to pull off a “David and Goliath” feat, looking into vertical avenues may prove beneficial. Perhaps your competitor has a well established blog, but your product can also benefit from a video series which they have yet to focus their energy on.

By utilizing the time you do have, your company could deliver informational entertaining videos thus increasing your traffic without having to compete directly with their established marketing strategy. This is not a green light to forgo putting out content in all areas, but you should determine a focal point from your research both in-house and from competitors.

Stay Consistent:

People enjoy schedules – music releases on Tuesdays, new movies on Fridays, and they’ll come to enjoy a pattern with the release of your new content. It’s well known that spiders enjoy new content, but the individuals coming to your site for information feel the same way. Determining how much content you will release in any given week should be ironed out and adhered to going forth. The only cause for deviation would be to test whether an increase in content will cause a traffic increase or not. Perhaps content three times a week is almost as good as five. This is where trial and error will be used. After several months of monitoring data you should develop a pattern that works for you and your visitors.

Make it Worthwhile:

This will seem contradictory from the last point, but if you have nothing great to offer one day don’t post anything. Consistency only matters when the content you provide is informative and new to your audience. Instead take that time to do more research on a later topic. Many people flood blogs and social media because they feel that they always have to be churning out content. This leads to a lot of sub par work which makes it harder for individuals to find what they’re searching for. Taking the time to only submit great articles will soon be noticed in your field.

Knowing that writers block or personal issues might arise from time to time it’s always good to have one or two employees take some time from their main responsibilities to jump into the content creation to produce several pieces. It will allow you to recharge while simultaneously shining a different perspective onto your blog, podcast, video, etc.

Writing consistent fresh content for your field can be a labor-intensive task, but by assigning the right person, determining your visitor type, finding your niche, and writing worthwhile content there should be no problem in carving out your own little place on the Internet. Do you have additional suggestions of ways you address content creation? Let me know below in the comments section.

The next logical step – Keyword Research:

It may seem a little backwards, but I did this on purpose. By writing the content without worrying about how to set up key phrases and words you’ll be able to review your content to see if you’re already properly focusing on certain key terms. Next week we’ll be focusing on keyword research so your content can be directed to the traffic you want.