THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTENT CREATION

24 Jul THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTENT CREATION

Marketing Podcast – Ludwekazi Ndlazi

Hi. My name is Ludwekazi Ndlazi, and I’m an account manager at BWD Advertising.

Today, I’ll be sharing with you insight on content creation. I often get the question, why is content creation important? So, today we get to break down how to understand content creation and how to make it effective for you. Content creation is the process of compiling and collecting filtered information for a specific targeted audience. And it’s very important that the audience is always targeted because you don’t want to appeal to everyone and end up losing some of the people in the process. And this information is always targeted and compiled for a specific objective, particularly in the marketing and digital marketing or other space.

What happens when this content has been put together? It’s then distributed in different mediums which could either be spoken or written. That is basically the breakdown and in simple terms what content creation entails. So, I often get asked, what are the forms of content creation? And these include blogging, videography, photography, online commentary, amongst other things. It really ranges from what you’re trying to achieve and that is very important for you to understand. What are you trying to achieve and then you’re able to determine which platform you’re going to use. Blogging, for example, appeals to a lot of people because you can use, it’s a more conversational approach. With all the forms that I’ve mentioned, you will notice that the common thread is storytelling. Marketing is about telling a story, you want to compel people to buy into your product and what you’re offering. So, that is why we have these forms of content creation and you need to decide, are you going for videography, photography, or are you blogging? It’s also very important to understand that content creation is encompassed in website design as well. So, particularly maintaining and developing your website. All the content that you put together there works towards achieving a certain goal as well. So remember, photography, videography, online commentary, and blogging are also some of the important forms of content creation.

Now, it gets a little more interesting. I answer the question, what five tips would you give for me to take into account when I create my content? That’s a very common question that I always get from clients on different spheres and different fields. The first important point is for you to establish a goal. Very, very important because when you have a goal, it directs you to what direction you’ll be taking with your content. So, for example, I do want to achieve lead generation. Are you trying to build awareness for your business or your brand? And then, you also need to consider customer retention as well. Is that one of the goals that you want to achieve? When you ensure that you are not what you want to achieve with your content, it’s easier for you to direct all your content into that space. So remember, what is your goal? And show that your team is aware of this as well because everybody works towards someone a common goal and everybody stays winning.

The second tip is to identify your audience. Also very crucial to you directing your content. Are you appealing on a more business to business perspective? Or are you going more business to customer? Also very important for you to be able to establish who you are appealing to because this informs the tone of the content that you’re creating and the style at that which outline everything. Always remember, you cannot just decide today to appeal to a specific audience and then tomorrow change again because people need to trust you, you need to build that trust between your audience and then you also have to be reliable in that regard. You need to also understand the stages of the marketing funnel because this also gives you a better idea and a broader spectrum in terms of the buying cycle. No way your audience is. Are still trying to get them to know you? That which is awareness stage, or are you at the later stage where they already have know you and already had loyalty and you not only just building customer retention and people are even able to advocate for you. So, understand the marketing funnel because it gives you a better understanding of the content, what to distribute at what point.

The third point is give your audience value. It doesn’t matter which goal you want to achieve, whether it’s brand awareness or you want to convert say, leads into sales. Very important for you to always give your customers value. Solve a problem. Once you solve a problem, it’s easier for them to buy into what you’re selling. Whether it’s a service, whether it’s a product, always give them value. Provide information is very important. People often don’t know about different industries but they know what they need. Sometimes they don’t even know what they need. That’s where you come in as an expert in your field. Give them value all the time, provide valuable information. Inspire your audience because who then will inspire them if not you. You want them to be excited and if the thought of just getting them into what you are offering or into a conversation with you. So, always remember to give your audience value. You want those people to be your customers at the end of the day. So remember, provide value. Solve a problem, inspire, and provide information.

The fourth one is research. Often I hear people when I speak about research, they always think, I wanna go on Google and then see what’s going on there. There’s more to research but then just Googling or going on to the net and finding out what’s already there. Speak to your customers, interview your customers, know what’s working for them, find out what are the sort of points for them, what’s frustrating for them, and how can you help make their work or what they need to help solve their problems basically. So, you always need to investigate to get with your competitors as well. What’s working in the industry, what’s not working, and then find how you can intervene and be able to stand out from the crowd. Always conduct surveys as well because you want to know from your service and after sales service, from the service that you provided who’s happy and who’s not. So that you’re able to also go out and then improve where you fell short. That is basically what research is about. But read up on some of the research methods that could specifically work for your industry. It’s not necessarily custom stone that you need to investigate. Just investigate through surveys or interviews, there’s way more in that field.

And then lastly, put together a winning team. That is the crux of it all. You need to understand that you have a team that’s able to understand the goal that you have, a team that’s capable of putting together work that will be understandable, a team that knows what they’re doing and experts in their field. So, for example, content writing. When you don’t have a copywriter in your team and you just have somebody who needs to put together an article or a blog or two to give commentary online, there needs to be some sort of experience that allows them to be able to conduct the task without any hassles. So, that is what content creation is about. You need to understand all these different steps and if you implement all of these, you’re able to make it effective and work for you and your business.

Well, that is how you can make your content creation process work for you and your business. If you need any assistance, don’t hesitate to contact BWD Advertising and we will help you make this work.