You’ve heard it so much that you feel jaded by the words: “Content is king.” But in 2019, it’s still true that if you want to thrive in the B2B landscape you’ve got to create valuable digital content. You can’t just throw stuff up on social media or slap a blog together. You’ve got to have a plan — and know how to execute that plan.
Here are some tips on creating digital content that will help you become a great content creator and help your company become a thought leader in your industry in 2019 and beyond.
Be Timely and Topical
You’ve got your finger on the pulse of your industry. Don’t be stingy with that info, share it! Yes, you always want to showcase who you are and what you do, but you should also show that you’re going through the same experiences and challenges as your colleagues. This means that even if it’s not specifically relevant to your company, you need to highlight industry news, trends, innovations, and/or changes. What are your clients talking about? What matters to them? Whatever it is, write about it. Join the conversation. Be the information hub for your industry.
Don’t Just Make Noise — Find Your Voice
Whether you’re creating digital content from scratch or curating it, make it your own. Don’t just share a press release or a link and a headline. Put your own spin on it. Share your unique perspective and experience on the topic. Have a personality, but don’t oversell. Focus on showing your clients how you can help solve their problems. Know your audience and create or curate content that resonates with them. To accomplish this, you need to put yourself in your clients' shoes and think like them.
Educate and Inform
It has been said before, but it bears repeating: Don’t sell. Don’t talk (write) strictly about your company. There will be a time and place for that, but when you’re creating digital content, you’ve got to focus on educating and informing your audience. Yes, you have to prove yourself and show how you can deliver value, but first and foremost you have to build trust. In his book, Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype, Jay Baer highlights helpful marketing — marketing that is truly and inherently useful to your audience. When you’re authentic and can prove your worth, you can attract and retain an audience without hitting them over the head with a sales pitch.
Know When to Reuse vs. Redo
Content that attracts, engages, and delights can (and should) be reused. Good content is always well received and you never know who may have missed it the first time you posted or shared it. Obviously, you don’t want to share the same article over and over again, and if you’re going to reuse a social media post, at least switch up the messaging a bit. But reusing content is a smart way to keep your message fresh in the minds of your audiences. If you’ve written several pieces on a similar topic, summarize each one and create a longer, comprehensive piece. Or, if you've created a long-form article or white paper packed with info, break it up into smaller blog posts, guides, or even videos. Just remember to make sure all the information is correct and up-to-date. Never reuse content that is old news or outdated information. In these cases, you’ll want to redo the content and give it the fresh spin it needs.
When Creating Digital Content, Be Consistent
Whether it’s a blog post or a social media post, the million dollar question is always, “how frequently should we post?” Ask 10 different people and you may get 10 different answers. Should you blog weekly? Monthly? Post to social accounts multiple times a day? Once a day? Every other day? There is no right or wrong answer. Again, know your audience. See what resonates with them and how often they consume content. Find that happy medium and when you do, stick with it. If your contacts know when you’re going to post and share, you’ll be able to build a consistent and loyal audience of readers. Not to say that you shouldn’t post when inspiration hits or you have a timely message to share. Just first establish a schedule so your contacts know when you will publish a new article or your newsletter.
Finally, monitor and track response! Measure the performance of all your content to give you an indication of what you should be creating and when you should be sharing it.
Want more tips on creating digital content? Contact us today!
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