Creating Content: The basics
We see it all the time, we know it’s super helpful in getting traction, engagement and building trust with our audience but actually creating content can be intimidating. Without knowing where to start, what to post creating content can feel like navigating a new city without a map. We have put together a handy guide to help you understand what content is, how to come up with ideas and some apps to use to create it.
What is content?
We all know what it is, but just for the sake of this post, content is anything made or posted to a social media platform or the web. Why make and post it? Because it can be helpful for marketing, promotion, SEO and building trust, communication and relationships with your audience. It can help us share our message, values and knowledge, build a relatable, approachable brand or image and make communication with our audience super easy.
“Social media content is content which is created by individuals or companies for social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. These platforms are of particular interest to companies because they allow a much more direct interaction with users than classic marketing measures.” (thank-you textbroker)
What content do YOU like?
First and foremost, “before you can create content you think other people would enjoy, you need to figure out what type of content you enjoy, and why it tickles your fancy.” (Dominick Sorrentino )
Are you a quote person, a ‘how-to’ enthusiast, prefer pretty pictures or videos, reading a blog or article or do you prefer seeing snippets of what people do in their day? Figuring out what you like will help you figure out which type of content you might like to make.
If you aren’t sure what you like or what to create, whether it’s for your personal feed or a business feed, it is a good idea to start following similar businesses or like-minded people. The more you engage through liking, commenting and sharing with these accounts, the more you will see.
From there you will be able to build some preferences for what content you are enjoying, and which posts make you cringe.
It can also be helpful to follow accounts that are completely unrelated to what you are going to be posting about. This can allow you to find other cool posts, tips and tricks that you can adapt with your content and use as your own.
Content doesn’t have to be 100% original. In fact more often than not, it is copied or adapted from elsewhere or reused.
Creating Content
Start small
The easiest way to find where to start is to find a goal or reason as to why you are creating and sharing content. for example you may want to educate current customers about your services and knowledge. Once you have a goal you can start making small steps towards it in your content creation.
Some first posts could be;
- an introduction post of yourself or your business
- a tour of your work space
- a couple of your favourite or industry tips
- sharing something that you are working on
- a quote that you like
There are many options when it comes to what form of content to create. For example:
- quoted posts
- infographics
- blogs
- videos
- podcasts
- visual posts
- worded posts
- newsletters
- Stories, Reels or Tik Toks
- videos
Some of these will suit your audience and business type more than others. If you are new to content creating, even if you aren’t, you will no doubt find some forms scarier than others. I suggest starting with those and experiment with those. You can always have fun and experiment with the other forms, with the intention not to post, to build your confidence.
My top tip here is;
Start small! Focus the content on your goal! Think about the quality of your message, over quantity of posts! Keep having fun with it!
