In a world where your rivals are blogging, Xting and emailing daily, maintaining an effective digital presence is crucial to keeping customers engaged and ensuring your brand remains fresh and compelling. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a big budget to do this – just a bit of time and a new supply of ideas.
Ah, yes.... Just ideas.
Why you need help creating content
Many people feel they need help creating content, even for their business. Even marketers who create content for a living can get stuck sometimes.
Getting started
The first step is to start with where you are. Get creative with what you have.
Photo by Adam Winger / Unsplash
A regular source of content ideas
Secondly, set things up to be easier for yourself by establishing a content source you can tap into: people you can ask when you need additional ideas and stories. Also, by tapping into the people and stories around you, your content will naturally be "on-message" because your organisation and its people will innately inspire it.
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Authenticity is an advantage
Content created by your company for your customers will also sound authentic. This is a highly desirable trait in content publishing and helps distinguish yourself from your competitors.
Building authenticity into your campaign will give you a considerable advantage over more prominent rivals.
9 ways to get unstuck
1. Revisit your company's founding year
Airbnb's founding story is an excellent source of inspiration for its content. It started as a small startup in 2008 and has grown into a global brand with millions of users worldwide. You could share your company's founding story, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them.
2. Reflect on your journey
For example, if you're a fashion brand, you could create content around the evolution of fashion over the years. How has it changed, and what are the latest fashion trends? You could also share any milestones or achievements your company has reached, such as winning an award or gaining a significant sales goal.
3. Look through the calendar
Can you share any patents your company has filed or any groundbreaking research you've conducted? You could also celebrate the achievements of your employees and showcase their work.
4. Celebrate stand-out innovations & achievements
For example, you could share any patents your company has filed or any groundbreaking research you've conducted. You could also celebrate the achievements of your employees and showcase their work.
5. Expand upon your brand values
If your brand values sustainability, you could create content around eco-friendly products or share tips for reducing your carbon footprint. You could also share any initiatives your company has taken to reduce its environmental impact. 6. Communicate Your Vision for the Company: You could share your company's vision for the future and how you plan to achieve it. You could also share any upcoming projects or initiatives your company is working on.
6. Discuss the bigger picture
For example, if you're a healthcare company, you could create content around the latest healthcare trends or share insights into the healthcare industry. You could also discuss how your company is working to impact society positively.
7. Create a campaign around gender and equality
How about creating content around gender equality in the workplace or sharing stories of women who have broken barriers in their field? You could also discuss your company's initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion.
8. Survey colleagues and peers
Why not ask your employees what they think your company should be doing differently, or what new products or services they want to see? You could also reach out to your customers and ask for feedback or suggestions for improvement.
9. Review how far the company has come
Share any major milestones your company has achieved over the years, such as reaching a significant sales goal or expanding into new markets.
Conclusion
So, creating content doesn't have to be complicated; it gets exciting when you realise the scope of what you can write about. Talk about your business, what you have done, your plan, your vision and what inspires and excites you – those are all great starting points.
Remember: the purpose of content is to stay in touch with existing customers and woo new ones; to be top of mind when people think "Who should we call for X, Y, Z?"
