I am going to skip ahead with this blog and assume that, seeing as you arrived here and are reading this, you already know that content marketing is the most talked about online marketing tactic at the moment. I am going to further assume that the reason you found this blog is because, like so many others, actually getting to grips with how to create regular and meaningful content is eluding you.
Let me see if I can help you
What is content?
In order to be able to create content, we must first understand what it is. The dictionary definition of content is:
“The material, including text and images that constitutes a publication or document.”
Fine, but it doesn’t really help to answer the question; not in the context of how the marketing industry uses the word.
How about this?
“Content is anything you do, know or think within the context of your business, that has a bearing on; or is of value to, your business and/or customer”
It is a bit long winded I agree; but if you cut through the windy parts, you are left with a very simple concept.
Content is anything that is of value to your customers.
What is the purpose of content?
The purpose of content is, in my opinion, to demonstrate.
- Well thought-out and valuable content will demonstrate to a search engine that you have information on a particular subject.
- It will demonstrate to your visitors and prospective clients that you can answer their questions.
- It will demonstrate that you are knowledgeable and a safe bet.
- It will demonstrate trust in you and your service.
Where does content come from?
Now then, I need you to pay very close attention to this next bit, because if you blink you may miss it. Content comes from your day to day activities, in work or out. Assuming that you take pride in your work and try to provide the best service for your customers as possible, content occurs naturally and without thought. You just need to recognise that and create it. Get it down on paper, film it in a video or record it in a podcast.
But how do I do that?
You blinked didn’t you. I thought you might. Fine, let me try and really pin this down for you. Let’s start with Dave.
Meet ‘Dave’
Dave is an accountant and at the same time every year, Dave’s clients ask him the same set of questions about taxation. “Will I have to pay tax on my earnings?”, “What is my tax rate for this year?” and “Can I transfer my tax liabilities to my partner?”.
Each and every year Dave sits there and individually answers these questions until one day he has an epiphany! What if he answered the ten most asked questions and put them on his website? He has already answered the questions in the normal course of his work, so it isn’t as if he would need to do any extra work aside from putting them all in one document.
That way, Dave can efficiently answer his client’s questions whilst also getting on with the actual crux of the job which is helping his client to minimise tax.
Meet “Paul”
Paul is a carpenter, who designs and builds beautiful bespoke kitchens for his clients. He is only a small, one-man business and his only marketing resource is his website. He knows he needs to create content but he doesn’t understand how to do it. He works long, physically tiring hours and doesn’t have the time or energy to sit down and write blog posts about the ’10 best way to design a kitchen’.
One day Paul has an epiphany. The next day at work he sets up a static camera in front of where he is working. Every hour he stops for 10 seconds to take a photo. At the end of the job he has a number of photos that he uploads to You Tube and creates a freeze frame video. The video shows Paul building a kitchen from beginning to finish and demonstrates to his web visitors the quality and skill of his work.
Meet Chris
Chris works for a content marketing agency and he has two clients called Dave and Paul. Chris is always telling Dave and Paul about how to create content. Chris knows that what he has been telling Dave and Paul is valuable content, so he puts it all down in a blog post.
You are reading that blog post, right now.
So tell me, what content do you naturally create each day?