Content is paramount to any business with an online presence, which in this day and age should be almost every business. But good content doesn’t come at the push of a button. It can’t be generated by a machine or churned out by someone who spends five minutes writing a blog post. There’s a lot to think about when you create content for your business, whether it will go on your own website or other people’s. The first thing you need to think about is what sort of content to produce. If you decide that text, such as blog posts, is suitable for your business, as it is for many, you need to decide what to write about. You should be posting content regularly, which means you need a constant stream of fresh ideas.
Relevance to Your Customers
Your content needs to be of interest to your customers and prospects. You shouldn’t necessarily be writing about your product all the time. But your posts shouldn’t be completely irrelevant to what you’re selling either. For example, if you sell jewelry, you might write about how to clean gold rings. Someone trying to find out about that topic could read your blog post, and you know that they have an interest in jewelry and might look at other content on your site. Think about who your target audience are and what else they enjoy and are looking for, other than your products or services. Someone who likes jewelry might also want to read about fashion in general or antiques.
How To
People love information that shows them how to do things. As such, “how to” guides and instructional content tends to do well, whether it’s text, video or infographics. You might produce information about how your products work and how people can use them. But you can also expand your ideas further into your industry and related sectors. If you sell craft supplies, you could write a guide on scrapbooking or create content about putting together a DIY wedding.
Valuable Information
The content that you provide should always be useful to the reader or viewer. It might help them decide whether to buy a product, show them how to do something new or explain how something works. In Issa Asad’s Lifeline series, he uses his content to provide valuable information about the service to which the Lifeline program gives people access. You can see many other examples of content that focuses on an issue and aims to educate the reader. Of course, it can also entertain at the same time.
Expert Knowledge and Opinion
When people see your content, they want to know that you know what you’re talking about. It’s important that they can see you as an authority on the subject you choose to address. One of the ways to do this is to backup your opinion and knowledge with other sources. You should also be sure not to stray too far from topics that are relevant to your product. But remember that you’ll need to build your reputation over time, and people won’t see you as an expert overnight.