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How to Create Unique Content for Your Business or Brand
“Content is king” is an oft-spouted phrase in the world of online marketing; but the fact is, many business owners never get around to creating that ‘content calendar’ they promised themselves when they first launched their website.
A website or blog which appears ‘unloved’ – a site which goes for weeks on end without being updated – will neither impress your visitors, nor win you the level of new business you seek. No doubt your website was not cheap to produce, so naturally you will want to justify the time and expense spent on it.
One question I am frequently asked is: “Where do I find fresh original content for my website or blog?”
Ideally you will need to update your site(s) at a minimum on a weekly basis, so where can you find a steady stream of fresh content that will engage and impress your visitors, thus building a trusting relationship with you?
With ever more demands on our ‘office’ time in the form of emails, text messages and social media communications, providing fresh, unique content will be critical to your success.
The stark reality is, that you have around three seconds to grab your visitors’ hearts and minds by convincing them that you have something of value to offer. Today’s digital marketing experts suggest that visual content has become ever more important (and will continue to do so) in the quest for loyal fans, or brand advocates.
And producing compelling visual content that will shared across multiple social media platforms is a proven way to extend your fan base.
It might surprise you to learn that this ‘unique content’ does not have to be expensive to create, nor unnecessarily time-consuming. It’s simply a question of getting organised and planning ahead.
The two main aspects you will need to consider are:
1) Finding topics that will be of interest to your audience.
2) The platform from which you will deliver that content.
Use Google’s Free Tools to ‘Conjure Up’ Topics of Interest to Your Target Audience
Free search tools like Google Trends, Google News and the latest update of Google’s former Keyword Tool, the new Google Keyword Planner can be helpful in generating ideas for content. And of course, Google Alerts is the perfect monitoring tool to help you keep on top of the latest news and developments within your industry. And don’t forget to set up Google Alerts for your main competitors too!
When we talk about Google’s algorithms (the way it ranks websites), we often mention the necessity for content to be ‘unique’ – but that does not mean that you cannot repurpose the same content for use across other media.
For example, let’s say you create a 10-page report for your commercial law firm advising businesses on how to protect their Intellectual Property. You format your report as a PDF and allow your visitors to download the information in exchange for their email address.
How might you repurpose that content to reach a wider audience?
You could:
» Record the content as an MP3 giveaway.
» Create a short video of the content to upload to YouTube & Instagram.
» Create a Pinterest account and ‘pin’ examples of brands’ IP protection: trademarks, patents, design rights, copyright (without infringing any IP legalities yourself, of course!)
» Create a PowerPoint presentation and distribute to slide-sharing sites like: SlideShare, Issuu, Scribd and so on.
» Create an infographic and upload it to social media-sharing sites. Or use Wordle.net to produce a unique word-based design around your brand to share with your visitors.
» Forget stock photos, instead take some creative, thought-provoking and sharable snaps with your iPhone (or similar) and upload to Instagram.
» Produce a case study which you can share with your audience.
» Interview an industry expert or one of your clients and release the recording as a podcast.
The key to your online success, lies in your ability to deliver stimulating and engaging content to your target audience in their preferred format. Indeed many ultra-successful marketers reproduce the same content across multiple platforms to suit the various preferences of their audience – and these marketers enjoy above average success rates when it comes bringing home the business.