Today all we hear about is content. How valuable it is, how it can create business, and build customer relationships. We need to maintain a steady stream of fresh content to keep our websites engaging and high on Google searches, market and build our business via blogs and create captivating content on a whole plethora of social media sites to seek new customers and maintain rapport with current customers. The amount of sheer content needed to keep your business ahead of the competition is overwhelming.
So what are your options for creating content?
One option is to create internally. This is a huge task. It might seem easy to write a blog or post comments on a social media site. But if you’ve taken pen to paper you will know, it’s not as easy as it seems. Not everyone is a writer or wants to be one. Even if you are a subject matter expert, doesn’t mean you want to write a blog. You might write a brilliant blog, but you can’t just write one. Blogs need to be consistently interesting and scheduled regularly. How many times a week are you going to blog or is the question, how many times do you want to write a blog? How about monitoring and responding to your blogs comments?
Today’s audience take in content like they breathe and exhale air. Their reading and browsing constantly, their multi-tasking and checking out their favourite websites and social media sites while watching t.v, travelling and even when their out with their friends.
There is also the factor of where is your time and expertise best spent? Is it trying to write content or is it doing what you do best? Running your business, managing your staff, basically the job you do that makes your business what it is. Writing content is not just a matter of putting pen to paper. It takes a fair amount of time – you need to dedicated time to research, read, plan and write. And it has to be good. There’s no point giving Tom, Dick or Harry the task of updating your Facebook site if they don’t have the ability to not just create content but to consistently create a long-term flow of quality content. Quality. Quality comes from not only who is creating the content but why. Unless you have the creativity and commitment to write content then the content is basically going to suck. Yes, suck.
If content is king and we see it as a valuable commodity that drives our businesses then why don’t we see the true value of good, consistent, quality content? Why are a lot of businesses looking at the cheapest possible deal or giving the task to some ill equipped teen who’s only interest in social media marketing is being a fanatically Facebook user. When we read something well written we appreciate it, just like a good novel or a well written and researched article. The same goes for the content that will represent your business. You know what quality is, you see it on other organisations websites, blogs and social media sites. So why aren’t you going to do the same for your business? Yes there are always compromises on what you can afford and what can be delivered.
So what is the answer? Think quality not quantity. Carefully select what avenues are the best places to communicate with your customers and do it well, really well. Don’t rush in and create business blogs and social media sites unless you are going to do what it takes to keep them fresh and ensure quality content keeps rolling in. Make the commitment that the content you deliver to the worldwide audience will be the best it possible can be.
