Looking
to start a blog or a video series for your brand but don’t know where to start?
Follow these 10 easy tips to make sure your content gets to the right people
and delivers the message you want.
1. Know your intended outcome before creating
Why are you creating this blog or video? Is it to drive traffic to your website? Create awareness around your brand? Increase sales of a specific product or service you offer? Answering this question before you start writing will help keep your content cohesive and focused on a specific goal.
2. Make it timeless
Unless absolutely necessary, don’t reference any specific time period or date in your content. Even if you have the most evergreen content imaginable, starting it off with “2020 is going to…” will immediately date yourself and possibly make you lose your audience. Save time references for trend articles and videos like “Hot trends for 2021” or updates about limited-time offers and initiatives.
3. Think about reuse
When it comes to content creation, the best thing to do is work smarter, not harder. In addition to its main purpose, your content could also have a second life as a blog, video or infographic! IF you’re shooting a video, one way to repurpose it is to have it transcribed by a service like Rev.com and then turn them into blog posts.
4. Make sure you have image/video rights
If you only follow one tip on this list, make sure it’s this one. Using an image/video that you don’t own or have expressed permission to use could land you in some hot water. If you need a free image in a pinch, Unsplash has millions of images that you can use for free, even if it’s for a commercial purpose.
5. Use targeted keywords
If you’re interested in having your content rank, (which you definitely should be) make sure to use a couple keywords in your copy. This includes using them in the title, description and script of your video. But be aware, stuffing your content with every keyword under the sun will do more to hurt your content in the long run. Google has changed its algorithm to show more relevant content to users, not just results with the most keywords.
6. Use common language
Nothing will make a person less receptive to your message than not being able to understand it. Unless you’re creating content for a very niche group, your audience isn’t going to know all the acronyms and industry jargon that you do. Make things simple and concise to ensure your content isn’t alienating to the people you want to see it.
7. Use accurate and timely information
Make sure any and all information you include in your blog/video can be linked back to a reliable source. This includes making sure your information is up to date as well. Sure, the study you’re quoting is technically accurate, but it’s also from 1994.
8. Use images and graphics whenever possible
This tip is specific for bloggers. It’s not a secret that images and embedded videos will help your SEO rankings, so adding them in whenever possible is a great strategy. Just like with the keyword tip above, make sure to not overdo them to the point where your blog becomes clustered and unreadable. Make sure when you add images that you add in an alt tag to help search engines know what the image is.
9. Length
When it comes to content, shorter isn’t always better. While short-form (500 words or less for blogs and 30 seconds or less for videos) is good for platforms like Twitter and Facebook, long-form content is still preferred by Google’s almighty algorithm.
10. Always include a clear and direct Call to Action
It may be tempting to ask people to call, email or stop-in, but the most effective call to actions are simple. One way to create a clear Call To Action is to give them one thing to do and to tell them what will happen if they do. “Call us to get a free quote.” Or “Enter your email in this form to receive a free ______.”
Now that you’ve read our top
tips for creating great content, get out there and start making the best blogs
and videos you can. If you’re looking for a partner, look no further than the
marketing experts at Proforma.
