Creating Content: The Most Time-Consuming Responsibility for Modern Content Marketers

In the daily workflow of content marketers today, crafting excellent content takes up the majority of our time. It’s our primary responsibility to produce engaging content that can connect with our audience and drive revenue, which ultimately enables us to earn our living.

Understanding Content Creation: A Comprehensive Guide

Content creation involves a series of steps that include identifying a new topic, selecting the desired form of content, defining a strategy (keyword-based or otherwise), and producing the final piece. Additionally, multiple rounds of edits are typically required with other stakeholders before the content is ready for publication.

Given that content can manifest in a variety of forms, such as blog posts, videos, eBooks, tweets, infographics, and advertisements, the process of content creation can be complex and nuanced. However, producing quality educational content can significantly impact your business. Research has shown that creating high-quality educational content can increase the likelihood of customers buying from your business by up to 131%.

To create great content, it is crucial to follow a well-established process. This guide will walk you through the content creation process from start to finish and demonstrate how creating excellent content can assist your audience and customers in finding solutions and answers to their problems. So, where do we begin?

Understanding the Role of a Content Creator

To fully comprehend the content creation process, it’s essential to start with the basics, including the definition of a content creator. A content creator is an individual responsible for generating, creating, and distributing content that connects a brand with its intended audience. The primary objective of content creators is to produce appealing and engaging content that captures the attention of users, driving website traffic, conversions, and interactions with the brand on external platforms like social media. The content can serve an informational purpose, but it may also be intended to entertain to increase brand awareness, for example.

Digital content creators generate content across any platform or channel. For any enterprise organization, having dedicated content creators is crucial. These content marketers bring ideas to life through high-quality content that maximizes the chances of ranking well in search engine results pages (SERP) and increasing the number of visitors to your site.

Generating Content Ideas: Tips for Successful Content Ideation

Content ideas can arise from various sources, including your content team, customers, other stakeholders in your company, new data, or something that inspires you. However, determining the correct angle to take on a specific topic can prove challenging, depending on the goal of the content piece.

For instance, if you’re tasked with creating content that highlights a new product feature, you may already have a baseline idea of what you need to produce. However, if your task is more extensive, such as writing early-stage content that drives organic traffic to your website, you may need to explore other methods of generating content ideas. Here are some effective methods that can help stimulate your creative thinking and inspire innovative approaches to potential content pieces.

Generating content ideas is crucial for content creators, and there are various ways to get inspired:

Conduct keyword research to understand how your target audience talks about the topic you want to cover. This approach not only helps you discover new content opportunities but also estimate the potential organic traffic you may receive if you rank for the keywords you choose.
Ask for feedback from your customers, as they might have unanswered questions about your product or industry that you can address in your content. This approach can directly impact your existing customers and enhance their engagement with your brand.
Put yourself in your audience's shoes and think about what they might find engaging, interesting, or helpful. You can explore platforms like Quora to find out what topics people are discussing in your area of expertise.
Collaborate with other teams within your organization, such as customer support and sales, to leverage their knowledge and identify content ideas that address your customers' needs.
Monitor your competitors' content strategy to understand their approach, identify gaps in their coverage, and differentiate your brand's voice and content.

Once you have a topic, the next step is to plan and outline your content.

To plan your content, the first step is to determine the form it should take. Some concepts may be more effective if represented visually, requiring an infographic or video, while others may be best conveyed through plaintext such as a blog post, article, or eBook.

To gain insight, researching the types of content that already exist on the topic is essential. A quick Google search of the topic or keyword can reveal videos, infographics, and other forms of content. This research will help to decide what type of content to create.

Proper keyword research is also vital in the planning stage. When creating web content, you must choose a target keyword to incorporate into your content as you write.

Check out our eBook, SEO 101 for the Content Marketer, for more tips on how to approach SEO when creating content.

Next, you need to determine the scope of your content project. If your idea is specific and limited, a single blog post, video, or article may be sufficient. For larger topics that are central to your business’s value proposition or area of expertise, multiple pieces of content may be required. Successful content creators plan the structure of their finished project before starting to write or create.

Below are some suggested questions that you can ask yourself during the planning phase of your content creation process:

Who is the target audience for this content?
At which stage of the buyer's journey does this content aim to engage the audience?
What budget and time constraints do I have for creating this content?
Do I require additional resources or assistance, such as a graphic designer or a video producer, to bring my content vision to life?
Is this content timely or evergreen?
How does this content fit into my overall content strategy?
Which audience segments or customer groups will benefit from this content?
Which individuals or teams within my organization will this content assist?

Once you have your plan in place, you can begin creating your content.

Creating Content

Finally, it’s time to create your content. You may already be a pro at this. Utilize the plans you’ve made and the ideas you’ve generated to produce an exceptional finished product.

If you’ve effectively completed the previous steps, you should have everything you need to create outstanding content.

However, keep in mind that content creation is a dynamic and evolving process. As you write, film, design, or produce, be aware that adjustments may be necessary. If you notice an issue with the angle or format you’ve chosen, don’t hesitate to step back and make necessary changes. This process should be adaptable and responsive as you acquire new information about your customers and audience.

After your content has been published, take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. However, don’t forget that the content creation process is ongoing, from the initial idea to publication, as well as a pre- and post-release promotion plan. As a content marketer, it’s your responsibility to oversee each piece of content throughout its entire journey. Therefore, don’t let the creation process distract you from your post-publishing distribution and promotion strategy, which is just as important.

Additionally, learn from both your successes and failures. Each piece of content is an experiment, and by monitoring and measuring its performance, you can determine what works best for your organization. Use this knowledge to inform your future content creation efforts. By establishing a list of KPIs and measuring your content ROI, you can demonstrate the value of your content marketing efforts and gain support for future initiatives.