You may have caught the first in our Content Creation series on Planning & Strategy recently – and we’re back for the next installment! In this article, we’ll give you some top tips around content creation, such as SEO research, creation, editing and publishing your content! Let’s get started.
Content Creation: The Creation Process
So, we’re at the stage of content creation! Here are our steps for great, well-thought-out content creation.
Conduct SEO Research
Unsure what SEO is? No problem!
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic (or visitors) to your website, channel, blog etc through organic search results.
Performing SEO research will show you how many people are searching for a specific keyword or phrase. This is helpful because you’ll get a good idea of what topics are popular and likely to bring in more traffic.
Start off by writing down questions or topics that your target audience might be searching. Then, create a spreadsheet that lists those with a decent search volume, but are attainable. If you’re just starting out, you’ll be unlikely to rank if you target the big keywords. This is because you’re up against established sites with a wide catalog to link to that will take the top spots on Google.
There are a few ways to perform your keyword research:
- Using keyword research tools such as SEMRush or Moz Keyword Explorer.
- Type your keyword into a search engine and note the auto-filled queries.
- Check out ‘related searches’ section on search engine results pages.
Organizing Ideas
Now you have keywords to target, it’s time to get some ideas together ready for content creation!
Our advice is to create one long-form, in-depth piece based on a keyword or topic. You can then link to other shorter pieces of content around related topics, such as Instagram videos, blog posts, infographics and so on.
Jot your main pillar pieces down and brainstorm around them for sub topics, checking search volumes for these, too. Once you have all of your ideas nicely laid out and structured, you can start creating! If you need further tips on planning content ideas, check out our article on strategy and planning.
Writing & Creating
Now comes the fun bit – creating your content! Here are our top tips for content creation:
- Don’t overlook titles and remember to utilize meta descriptions, image captions and so on, linking back to your keyword.
- Be concise, clear and don’t overload your audience with too much information.
- Present your personality! If you are creating a YouTube video, your audience will warm to you quickly if you’re being your authentic self.
- Try to make your content as unique as possible. If similar things have been done, find a way to make yours stand out.
- Keep your content focused rather than trying to explain various topics in one piece of content. That’s what your sub-categorized content is for!
Editing
Whether you’re creating a visual piece or written piece, you need to edit!
The main things to look out for are:
- Grammar and spelling (Grammarly can help here)
- Clear, concise language
- Shorter, SEO friendly sentences
- Quality (if visual)
- No distracting sounds and good lighting
- Flow of your story / information
Get somebody else to check your work, and give yourself a few hours (or even a day) before reviewing with fresh eyes. For videos or vlogs, editing really can make your video. Watch some videos that have comical or memorable editing and look at how they achieve this. If you are looking for music for your video, keep an eye out for the end of this article. For further tips on video editing, head here.
Uploading / Publishing
Now your content is ready, you can send it out into the world to be enjoyed!
A great idea is to use a CMS (Content Management System). This is software that hosts digital content and allows you to display it online – whether that’s on your website or elsewhere. This way, all of your content is connected and stored in one place, making it easy to link to content. You can also analyze the results of all the content for specific campaigns.
Now for the publishing part. It seems simple enough and usually involves pressing a button. However, there are some things to consider when publishing:
- Are you publishing at an optimal time? Think about when you’re uploading and when your target audience will be active.
- Is there a posting schedule you’re committing to (i.e. a new video every Friday)?
- Does this link to any events or holidays?
With a CMS, you can schedule posts for a future date and time. This allows you to lay out your schedule and get everything ready to go out, rather than uploading every single time.
How Audiosocket Can Help You With Content Creation
This article is all about content creation, and that’s where we can help! With your YouTube videos, podcasts and so on, it’s time to start looking for additional elements such as music.
If you are looking for authentic, top-quality music for your project, why not check out Audiosocket? Your content deserves the best, so sign up today and access 85,000+ songs to bring your vision to life! You can access Audiosocket’s music catalog for just $15 a month as a Personal creator. Not only that, but this allows you to license an unlimited number of tracks at no additional cost. Talk about win-win!
Feel free to check out our article on micro licensing and how it is super helpful for content creators, also.
