Learn what digital content to create for your business
You’ve started your business, bought that shiny new laptop, opened the doors of your store, and signed up to all the free social media platforms you’re comfortable using — but how do you create content that’ll find you new customers, and keep your current followers wanting to consume more?
There’ll always be times when we all run out of ideas. A lot of what you’ll need to create to get your customers and followers engaged will come through trial and error, but we’ve created a short list of suggestions that will get you on track and in routine.
Check your website and social media analytics
Learn from past experiences: your own trial and error in social media posts, blogs, and conversations with friends and family will unveil a wealth of content opportunities.
What has gained most traction for you on your website’s blog? What articles are top of the pile? Hopefully your website will have a built-in analytics. At Team Locals Media, we use a platform called Squarespace for all our clients’ business websites.
Squarespace has a built-in analytics system that shows us things like traffic sources (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Ask, and so on), popular content (including top pages and most-read articles), geography (where your site users are located), and search engine queries leading to you.
Squarespace also plays nice with Google’s free analytics system, as does the Wordpress platform and many other website construction services. If you haven’t already got an analytics system attached to your site, get this done immediately. Then find out what your users are engaging with and start creating a lot more of that type on content.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have built-in analytics that’ll show you what your followers are engaging with and reading most from the content you’re uploading to your social media accounts. Look over this information and start sharing similar content.
Don’t be shy! Ask your customers what sort of content would benefit them
Use your existing followers and clients to survey what sort of content you can create for them that they’ll find useful. For example, if you’re a micro-brewery and you brew up your own delicious ale, then speak with your already happy customers, seek out like-minded ale drinkers and connoisseurs on social media, and engage with them to discover what content they’re already consuming within your sector. Find out where they source the content and what types of media they prefer to consume. This will reveal a wealth of information to you that you can use to serve up fitting content to your new and existing customers and followers online.
You can also make use of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram’s built in survey options. This is a really good way to get your already engaged audience to contribute and provide insight. Give them some options, pose a question, and watch the results flood in.
Follow some larger peers in your field of expertise
Those large accounts that you want to emulate have all those followers for a reason. Typically, they’ll have been creating engaging content consistently, resulting in their content frequently reaching new audiences. (Of course, you should be wary that some accounts with a larger audience may have bought fake followers to conjure an image of notoriety.)
Go and see what these accounts are posting, when they’re posting, and how frequently they’re posting. See what posts are being shared, commented on, and engaged with the most, and start creating your own tailored content based on those metrics. Make sure you use your own brand voice and relate the content back to your business’ activities.
Check the latest news, trending topics, and Google for what content is hot
Ever spotted that little magnifying glass tab on Twitter? Click it and it’ll present you with a page showcasing trends local to your area and wider across the globe. You can select to see trends personalised to your location and who you follow, or select an area where you want to see trends from.
Underneath this you’ll find Twitter’s top Moments: curated stories pulling together content related to certain stories and trends. Moments are goldmines for content ideas.
If you’re quick, you can create content that touches on your business sector and trending Moments, and reap engagement from the hot topics. For instance, if you’re a movie/TV reviewer or blogger, and Netflix have just released the latest series of a Marvel superhero series, jump on that opportunity to create an engaging piece of content that sheds light on the subject, offers an opinion, and helps your followers to learn about the series before they dive in. A recap of the preceding season, for example.
We're here to help
If you're not ready to start creating your own content just yet, or if you'd like some additional help alongside your own efforts, freeing you up to concentrate on running your business, then get in touch! We absolutely love helping small business reach their potential and manage their time effectively.
You can check out some of or media services here: https://www.teamlocals.co.uk/marketing-pr/
or email to info@teamlocals.co.uk, or reach out via any of our social media accounts @teamlocals