By Alyssa Brown
When creating a content strategy, you’re laying the foundation that will dictate your content’s success. But putting these moving parts into action — from getting your words down on paper to distributing your final article — is no easy feat. To help you get started, we’ve compiled three insider tips from various team members at Influence & Co.
We started a discussion with our account strategists, and they revealed the daunting content creation tasks a few of our clients faced. The most prevalent was getting fresh, industry-related ideas on paper.
Our team suggests using a structured question that is designed to provoke a brain-dump. As I mention in the guide, it’s much less intimidating to answer a few questions than to jump into writing a cohesive article, and it helps you record the most important elements of your article first.
Answering questions your audience will find useful is the first step in the content creation process. It’ll ensure that the information you provide is relevant and valuable to the people you’re trying to reach. And once you’ve organized these ideas in a logical format, it can serve as a master tool for other departments as well.
“Storing all of your articles in one place can help your entire team use that content as an asset in their roles,” says Matt Kamp, director of strategic partnerships. “For example, marketing can repurpose it for social media and blog or newsletter content, HR can educate potential hires with it, sales can nurture leads through relevant industry news, and so on.”
One piece of content can touch every part of your company, revving up its ROI potential. Once you’ve published that piece of content, the final step is leveraging its power across your social and internal channels to maximize engagement.
When building your thought leadership, publishing well-written, highly insightful articles is only half the battle. Without thoughtful social distribution, you won’t reach the people who stand to benefit from your insight.
One of our account strategists, Becky Langhorst, puts this idea in perspective: “Without social media, your blog can become a content wasteland. You need a strong social presence to distribute your new content, build your readership, and keep them engaged.”
I get the most joy out of my day when I reach the "BFF" level with my clients. I can be found making extra loud outbursts in the office, running off to workout classes or at my favorite local hangout, Shiloh.