Central Perk: Why and How To Create Great Content: Part 1

joi, 26 iunie 2014

Why and How To Create Great Content: Part 1

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 12:00 AM PDT

As a frequent attendee at SEO conferences in the UK, I’m used to hearing a lot of talks that follow a similar theme: ‘create great content’. It’s uttered so much that it has basically just become a string of buzzwords (can I call this a buzzphrase?) that exist to provide attendees like me with a ‘key takeaway’ from the event.

Here’s the issue

But there’s a problem. I’m finding that I’m not really taking anything away from these conferences other than a growing frustration that some talks simply do not delve into WHY or HOW creating great content should be done. That’s why I’m on a quest to find the answers I need in order to actually deliver something of value to my clients. In fact, there is a whole team of us here who are working towards the same thing, and we’re coming on in leaps and bounds.

What I’m doing about it

I’m doing this by stepping outside of my comfort zone, and by identifying opportunities where I can truly learn something new, or develop skills that I’ve started to build. In fact, just last week I headed to a classroom at General Assembly (London, UK) for a three hour content marketing workshop where I joined a group of other enthusiastic creative types to iron out the processes that should be used in the art of content strategy and creation.

Why I’m doing it

Coming from a journalism background, there is part of me that always wants to jump ahead to the end result – the juicy content that everyone wants to read. Yet I’m older and wiser now, and I know that in the world of marketing, the planning stages make a huge difference. Of course there are deadlines to meet just like in journalism, but many marketing campaigns are done over a much longer period, meaning that content must be sustainable.

That is why my colleagues and I are keen to be the best that we can be, and why we continue our education to create excellent assets for our clients. That’s a big part of working here at White; we spend 20 percent of our time each week on our personal development, which then positively influences the way we approach campaigns with our clients.

Is it working?

I won’t say that I know everything about content creation and strategy, but as a business we’ve had some really encouraging feedback on our recent projects and pitches. This all stems from the planning stage I mentioned before, something which I am happy to explain in more detail in part two of this blog post.

I’ll be delving deeper into why and how to create great content, which will outline many of the things I have learned over the past few months. So make sure to head back here in a couple of weeks to see whether you can take something away that is more than just a vague buzzphrase… I’ll be revealing the processes we use that really help to make a difference in a content led campaign.

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