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Content creation is an integral part of online marketing but can also be a big time commitment. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to get bogged down in the process and never actually publish anything.
The key to streamlining your content creation process is to have a clear plan before you start writing. First, decide what topics you want to cover, what format you want your content to take, and how often you wish to publish. Then, create an editorial calendar to help you keep track of your progress.
Here’s all you need to know about streamlining content creation to make the whole process go as smoothly as possible.
- 60% of marketers create one piece of content at a minimum daily.
- The global content marketing revenue is $65.66 billion.
- 97% of organizations worldwide have a content marketing strategy, and this strategy’s leading goal is to create brand awareness.
- 42% of marketers will increase their content marketing budget in 2022.
- Video content has the top content marketing potential for B2B marketers worldwide.
Why Is It Important to Streamline Content Creation?
When content is scattered across different departments, getting a clear idea of your company messaging can be difficult. A lack of alignment in content can quickly lead to confusion for customers and potential customers.
That’s why it’s so important to have a streamlined process for creating content. When everyone is on the same page about what kind of message is being put out, it’s much easier to stay consistent and avoid miscommunications.
There are a few key benefits to having a streamlined content creation process:
Saves Time
The most obvious benefit of having a streamlined content creation process is that it saves time. When everyone knows their role and what they need to do, the process moves much more quickly.
There’s no need to waste time going back and forth between departments or waiting for approvals.
Plus, you already have a content calendar, saving the hassle of coming up with topics on the fly. Likewise, you can schedule content based on your calendar.
Improves Quality
Since there’s less room for error, you can be confident that your content is accurate and on-brand. You can also be sure that all your content is aligned with your overall marketing goals.
It’s best to use analytics tools to determine what type of content resonates with your audience. It will help you produce engaging and relevant content.
Ensures Consistency
Consistency is essential in content creation since you want to showcase the same brand image on all fronts. For example, if your company’s voice is friendly and casual on social media but formal on your website, that can confuse customers.
How to Streamline Content Creation?
There’s no denying that content is king. However, you can’t push out good-for-nothing content and expect it does wonders. Nor can you spend all your time creating content, leaving no time for other important tasks. That’s why content streamlining is essential.
But what does it mean to streamline your content creation process? In short, it means making things easier on yourself so that you can produce content more efficiently.
It can be anything from automating tasks to outsourcing work. Whatever you do, the goal is to make your life as a content marketer easier so that you can focus on creating great content.
Here are a few ways to streamline your content creation process:
Create a Content Calendar and Strategy
The more well-planned and organized your content is, the easier it will be to create.
Map out what you want to write about ahead of time, and create a schedule for when you will publish each piece. It will keep you on track and help ensure you’re always creating new content.
Here are some tips on creating a content strategy:
- Jump In On Trends: When something is trending, it means people are searching for it. If you can create content around a trending topic, you’re more likely to rank in search engines and get traffic. While it’s not possible to predict all trends, you can be certain about some of them. For example, holiday shopping will be a massive trend around the Christmas season.
- Choose a Variety of Topics: Write about different things to appeal to a broader audience. You don’t want all your content to be about the same thing, or you’ll bore your readers. You can use WordPress search analytics plugins to track search terms visitors have used on your website.
- Vary Your Content Types: Don’t just stick to writing blog posts. Create different types of content, like infographics, videos, and podcasts. Not only will this keep things interesting for your audience, but it will also help you attract more viewers and followers.
- Have Plenty of Evergreen Content: If you don’t want to spend all your time updating your content, including plenty of evergreen topics. These timeless pieces will be relevant no matter when they’re published.
- Generate Ideas in Advance: If you wait until the last minute to develop ideas for your content, you’ll likely struggle. Instead, generate a list of ideas in advance so you always have something to write about. It will save you time and help you produce better content. You can use WordPress Analytics to generate ideas about the content that does well with your target audience.
Use Templates
Creating content from scratch can be time-consuming. That’s why content briefs and templates are so helpful. They provide a starting point for your content, and you can customize them to fit your needs.
For example, if you’re creating a blog post, use a template that includes the title, subheadings, and supporting images. This way, you don’t have to start from scratch every time you sit down to write.
You can find templates for almost anything, including social media posts, email newsletters, and infographics.
Schedule Posts
Another way to optimize content creation is to schedule your posts in advance. It allows you to batch content creation and can help you stay ahead of the curve.
When it comes to scheduling, your aim should be to create a content calendar. It will help you map out your content strategy and ensure that your content is published regularly.
Since WordPress lets you republish a post for SEO and traffic, you can use this to your advantage by scheduling your posts ahead of time. When scheduling posts, keep the following in mind:
- Timing: You should publish your content at a time when your audience is most active. Check your analytics to determine when your readers are online and schedule your posts accordingly.
- Frequency: How often you publish content will depend on your goals. If you want to increase traffic, you’ll need to publish more often. A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 2-3 posts per week.
- Variety: Don’t just focus on one type of content. Mix things up to keep your readers engaged. Try publishing a mix of blog posts, infographics, videos, and other types of content.
Use Every Format
As mentioned earlier, don’t limit yourself to blog posts. Venture out and try different content formats. It will help you reach a wider audience and keep things interesting for your current followers.
Some popular content formats include:
- Videos: You don’t need Hollywood production values to create a great video. A simple webcam video can be just as effective. If you’re unsure where to start, check what your competitors make.
- Podcasts: Like videos, podcasts are a great way to reach more people. They’re perfect for people who commute or have long drives.
- Infographics: People love infographics because they’re easy to consume and share. If you have data that you want to share with your audience, an infographic is the way to go.
- Interactive Content: Quizzes, flipbooks, polls, and surveys are all types of interactive content. They’re a great way to engage your audience and get them involved in your content.
- User-generated content: The easiest way to organically create authentic content is to collect UGC from your loyal customers and brand advocates. You can create a branded hashtag to encourage social referrals and repost the best images, videos, tweets or posts to your account.
Repurpose Old Content
If you’re struggling to come up with new ideas, repurpose old content. It’s a great way to update your content without starting from scratch.
When repurposing content, update it with new information and data. Don’t just copy and paste old content into a new format.
For example, if you have an old blog post that’s doing well, you can turn it into a video or podcast. You can also create an infographic or slide deck from the data in the blog post.
Likewise, if an old piece of content is no longer relevant, you can update it with new information to keep your content fresh without starting from scratch.
Final Words
Optimizing your content-creating process is important because it will help you save time and get better results. Additionally, it ensures consistency in your content, which is essential for engaging your audience.
Some ways to streamline content creation are to schedule posts, use different formats, create a content calendar, and use templates.
However, it’s also important to note that you should never sacrifice quality for quantity. Your ultimate goal should be to create helpful and interesting content for your target audience.