Content creation is an incredibly broad term. It can mean anything from filming yourself dancing to a trending song and posting it on TikTok to writing business blog posts to give an insight into your business and everything in between.
Because content is so varied and there are so many options out there, it can be difficult to know where to start.
Here at The Edwards Company, we work with businesses interested in boosting their online exposure through written content. For some, that results in the production of regular blog posts, and for others, it manifests itself in quarterly newsletters or updated website content.
While this focus narrows the idea of content creation down slightly, it’s still a bit of a minefield when it comes to working out the logistics of it all. With this in mind, we thought we’d share some of our content creation Frequently Asked Questions to kickstart your content creation journey.
What is Content Creation?
As Maria Von Trapp would say, it’s always best to start at the very beginning (it is a very good place to start, after all!) and define precisely what content creation is so you know what you’re working with.
Hubspot – blogging whizzes and content creation know-it-alls – define content creation like this:
‘Content creation is the process of generating topic ideas that appeal to your buyer persona, creating written or visual content around those ideas, and making that information accessible to your audience as a blog, video, infographic or other format.’
In short, content creation is all about providing your target audience with the information they want. Whichever format you decide to use, the aim of the game is always to provide something of value.
Why should I create content?
Without content, your business can feel a bit two dimensional or disconnected. Content allows you to connect with your customers, potential customers and target audience – it enables you to bring them into your sphere of influence entirely.
Not only this, but content creation and content marketing, in general, can have an impact on the success of your business overall. Check out the following statistics from Hubspot:
- Content marketing brings in 3x as many leads as traditional marketing and costs 62% less
- SMBs that use content marketing get 126% more leads than those that don’t
- 61% of online purchases are the direct result of a customer reading a blog
- Companies that publish 16+ blogs per month get 3.5x more traffic than those that post four or fewer per month
Put simply, content creation and business blogging in particular really works.
Not only does it allow you to build trusting relationships with customers and potential customers, but it also has a worthwhile impact on your business overall.
What kind of content should I be creating?
Now that we’ve established the basics of content creation, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of it. And by that, we mean, what on earth should you be creating?
Now, this is a bit of a trick question because there really isn’t a definitive answer. It all depends on you, your business, and your target audience.
Let’s look at an example:
Example
You’re a small, local cleaning business just getting started on your content marketing journey. You want to update your business blog but aren’t sure what to write about. You’re targeting women in their 40s.
Our content creation team at The Edwards Company would suggest the following:
- Write case study blog posts detailing jobs that you’ve completed, including before and after photos, to build credibility as you’re just starting out.
- Tap into cleaning trends that your target audience may be talking about and write posts based on this.
- Make a list of pain points your target audience may face (no time to clean as the target audience is a businesswoman who spends most of her time working or lack time to clean because of busy raising a family) and write content that offers solutions. For example, How to Clean your Kitchen in Under 30 minutes.
All we’ve done here is think about what the target audience identified may be looking for. Keeping your target audience as your primary focus when creating content ensures that what you produce will be valuable and won’t disappear into the online abyss.
Note: when it comes to content creation, nothing is fixed. You can change up the content you’re producing based on what’s worked and what hasn’t in the past. Don’t be afraid to let your content evolve!
Content Creation with a Virtual Assistant FAQs
We now know exactly what content creation is, why you should be creating it and how to determine the type of content you should be putting out there.
That’s great, but for some businesses, it can sound like a lot to take on, and you may not be entirely confident in committing to consistent content creation.
Fear not! Our Content Creation service is designed specifically to provide a solution to the above problem. Content creation is time-consuming, and it can be overwhelming if you’re trying to get it done at the same as running your business.
We recognise this and therefore provide valuable, unique content to our clients all over the country. Sounds great in theory, doesn’t it? But you’re probably wondering how it’s possible for someone else to create your content for you.
Check out some more of our frequently asked questions below to find out how we do it…
How can you write about a business that isn’t yours?
This is a common concern of potential clients. They know their business inside out and feel they’d be the best person to create content that relates to it – but unfortunately, they simply haven’t got the time!
Our solution is simple.
Research. Before we even think about writing content for you, we spend plenty of time getting to know your business and your target audience. More often than not, we’ll sit down for a virtual chat with you to find out things like your company mission, vision and goals and your ideas for what you want your content to look like.
We’ll also send you some more detailed questions about your business to really get a feel for the tone and style we should be writing in. To add to this, we’ll conduct some target audience and keyword research to ensure your content will be reaching the right people.
Only when we feel like we know your business enough to write authentically will we begin the content creation process.
How much input will I have when you’re creating my content?
The answer to this is entirely up to you – you can have as much or as little input as you like!
Once we’ve established the basics mentioned in the question above, you can leave the rest of the process entirely up to us if you want to. And most of our clients do! We’ll do the writing, editing and double-checking before sending it over for approval. Our service includes unlimited free edits, so you’ll be able to give your feedback, and we’ll make as many changes as you need us to.
For some businesses, this is enough input.
Others like to be a little more involved. They may send us blog title ideas or specific content they want us to include. This is always appreciated and often helps the article to feel even more authentic. Still, it definitely isn’t necessary if you haven’t got the time or want to free yourself from the content creation process altogether.
How do your business blogging packages work?
In short, they work exactly how you want them to work.
Our packages range from 500 words of unique content per month all the way up to 6000 words and beyond. Our Unique but You package even allows you to pick and choose how much content you receive and when meaning our service is completely flexible and tailored to your specific needs.
When can we get started?
ASAP!
Our in-house content creation experts are on hand to onboard you and start your content creation process as you’re ready.
To get the ball rolling, get in touch with our team for a chat and to book your content creation package – we’re looking forward to working with you!