Getting content creation right is a task that takes time, knowledge and skill.

Time because the process of creating valuable, useful content isn’t a quick one or something you can do in an hour. Knowledge because the success of your content will vary depending on how much research you’ve put into getting it right. And finally, skill, because it takes practice to understand the fundamentals of great content.

With this in mind, here are some easy fixes you should be implementing if your content isn’t quite hitting the mark.

Easy Fixes for Getting Content Creation Right

Create a schedule

Consumers love consistency. If you’re only showing up on your social media channels or business blog once in a blue moon, you won’t allow time for trusting relations to form with your target audience and potential customers. Instead, you’ll paint yourself as erratic and your audience may feel that they can’t rely on you.

 Instead, when it comes to getting your content right, create a schedule. Perhaps you’ll post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9am, for example. If you can stick to this, your audience will get to know when you’re posting content, and they’ll be on the lookout for it.

 Posting consistently also means that you’ll remain at the forefront of people’s minds, meaning if they suddenly require a product or service that you sell, they’ll likely think of you first.

Set aside time to create content

When it comes to getting content creation right, it’s no good trying to squeeze a week’s worth into half an hour at the end of your day. You’ll feel rushed and frustrated, and the content you produce won’t be as high quality as you would like it to be.

To avoid this, setting yourself a content schedule enables you to focus all of your attention on the task at hand. You’ll be able to create content that is thoughtful, valuable to your audience and that has a clear message throughout.

Sometimes getting your content right doesn’t mean being the best or knowing the best – it simply comes down to allowing yourself enough time to create something you’re proud to present to the online world.

Implement scheduling tools

Getting content creation right doesn’t have to be your sole responsibility – feel free to enlist the help of technology in the form of online scheduling tools to help keep your content consistent and organised.

If you use Facebook and Instagram for your business, you can use the free Facebook Creator Studio tool to schedule the posts you’ve created. Loomly and Hootsuite are great for scheduling your LinkedIn posts. All you need to do is upload your image, copy and paste your pre-written caption, add an emoji or two and choose your preferred date and time. The tool will take care of the rest, and you won’t have to think about it again.

The same process can be followed for your blog posts. Once you’ve got a couple written, get them uploaded to your website and schedule them for your preferred date and time. If you’ve got three blog posts written, that’s three weeks’ worth of blog content that you won’t have to worry about once you’ve got them scheduled and ready to go.

It can seem like a bit of a pain to have to schedule your posts every week but trust us, it’s a lot easier than interrupting your day to post them manually all the time!

Use social media holidays

One of the toughest things about getting social media right is keeping up with what’s trending and what isn’t, who’s cool and who’s not and, most importantly, what your audience is talking about.

Otherwise, you may end up with content that falls flat.

Take this, for example. You’re posting content regularly, you think you know what your target audience want to see, so why isn’t your content cultivating any engagement. Here’s why. The world of content is a funny one. You post content that you’re certain will be valuable to your target audience. It’s filled with top tips and proven advice, facts and expert opinions, but it still isn’t working. You post a random picture of your dog from three years ago, however, and suddenly everyone is interested.

Unfortunately, this is just how it works. No matter how valuable you deem your content to be, there will always be a novelty mug out there getting triple the engagement. As annoying as this is, you can use it to your advantage!

The best way to engage with your target audience is to talk about what they’re talking about. Use a social media holiday calendar to pick out days that may be relevant to your target audience and create content that matches. Use hashtags related to the day (there are often official ones listed on the calendar) and look out for other similar posts that you may be able to comment on or share. Finding some common ground with your target customers will help your content hit the mark it’s been missing.

Looking to social media holidays is all well and good, but they won’t provide you with content ideas every single day of the year. If you’re still suck for inspiration, try out a few of our business blog ideas:

Personal Post Ideas

1. Share your first ever experience of the working world – what was your role? Did you enjoy it? Did it have an impact on where you’ve ended up today?
2. Discuss a personal goal or aspiration – this could be business based, or it doesn’t have to be. What would you like your business to look like in ten years? What do you personally want to achieve by the end of 2021?
3. Share what your typical working day looks like – not only does this give customers and insight into your business, but it’s also a chance for you to showcase all the hard work and dedication that goes into running your business successfully.
4. Share your thoughts on a specific topic – is there something within your industry that you’re not keen on? Something you’ve seen on the news that has piqued your interest? If you’re interested in it, your customers are likely to be too!
5. Introduce customers to a part of your life that you wouldn’t usually share – do you have an interesting hobby? A pet that you dote on? By sharing more personal content, you’ll humanise your blog and boost that business-customer connection.

Business Post Ideas

1. Bust a myth about your business – every industry has its own mix of misconceptions; use your business blog to correct them.
2. Review your own products – there’s nothing prospective customers love more than honesty. Use one of your own products for a day and write an honest review of it. You can focus on all the brilliant elements of it, but don’t be afraid to make suggestions for improvements. This will show customers that you’re always striving for bigger and better.
3. Share the spotlight – If you’re more than a one-man-band, shine a light on some of the other driving forces behind your business. Ask one of your team members to write about a day in the life of their role or to share their experience of working with you.
4. FAQs – customers are always searching for answers, and you likely get asked a lot of questions about your business. Go through your DMs and emails, compile a list of common enquiries and answer them in a blog post. You’ll make it ten times easier for customers to find the answers they’re looking for.
5. Share a struggle you’ve faced – not everything is plain sailing in business, and you should share this with your customers. Pinpoint a challenge you’ve recently had to overcome or one you anticipate being a problem in the future. This will only serve to highlight how important your business is to you and the effort you’re willing to put in to make a real success of it.

Seasonal Content Ideas

1. Promote a product per season – is one of your products or services perfect for summer? Will it solve issues directly related to winter? Is there something that would make an excellent Christmas gift? Tell them why in a blog post! (This is also the perfect opportunity to throw in some season-specific keywords.)
2. Celebrate real-life holidays (not just social media ones!) – do you have a special team lunch on Valentine’s Day? What does your work Christmas party look like? This is another opportunity to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at your business.
3. Share how you cope with seasonal workload changes – do you have fewer employees on hand during the summer due to annual leave? Do you take a break over the festive period? Let your customers know how you manage these changes and reassure them (subtly!) that while workload may change, the quality of your service doesn’t.

Getting Content Creation Right with The Edwards Company

If getting content creation right is something you struggle to find time for or simply isn’t your favourite thing to do, The Edwards Company has got you covered.

We write valuable, thoughtful content that converts for a wide range of small businesses. Our flexible, affordable packages are designed to provide you with unique content for your business blog, newsletters, website or anything in between.

We offer the following packages:

• Small but Strong – 500 words of unique content per month – perfect for keeping your business blog updated regularly or a great option if you just want to dip your toe into the world of content.
• Medium but Mighty – 4 x 500 words of unique content per month – we all know consistency is the key to content that converts. This package is designed to provide you with constant content to share with your audience.
• Large but Legendary – 8 x 750 words per month – perfect if you’re looking to revamp all the content on your website or have a bulk-batch of blog posts to utilise.
• Unique but You – a package entirely defined by you. As may words as you want, whenever you want them.