Content creation — 6 easy steps for creating a powerful process

Do you keep encountering problems with content creation?

Then it’s time to set yourself up for success with a documented content creation process that works. You need to develop an actionable process that makes it possible to improve content marketing ROI (return on investment).

But why should you document the process?

Documenting your content creation process is the first step towards achieving content marketing success.

And according to research, 69% of the most successful companies have a documented content strategy.

A documented content creation process enables you to define actionable steps to follow each time your team creates content. It also helps you measure and replicate efforts that bring better results in future campaigns. This then leads to smart content creation decisions. But what does an effective content creation process entail?

Check out this 6-step guide for details:

1. Strategize and plan.

The first step in developing a content creation process involves outlining a plan that helps you stay on top of your objectives.

But what should you include in your content plan?

• Your goals: Derive content goals from your overall business objectives and ensure they are timely, achievable, specific, realistic, and measurable (SMART).
• Establish a team: Identify and assign tasks to team members, including writing, editing, design, search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, etc. They should understand the content creation goals and how their efforts contribute to the overall process.
• Create buyer personas: Understand your audiences’ challenges, pain points, obstacles, fears, etc., and create a persona for each segment of your audience. Additionally, identify content types they love and where to reach them.
• Outline your buyer journey: Identify the path your audience takes from brand awareness to conversions, and plan content for each stage.

2. Plan your calendar.

Using a content calendar template helps you keep track of your content creation process and deadlines. It should have clear deadlines and timelines for stages such as pitching, writing, editing, publishing, etc.

But why should you create one?

The content calendar will help you maintain consistency when it comes to publishing content regularly. It’ll also help you plan out your content better and promote it too.

However, when you’re designing the content calendar, remember to leave enough wiggle time so that your team can take up urgent tasks whenever they arise.

3. Brainstorm ideas.

During this stage of content creation, conduct research into topics and formats you should use for your content while considering the buyer, their journey, and your goals.

If you already have some content, start by performing an audit of your content to discover what you’ve done and the gaps you need to fill with your new content plan.

What’s next?

You need to then categorize your content depending on what’s performing well, what needs re-writing or improvement, and what you can merge to create a single content piece.

Then, include these tasks in the content calendar and assign the necessary work to your teammates.

But how can you plan new content?

Here are some steps you can follow:

• Research phrases your audience uses and find opportunities to create new content or optimize what you already have.
• Research trending topics you can write about.
• Find out what topics and content types competitors or industry experts are publishing and see if you can create content around those topics.
• Brainstorm with the team to develop specific topics to cover in a given timeline and assign them accordingly.

4. Create content.

By this time, you have a strong foundation for your content creation process. You know what keywords to use, topics to write about, your goals, and the people responsible for each stage.

What’s next?

Content creation, of course.

You need to start by putting your keyword research results into practice.

With the topics outlined, create content that’s optimized for both your target audience and search engines.

But how do you do this?

• Ensure each piece resonates with your audience while tackling their pain points and offering solutions.
• Include the main and related keywords in your title, meta description, and body.
• Be unique and include the latest statistics and case studies.
• Create actionable content and stick to one topic for every content piece.
• Avoid using jargon and write in a language your audience understands.
• Include quality visuals that support your main points, and ensure they are from trustworthy sources.
• If you create visuals like infographics, ensure you tweak them to match your brand fonts, colors, and other elements. They should also include your logo.
• Check completed content for grammar, active voice, plagiarism, language choice, etc.

5. Publish and distribute.

Content creation is one thing but you also need to promote your content well to ensure that it reaches a wide audience. This is exactly what you need to do at this stage in your content creation process.

However, before you publish your content, make sure that the formatting of the content is correct. Also, create and add an attractive featured image to it if it’s a blog post. Or you can just make flyers and publish them on social media platforms.

You should also add alt texts to all images you use, assign the right categories, and preview the post before hitting publish.

Then, once you have all your content published, amplify it across other platforms, including:

• Email
• Social media
• Syndication platforms
• Q&A sites
• Niche forums

Most importantly, don’t forget to leverage paid-per-click and social media promotions to get your content in front of a larger audience. However, be careful to target the right audiences so you don’t end up wasting money on uninterested readers.

Finally, don’t miss leveraging advertising tools that can help you design and create excellent copy for your ads. They can also offer detailed reports to help you track performance.

6. Optimize and repurpose.

Once you’ve published and distributed your content, you need to take the next step of auditing your content and tracking its performance.

Then, use the insights gathered to discover opportunities to improve and keep your content fresh, actionable, useful, and relevant.

What’s more?

Using these insights, you can also repurpose your content for greater reach.

For example, you can create an infographic that summarizes your long-form content or presents data in an easy-to-understand format.

You can also transform your content into social media posts, videos, webinars, etc. This can help you tap into a new audience.

Ready to implement a working content creation process?

Following the right content creation process can help you reach the right target audience and improve your business.

What’s more?

Once you have a process in place, it becomes easy to generate creative work, distribute on the right platforms, and optimize for better results.

Do you need help with any of the steps for content creation mentioned above? Comment below, and we can offer tips to help you create a content creation process that grows your business.