Many marketers, businesses, and influencers talk about creating valuable content.
What exactly does it mean for a piece of content to have value? If your content offers value, is it guaranteed to succeed? Well not really, a lot of factors play into success. But you’re more likely to reach your goals if you first evaluate your content ideas.
Use this blog to confirm which ideas are worth pursuing!
- Is it something your audience wants?
This is the most important criteria. If you spend time and money putting together content no one really asked for, it’s more likely to fall flat.
So how can you make sure a content idea matches an actual want or need of your audience?
First, try to sync with either a sales representative and/or a customer service representative (if available) to find what current customers/clients are curious about. Does your idea fall into those?
Second, perform question or keyword research on your idea to see if it’s among the questions people are asking or the information they are trying to find.
Many tools can help you do this. Among them is simply doing a questionnaire or poll among your audience to find out what they are interested in.
- Has the idea been done?
You come up with an idea you think is fantastic; it fits the brand, it helps your target audience, and your team can create it with their available time and resources.
But make sure to check that the idea hasn’t been done. Often, this is as simple as a Google search. However, also consider that following the trend doesn’t have to be a bad thing as long as you jump on it before it becomes overpopulated!
How to make it original
Even if your idea has been done, you don’t need to immediately give it up. There are often ways to pivot and uncover an even more interesting concept.
- When you look at the published versions of this idea, what new questions and curiosities come to mind?
- Is there a way to drill down into this idea to gain more specific insights? Is there a need for a bigger picture view?
By taking the time to understand what’s been published related to your idea, you can better hone in on your concept and ensure it’s fresh and interesting!
- Does the idea work with a marketing goal?
Rarely does one piece of content fulfill all your content marketing goals. If you try to make it accomplish several tasks, you’re more likely to end up failing across the board.
Every piece of content should have a primary goal and secondary goals, such as:
- Increase brand awareness by generating social media buzz
- Help potential customers/clients understand more about your offering (sales support)
- Assist visitors in converting
- Create a resource to build brand authority
Your goals can overlap, but each piece of content should have a specific goal to shape the idea so the resulting content and promotion deliver what your organization expects it to.
- Will the idea elicit a positive reaction?
For your audience to care about your content, it should provoke a response or emotion. Will your idea do that?
The reaction doesn’t need to be an “emotional” one. Consider how-to content. It is usually straightforward, but when done well, it leaves the reader with a sense of relief and eventually, accomplishment.
Ask before creating
The value of your content starts before it is created. It begins in the idea phase. By asking – and answering – these four questions, your better-developed idea is more likely to create something your audience and your business wants.
Feeling overwhelmed by the idea of creating beneficial content for your business? Let Good Commerce elevate your content creation. Contact us to book a Brand Discovery session and let’s start achieving your business goals together.