Content Creation Without Reinventing the Wheel
Content creation doesn’t have to be hard
By Grant Kenney, TwoSix Digital Senior Digital Strategist
One thing I’ve heard from clients no matter what industry they’re in: “it’s so hard to find content to write about every day!” Having been on that side of the conversation before as a social media manager I can sympathize, but I have found ways around this persistent issue. Here are a few tips on what you can do to improve your content creation without reinventing the wheel every day.
Could I be overthinking my content creation?
Yes, absolutely. It can be a daunting process to think about all of the channels you need to write content for, but it doesn’t need to be. If you’re armed with something your audience doesn’t know you’re already off to a great start, and guess what? You know more than you think and there’s great content all around you.
As Calvin told Hobbes, “there’s treasure EVERYWHERE!” Don’t go looking too hard for it.
Raid your website
Remember back to your hiring at the company or position you’re in now when you were learning the history and details of your company, DMO or brand by studying the website? ALL of those little things you learned early on may seem mundane now but were kind of interesting when you learned them. These are solid pieces of content now.
Try pulling some interesting talking points from your website and then craft them into informative and interesting social posts that send people back to your website for extra traffic. The great thing about this content is that it’s always there, always useful and always informative.
Find “snackable bites”
Divide your content up into “snackable bites”
Take a larger piece of content (like a blog or landing page) and break it down into smaller “snackable bites” that you can use. Look for the main takeaways in a blog or on a landing page and use those takeaways in specific Facebook posts and tweets that links back to the site.
You should be able to take at least 3-4 informative pieces of content from a single blog to use in social posts that link back to the website.
Rediscover your content
An analogy I like to use for content creation is that it’s like a toy at Christmas you had when you were a kid. When you first got that toy you were super excited and that toy seemed super cool because it was so new. However, over time that toy lost its luster because the novelty of being new had worn off – but it’s still a perfectly good toy! Your content is the same way. If there is content that you’ve used before and it’s still solid content you should be using it and re-posting it to your audience.
News is content
If your company or DMO has an event coming up, an update to your product, or ANYTHING new happening be sure to share it with your community (so long as it is appropriate and permitted for release). This is always an easy way to generate content while promoting your events or news items.
Something worth noting when it comes to events is that one post is simply not enough. Make sure you post information with links and details a few times in case people forget or don’t see your post – which tends to happen!
Theme it up
Try to look at the days of the week and creating certain themes you can use to consistently keep solid content in your lineup. We used to call these “buckets” that certain types of content would fall into that we could use. Creating themes also gives you a guide to the type of content you want to create.
For example, #ThrowbackThursday is still relevant and an excellent way to call back to or share some history about your brand, company or destination. If you’re a restaurant or DMO you could also use #FoodieFriday to share some delicious pictures and post interesting questions to drum up engagement.
By establishing themes you’re making the generation and creation of content much simpler for yourself! That brings us to the next point…
Create themes you can use for certain days of the week – or month – to consistently have content instead of constantly trying to come up with new post ideas.
Create a content calendar, you’ll thank yourself later!
Content calendars can seem like a pain and a bit overwhelming at first (trust me, I know), but once you’ve created your first one and realize you don’t have to go through the madness of trying to write a Facebook post, sending 3-5 tweets, posting on Instagram and adding to your Pinterest board every day you’ll thank yourself! There are some great templates out there, or you can create your own and customize it through Google Docs or Excel.
Do your content calendars a month or more in advance and tackle it a bit at a time. This will keep you from losing your mind when writing 100+ pieces of content in one sitting. That wouldn’t be good for you and your sanity, plus your creativity would probably suffer a bit after the 25th tweet!
The TwoSix Digital Integrated Content Distribution Process is a great way to help you visualize your content creation, planning, marketing and publication.
In summary, these are some very easy steps you can take to make your life as a social media manager much easier. Try implementing some of these content creation tips slowly if it seems like it’s too much:
- Don’t overthink things
- Look at your website for interest content ideas
- Break down bigger pieces of content into smaller “snackable bites”
- Reuse content that is still relevant and valuable to your audience
- News and events are content
- Create themes to use when drafting content for days of the week
- Create a content calendar
Have questions on content creation or need a little help getting started? TwoSix Digital has developed a program that can help. Inquire about the Tactical Content Planning Program today.
