Content Creation 101: How to Create Valuable Content That Speaks to Your Target Audience
In this day and age, it feels like we’re all content producers. Capturing moments for the latest TikTok trend, blasting a hot take on Twitter, pushing out a thought leadership blog hoping for some website traffic. As our online communities continue to get louder and move quicker, it’s essential you are posting the right content.
Content creation takes time – ask any influencer or social media manager! The internet is a crowded space, so how can you ensure you’re not wasting time on irrelevant content? How can you drive traffic and eyes to your brand?
Here are our top recommendations for creating valuable content:
Top Recommendations for Creating Valuable Content
1. Create an outline before writing
Having a plan and content outline will give you an advantage when it comes to writing a new piece of content. An outline should include your SEO must-haves like keywords, as well as a breakdown of sections you wish to be included in your content. Outlines are great for pushing your writer in the right direction and help make your content cohesive and flow smoothly.
2. Research your audience and write with them in mind
It is always important to understand your audience and write to them. Before writing, take time to research who exactly your target audience is. Your writing style may change depending on who is reading the content. Make sure to understand the demographics of the audience so you can better write to them.
3. Include relevant keywords in your content
Before creating content, it's essential to find out which words users are looking up in order for your content to be found. Keyword research will help give your content direction and help it perform better in the long run. This means finding a list of relevant terms to your topic and strategically including them in your content. For example, your primary keyword should be in your title, and secondary keywords should be sprinkled throughout the text, in subheadings, and in your metadata.
4. Write content that answers questions
During your research, you may come across frequently asked questions. Some of these questions might even be great keywords to target. Either way, answering questions that your target audience has is a great way to start writing your content. Formatting your content in question-and-answer format is also a great way to target featured snippets.
5. Structure your posts with headings
Good content can be even better if you break up your content into smaller paragraphs with headings and subheadings to make for an easy read. Readers often skim for information and making that information easier to locate on a page through descriptive headings can provide for a better user experience. Content that is in large chunks without much whitespace makes it difficult to read. Use proper tag hierarchy such as H1 for titles and H2 for subtitles for a well-structured, professional article.
6. Connect related content with internal links
Similar to external links, internal links are important SEO ranking factors. An internal link is any link from one page on your website to another page on your website. Both your users and search engines like Google and Yahoo use links to find other pieces of content. They won’t see a page if there are no links to it. If a post gets a lot of links, it signals to Google that it’s a high-quality article. By adding the right internal links, you help Google understand the relevance of pages, the relationship between pages, and the value of pages.
7. Incorporate high-quality imagery
Images can make your blog posts pop! Not only can images make your post more appealing, but they can also help you get your message across. Custom images are always preferred, however, stock photos from sites like Shutterstock, Pexel, and Unsplash are a great backup.
We hope these seven tips will aid you in your content journey and help you stand out and engage your target audience! Consider this a jumping off point, with room for evolution as you see what posts trigger engagement. As with all-things Digital Marketing, data is your friend. Keep an eye on your insights and make note of what brings you success or the engagement you’re looking for – there’s always room to adjust your strategy and content as you gain more insights. Make your content intentional and you’ll hopefully begin seeing the results you’re seeking.
This article was co-written by Max Allegro, Sr. SEO Strategist, and Lauren Freeman, Sr. Paid Media Strategist at Intuitive Digital, a digital marketing agency in Portland, OR, in collaboration with Avenue Agency for the Combating Digital Bias project.
