Your organization's content creation may have been placed on the back burner, but it actually has a lot of benefits: client retention, building thought leadership, and even new client acquisition. Here are our top tips to create better content that will be useful and educational for your clients. We'll also explore the best ways to prioritize your content creation as part of a regular and reliable workflow.
Tip #1: Focus on the Client's Point of View
Rather than creating broad-topic content that several other organizations or websites have likely already covered, such as defining industry terms, consider focusing more on your specific clients. This type of content helps clients understand the content since it actually applies to their specific organization, industry, and customers.
For example, instead of simply sharing the news about the latest tax regulation, consider digging deeper and taking the angle of how the latest tax regulation is going to impact the client's organization. When people consume content, they want to know how it impacts them, and catering to that interest keeps readers interested and makes them more likely to read additional content from you.
Tip #2: Share Resources & References for More Learning
It’s not enough to share your opinions or restate the facts in the content you create. Informative content includes both references, such as graphs, statistics, and proven studies, as well as additional information and resources that can help the client learn more about the topic.
For instance, an article on business tax issues for manufacturers may link to resources and forms on the IRS website or, better yet, a checklist that your firm has developed on the topic. Pointing readers directly to useful information also gives them a direct way to take action based on your content.
Tip #3: Write About Your Audience's Interests
As experts in your field, it’s easy to get caught up in what you know and what you think others know. This is called the "curse of knowledge," a cognitive bias that affects the way we share information with others, especially those who aren’t experts.
That being said, when you create content, it’s important to put yourself as deeply into the mindset of the client as you can. What do they want to know? What information is second nature to you, but might seem foreign to them? Their interests in a specific area are likely to be vastly different than your own. If you're unsure how best to cater to your clients' interests, consider running a poll among existing clientele, asking about key challenges, obstacles, and questions.
Tip #4: Define the Content Creation & Promotion Process
Finally, all great content is created with a defined process that ensures you cover all your bases. From defining the topics to setting an editorial calendar, the content creation process is often as important as the content itself. Start by developing a list of potential topics. Then, ask for "volunteers" to take the lead on writing the content. If they get stuck, ask them to start with an outline. Then, work with the author to write one or two sentences for each section of the outline. From that point, either their procrastination will disappear or someone else (an internal or external marketing resource) can help fill out the article or blog.
Once the creation process is complete, it’s time to think about promotion and repurposing through channels like email and social media. Repurposing content is the act of turning content created for one purpose or channel into something else. We often refer to this as "leveraging" content. This allows you to spend less time in the development stage. For instance, a blog post could be the inspiration behind a podcast or video interview going more in-depth on a specific aspect of the topic. That content can then be shared via your video channel, blog, and social media.
Reutilize Content
Focusing on the client’s needs and creating useful content for them that spans across multiple platforms ensures greater visibility, usefulness, and thought leadership. Good content can make a big impact on your firm if you follow a process and take the time to make it worthwhile for your clients. Elevate your client's businesses or knowledge and, in turn, your firm will reap the benefits.
