Content Creation

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

What is content creation?

When you've completed your research, developed personas, defined your brand personality, and written your creative brief, it's time to turn these insights into content.

Content creation is a process of generating various formats of content (also known as collateral) that serve the needs of your content strategy objectives. They will serve these objectives and amplify your brand personality by engaging your buyer personas in a way that helps build your brand or company's authority, utility, and creditability. In this way, your content can help to connect your target audience with your brand or business.

The role of creativity

At this point, you might be thinking that content creation is very scientific and formulaic, aligning different types of content to different business objectives and audience data. However, that’s just part of the story. Don’t forget about your creativity!

Of course, your content development should be ‘guided’ by audience, competitor, and keyword research, and based on verified, objective data. However, it's important to also leave room for the creative spark to add a splash of colour to the research findings and bring the content alive.

Creative process steps

So, having concentrated somewhat on the scientific, process-led side of content creation, let’s now switch our focus to the fun part – the creativity side. Although creativity can sometimes seem to be spontaneous, with inspiration hitting when you least expect it, the creative process for content marketing does require some discipline and a logical approach.

Here are some common steps in the creative process for content marketing:

• Research: Having identified what types of content your audience is looking for, research these areas, consuming as much relevant information as you can.
• Expand: Having conducted your initial research, create a range of ideas that you can explore in deeper detail. At this stage, you could use generative artificial intelligence (or AI) tools, including ChatGPT, to help you deep dive into the content.
• Brainstorm: Having come with your list of content areas, you can start brainstorming ideas, identifying themes, and conducting keyword research.
• Leave: Brainstorming can be an intense process. So, after you brainstorm, you might find it beneficial to step back, go away, and do something else. In other words, leave the idea alone for a period and let it percolate in your subconscious.
• Return: After a time, return to your idea, and critique or validate it in terms of your objectives, audience, and strategy.
• Test: No matter how much you research your ideas and explore them, not all ideas will turn out to be good content! Create prototypes where possible to explore and test your content in its simplest form before investing further.
• Create: Once you’ve tested and prototyped your ideas, you can start creating your content with greater content.