Keeping modern consumers interested in your brand will require the use of great content. Internet users love watching videos, reading blogs, and sharing memes from their favorite brands. If you aren’t producing a steady amount of good content for your audience to consume, your competitor might step in and take customers from you. 

Optimizing the content you create is a job best left to professionals. Seeking out affordable SEO for small businesses is crucial. With professional help, you can drive organic traffic to your website. 

Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of new content and data are created online every day. Retaining existing customers and engaging with potential ones will be much easier if you use content to your advantage. Publishing new content on both social media and your website can keep you on the radar of both search engines and consumers. 

Familiarizing yourself with the practice of content creation and curation is the first step in edging out the competition. Below is information about content creation and curation and how to use them to your advantage. 

Learning The Difference Between Content Curation and Content Creation

Creating a detailed sales funnel is important for businesses of all shapes and sizes. The more you know about the different stages of a sales funnel, the easier it will be to attract attention from potential customers and win them over. The awareness phase of a sales funnel is where you will find blogs and video content. 

Making consumers aware of your business with the help of content is a crucial part of increasing your sales. If you want to start using content to make a positive impression, you need to learn the difference between content creation and content curation. 

Details About Content Curation

Providing value to your online audience should be a top priority. Content curation is the process of sharing content not written by you with your audience. Successful content curation requires you to find, organize and share relevant information. 

In most cases, the content a business owner curates for their audience will be shared on social media. Content curation is beneficial because it allows business owners to do things like:

  • Improve the quality of their content
  • Establish a human connection with social media followers
  • Increase content distribution
  • The ability to teach current and potential customers

Providing consistent value with your social media posts via curated content can help you retain the interest of your audience. This is why learning how to master curating content is vital to the online success of your business. 

What is Content Creation?  

The process of identifying relevant topics and creating content around these subjects is referred to as content creation. The content created by business owners comes in the form of blogs, videos and social media blurbs. Most business owners will hire professionals to create new content due to the difficulty and time-consuming nature of this task. 

Failing to create unique content to share on your website and social media profiles can put your business at a competitive disadvantage. When you create new content that is informative and engaging, you have the opportunity to generate more leads. 

Making sure the new content being produced is optimized for search engines is also vital. Investing in affordable SEO for small businesses is a wise move. Experienced marketing professionals will be able to create a comprehensive keyword strategy that will attract the attention of Google and other search engines. 

Developing a Successful Content Curation Strategy

Content curation is one of the most valuable parts of your long-term marketing plan. You need to realize that content curation is about much more than sharing third-party content. 

Viewing this process as an active way to provide your audience with great content is vital. Developing a successful content curation strategy will be easy if you implement the following tips. 

User-Generated Content is a Must

Most business owners look for content curation strategies that require minimal effort. If this is something you’re looking for, then you need to harness the power of user-generated content. This type of content is usually produced by fans of a business. 

Online platforms like Twitter and Instagram are littered with user-generated content. Using this type of content is beneficial because it:

  • Highlights social proof
  • Expands exposure and reach
  • Humanizes a brand to potential customers
  • Establishes trust with consumers

If you’re providing great service, then you should have no problem curating user-generated content online. 

Provide a Unique Take on Curated Content

Content curation is about more than sharing links to someone else’s content on your social media profile or website. Ideally, you want to enhance the value offered by curated content by giving your take on the subject matter. 

For example, if you’ve curated a piece of content that offers tips, write a few tips of your own to include in the post. Not only will this provide your audience with more information, it will also help you highlight your industry knowledge. 

Share Personal Stories with Your Audience

People that use social media daily are looking for entertainment and a human connection. Some business owners make the mistake of using their social media profiles strictly for sales-driven posts. Instead of dealing with the problems, this can cause, you need to abide by the 80/20 rule. 

This rule states that 80 percent of business social media posts should be entertaining and informative and only 20 percent should be promotional. If you want to send consumer engagement levels through the roof, then you need to curate content that tells personal stories. 

These stories can be used to teach life lessons or as a tool for personal growth. When looking for personal stories to share, be sure they appeal to your target demographic.

Curate Images and Videos

If you only publish written content online, you run the risk of losing the attention of certain consumers. While blogs are still extremely popular and important, you also need to curate visual content. This content usually comes in the form of videos and pictures. 

Using the right visuals allows you to tell stories better. Many people consider themselves to be visual learners, which is why curating this type of content is crucial. By curating a variety of different content, you can give your posts mass appeal. 

Perfecting Your Content Creation Strategy

Edging out the competition will require you to become a master of both curating and creating unique content. In most cases, it is the content on your website that will drive traffic. This is why it is so important to develop a comprehensive content creation strategy. 

Know Who Your Audience and Competition Is

Developing a great content creation strategy requires time and research. Identifying your target audience is the first step in this process. Knowing who your target demographic is and what type of content they like can be helpful. When trying to identify your target demographic, consider factors like:

  • Purchasing habits
  • Age
  • Income information
  • Educational background
  • Location

You also need to spend some time conducting research on your competitors. Looking at the content being created by your competitors can provide you with lots of inspiration. 

Keep Up With Current Trends

Covering the same topics over and over again can create problems. If consumers are unable to extract value from the content you create, they will seek out the content of your competition. Keeping your content fresh and interesting is much easier if you monitor industry trends. 

Knowing more about what consumers are talking about and searching for can help you create appealing content. Tailoring new content to fit the needs and desires of your target audience can help you generate more leads. If you work with a company that provides affordable SEO for small businesses, you can get help with the content creation process. 

Consider The Content Formats At Your Disposal

When trying to iron out the details of your content creation strategy, you have to consider your sales funnel. Developing content for each stage of your funnel can turn consumers into actual customers. 

Varying the type of content you offer to consumers is important. However, you need to avoid stretching yourself too thin by producing every type of content under the sun. Online content comes in the form of:

  • Infographics
  • Landing pages
  • Instructional articles
  • eBooks
  • Videos
  • Case studies

Polling your audience to find out more about the type of content they like is imperative. Getting this feedback allows you to optimize your content creation strategy. Asking for this feedback also shows your audience that you value their opinions. 

As you start to develop new content, you need to monitor how much traffic is generated. If you see that long-form blogs are producing more traffic than videos, you need to use this information to alter your content creation strategy. 

Perfecting content curation and content creation can help you attract a wider audience. By implementing the tips above, you can provide your audience with great content.