There’s no denying it – content is still unabashedly queen of the digital world and today there’s so many fun and exciting ways to share the awesome stories of your business or organisation.

More than ever, consumers are looking to buy products and services that benefit nature and people that’s why sharing the stories of how your business is doing this is a great way to connect your audience with what makes your product or service unique.

It’s true –  content marketing is a marathon, not a race. While creating good-quality content and getting momentum through posting on social media channels can initially be a little all-consuming and take time, eventually committing to sharing good-quality, emotive content across all your platforms is an investment that will pay off in spades.

That’s why we’ve put together five simple steps to help you create engaging content across all your platforms.

1.   Identify your audience – who are your stories aimed at? Is it a company? Or a person? Why do they engage with your organisation?

2.   Understand your audience – Dig deeper than just the demographics, get to understand their attitudes, values and beliefs so that you can build up a picture of your ideal WHO – where they are located, what they do, what they believe etc. That way, whenever you are creating a new piece of content you know who you are aiming the story at.

3.   Discover your stories – What are the positive things your customers share with you about your business? What are the special opportunities you create for your staff? Identify four or five key ideas that underpin the stories of your business – it’s the ones that inform, inspire, entertain and delight – then work out different ways of telling them. That way you can cycle through the different topics knowing that you are covering all the bases.

4.   Plan your content – Once you’ve created lots of good-quality content using the content themes, it’s a good idea to take a structured approach to content planning. It pays to schedule a few social media posts in advance so your channels stay fresh and active. But also don’t forget about the power of live video and spontaneous to engage your audience.

5.   Avoid common pitfalls – To stop your content from becoming stale, keep abreast of news and events happening in your sector that you can tie your stories too, be aware of the world around you when you are posting and don’t ever forget the power of human connection. Eyes, smiles and human faces are very engaging so remember to share stories of the people behind your business also. And never underestimate the “cute factor” – kittens, puppies etc.

When social media content is truly powerful and engaging, it works to build communities, create connections, gain media coverage and develop PR opportunities.

This blog is based on a content masterclass held by GoodSenser Kylie Bailey at the 2018 New Zealand Social Media Forum. #NZSOMO. 

Written by GoodSense team member: Kylie Bailey