Set some goals

Why are you putting out particular this content? Is it to connect with your audience? Is it to respond to the current trends in your industry? You want to be thoughtful, just dumping out content is anti productive. You want it to be valuable to your audience. Think about the objectives of your content. Is it to market a certain product? Or, is it educational? Once you figure out why you are producing content, the rest will come naturally.

Know your people

Know your audience. Cater to your audience’s passions and needs. They are far more likely to engage with your brand and buy your products if they feel a connection. Use market research to understand the things that matter to your consumers. You can pour hours and hours of work into a piece of content for it to fall flat. Usually, this is because the piece has failed to resonate, and there is a disconnect between you and your audience. So, do the work. It will pay off!

Match message to media

Think about where people are consuming the content you are publishing. If you want to write a paragraph twitter is the wrong media format. If you are making and episode for a podcast, listeners are probably not going to be clicking on links. You do not only have to consider who your audience is, but you must consider the format in which they are consuming your content.

Timeless content

You want to put out content that has an enduring message. Avoid the “here today, gone tomorrow” mentality. The best way to do this is to avoid including anything that “dates” your content. This means avoid screenshots of twitter or youtube in your content which can clue your audience in on when the piece was made. Get rid of date stamps on your article. If the audience cannot tell when you have created a piece of content, it will have a longer shelf life.

Curate

Original content is a must, but let’s face it, there is not always enough time in the day, or money in the budget, to publish enough great content. This is where content curation comes in. It helps feed that demand that marketers face in a content-driven industry. Curating content that relates to your brand is a great way to keep your audience up to date with the industry! Show your audience that you are not living inside of a bubble. Engage with other brands and check out the competition! See what others in the industry are doing. What is working? What is not? What is the new hot topic trending? Share an opinion on an article you have just read that relates to your brand and see what your audience thinks. Keeping your brand and your consumers plugged in with the industry will ultimately help establish you as a thought leader.

Peak behind the scenes

Give your audience unlimited access to your brand. The day to day might not seem interesting to you, but it helps humanize a company. Take photographs of your brand at trade shows or conferences and post it to social media. This will help build a bond between your brand and your target consumers.