A huge amount is written about content, which is all fine and dandy.
But your job is not to produce content.
“Hold on, yes it is. I am a content creator.” You may say.
That may be technically correct and it may be what it says on your Linkedin Page.
But what you really are is a communicator, an influencer, a persuader.
The content is merely a container to carry your thoughts into the mind of the reader and get them to think a certain way or to perform a specific action.
This is very important to understand because it underpins how you create your content and also how you promote it. Before the initial idea you need to think about the person that you want to influence and understand what drives them.
This is why “Everyone”, should not be who you are creating content for and that the more you narrow down your focus the easier it will be to create content that will influence.
For example, lets say we wanted Stephen Fry to tweet our content or even link to it.
Well, Mr Fry has a thing for gadgets and he has a thing for Apple.
But that is not nearly enough, as there are huge amounts of content about gadgets and Apple.
Content needs to be unique to get noticed.
But Mr. Fry has also played Oscar Wilde and has a thirst for interesting literary characters.
So we combine the two.
- 10 Gadgets Oscar Wilde would love
- Why Oscar Wilde would be a Mac Man
- What Oscar Wilde would do with Twitter
Having trouble creating content? Just think of one person you know, and if you don’t know anyone invent a character who represents people in the space you operate in and create content that excites them, that fulfils a need. And that need can simply be a list of cool things to buy that solves a specific problem. You don’t need so called “quality content” or even amazing content, you simply need to solve a specific problem that an individual is having at that moment in time.
To influence and persuade, that is the purpose.