When you have to create content on a consistent basis, it can be easy to fall into a schedule that prevents you from being truly creative. Sometimes, content creativity comes from seeing things from a new angle, trying something different, or actively trying to break out of a monotonous routine.
This is what we will be breaking down in today’s article. We’ll talk about three areas of improvement and actionable ways that you can continue to unlock your content creativity, effectively taking off the pressure.
1. Content Creativity On Your Social Media
As one of the most public faces of your business, your social media platforms can suffer if you aren’t regularly putting out creative content and new ideas. And, because it moves so quickly, it can be difficult to feel any sort of reward from the hard work you put in.
Here are a few ways that you can breathe life into your social content calendar:
Share a Different Perspective
Having another employee take over your social media accounts for a day can help show a new side of your business, making your audience feel more engaged and connected to your brand. You could even consider doing a day-in-the-life series in which each person in your business shows the importance of their positions, as well as their favorite parts of working at the company, if they’re comfortable with it.
Be Emotional
We often treat content creativity as just another part of the job. The beauty of social media, though, is that you’re able to be a bit more personable, depending on the platform. If you’re on Instagram and Twitter, you can feel a bit freer to show the fun, human side of your brand. LinkedIn, while still a great way to show the human side, tends to err more on the buttoned-up, professional end of business.
Share great news and be expressive in your language. A post can go from average to show-stopping with just a few word flips. For instance, instead of saying “We’re happy to announce a range of new donut flavors this week,” try, “A new week means new donut flavors, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
Always play around with your wording before posting. It could help unlock more emotional responses.
Try a Different Type of Content
There are plenty of different post types all around social media. Maybe you could try branching out instead of sticking to your regular posts. Often, small businesses will post marketing updates: what new products are in the works, deals that are available to customers, and reasons people should be choosing your brand over others. And that’s great and totally normal. However, it can get stale if that’s the main thing you’re posting on your channels.
Try to shake it up as often as possible. See what others are saying about your brand and share their posts (this is great if you’re pursuing user-generated content). Share links from news sites or other credible sources with your thoughts on the subject matter (as long as it relates to your brand). Or, if you’re able, host a live event on your channel and create buzz on all of your platforms in order to get people engaged.
All in all, if you feel stuck in one posting mode, be on the lookout for ways to shake things up. Your followers will appreciate your efforts.
2. Content Creativity on Your Website
As a small business, it’s so necessary to have a website that houses all of your information, content, and products. But, how do you make the website more than just a place for information? How do you make it into something that people engage with and return to time and again?
Always Have a Call to Action
Each image, video, or piece of writing that goes on your site should serve a purpose. It may be to inform customers or possibly persuade them to learn more about your products and services. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to always have a call to action, or at least some form of direction that tells users what you want them to do.
Calls to action are essential for driving engagement, as well as sales. They help guide users through the site and assist them in completing actions.
Start Blogging
When it comes to starting a blog for your business, the numbers are clear: those who blog see 67% more leads than companies that do not. Blogging helps produce inbound links, which help with search engine optimization. Not to mention, it further molds your brand and provides context for what your business does, as well as its values.
Try covering a range of different topics on your blog and always make sure you’re adding value for your customers. It’s perfectly fine to have promotions for your services scattered in your posts, but it’s best not to be overly focused on sales when writing them. It should all be about educating customers on the topics you’re an expert on and what they want to learn more about.
3. Content Creativity in Your Emails
Email marketing is huge for businesses. In 2019, DMA found that for every $1 spent on email marketing, there are $42 worth of returns. However, if you find that you’re unable to get people to open the emails in the first place, it can be hard to see the value in it.
That’s why a shift in your content strategy can help. Here are a few ways to accomplish this:
Consider Your Subject Line
If you tend to use the same subject line for every newsletter you send out, maybe try switching it up. Give a preview of what makes each issue of your newsletter unique. Make sure to use power words to catch your audience’s attention.
At the same time, make sure not to use too many words. MailChimp recommends no more than nine words in a subject line.
Include Third-Party Content
An email newsletter is an excellent opportunity to share information about your own business and products, but you have to always think about how you can add value for customers. If they feel like the email is over-promotional, they may unsubscribe.
That’s why it’s a great idea to include some third-party content that’s relevant to your business. This could be something as simple as a relevant study from a different company (but not a direct competitor). In Vervology’s newsletter, we often share statistics from other companies that our audience might find interesting.
This can help build trust between you and your audience. If you aren’t openly selling to them through every interaction, they may feel more willing to bring their guards down and simply enjoy the content you’re giving them.
The Big Picture
It’s difficult and, at times, very stressful to continuously feed your content creativity. Keeping up with audience expectations at a constant pace can be exhausting. However, with a little bit of out-of-the-box thinking, you can help make things easier on yourself and, ultimately, have way more fun.
Do you need help staying on top of your online content? Vervology is here for you! Get in touch for help with all three of the areas we talked about in this post. We’re happy to help any small business with their content creativity. And, if you found this article informative, don’t forget to share it.