{"id":363,"date":"2020-10-16T18:11:55","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T22:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbooks.concordia.ca\/digitalmarketingdraft\/chapter\/act-creating-content\/"},"modified":"2021-10-27T14:10:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T18:10:04","slug":"act-creating-content","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbooks.concordia.ca\/digitalmarketing\/chapter\/act-creating-content\/","title":{"raw":"Act: Creating Content","rendered":"Act: Creating Content"},"content":{"raw":"

Overview<\/h1>\r\nIn this chapter, we cover some central activities associated with content creation. We introduce the chapter by explaining the importance of content creation and how content creation should resemble what your competitors are doing but also be different from them because of your own unique brand voice. We then turn our attention to structuring content creation activities. We examine how content creation can be guided by the RACE framework, the difference between gated and ungated content and when to use each kind, why and how to build topical relevance, and how pillar pages can help us do so. Finally, we conclude the chapter by discussing what a content creation calendar is and how it supports content creation efforts.\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\nUnderstand the basics of content creation, how it ties in with the RACE framework, gated and ungated content, pillar pages, and content creation calendars.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

The Importance of Creating Content<\/h2>\r\nContent creation is important for two main reasons. First, it helps build a website\u2019s relevance and authority, contributing to its ranking on search engines\u2014according to most marketers, content marketing is the most efficient SEO tactic (Ascend2 2015, cited in marketingprofs.com<\/a>). Websites with blogs also have four times more pages indexed on search engines, making them more likely to show up during searches (Forbes<\/a>).\r\n\r\nContent is also a cornerstone of customer acquisition strategies, and it is one of the most powerful tools for use in the RACE framework. According to HubSpot, a consumer consults three to five pieces of content during their journey toward making a purchase. Leads generated using inbound marketing efforts are also less costly by about half compared to leads generated using outbound efforts. Inbound leads are also 10 times more likely to convert (vs. outbound ones), and studies have shown that content marketing efforts boost company revenues by an average of 40% (Hubspot<\/a>).\r\n

Creating Content<\/strong><\/h1>\r\nBefore starting content creation efforts, a company should have in mind a clear persona and associated journey, understand its own website, and ideally understand how its competitors are positioning themselves on search engines (i.e., have performed a competitive keyword analysis).\r\n\r\nCreating content is a balancing act. First, it is a balance in that you must be similar enough to competitors to address the general needs of the market and look like a trustworthy organization, while being different enough to attract customers. This idea of standing out while fitting in is termed \u201coptimal distinctiveness<\/a><\/strong>.\u201d\r\n\r\nSecond, it is a balance between what you can offer and what consumers want. When creating content, firms need to keep in mind that they should represent the customer. This entails understanding what customers are looking for based on their needs and challenges and how what they need evolves throughout their journey.\r\n\r\nCreating unique and relevant content thus entails understanding the market and knowing the codes that organize content production, knowing what specifically about your brand gives it a unique voice (or \u201cbrand voice<\/a><\/strong>\u201d), and combining these pieces of knowledge to create something unique that will interest consumers and is based on your capabilities, i.e., what you are able to do (Figure 6.1<\/a>).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_251\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1049\"]\"A<\/a> Figure 6.1 Content Marketing[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s explore this further through the example of creating content on Instagram.\r\n

Understanding the Competition and the Market<\/h2>\r\nSomething to keep in mind when creating content for social media platforms is associated with prototype and exemplar theories<\/strong>. Without getting\u00a0into<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>too much detail, the central idea here is that in order to stand out, you first must fit in.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe idea goes as follows: Each category has some sort of a \u201cstandard\u201d member, a \u201cprototype\u201d that people measure whatever is in this category against (or, from an exemplar perspective, each category has \u201cdominant examples,\u201d or exemplars, that are used to evaluate whatever is in this category; Figure 6.2<\/a>). In order to fit in, such as to be considered legitimate as an Instagram account on cosmetics, cars, or tattoos, you must share attributes with the prototype or exemplar. This allows you to fit in.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_252\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1157\"]\"Exemplars,<\/a> Figure 6.2 Exemplar and Prototype[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor example, fitness accounts tend to share characteristics in terms of what influencers look like (dressed in fitness attire and either looking fit or really, really fit), the setting in which they create their videos (typically, a gym), the kinds of things they post (how to exercise, diet posts, motivational posts, etc.), and so on.\r\n\r\nYet within the fitness category, there exist subcategories organized around different subtypes of fitness influencers. A first example is the fitness therapy profile, a type of fitness account exemplified by influencers such as achievefitnessboston<\/a>, squatuniversity<\/a>, and joetherapy<\/a>. This type of account typically emphasizes science-based knowledge and instructionals on how to properly practice fitness and recovery.\r\n\r\nA strikingly different type of profile, still within the fitness category, is the \u201cfitness motivational\u201d account, exemplified in accounts such as zacaynsley<\/a>, joesthetics<\/a>, mssannamaria<\/a>, and anna_delyla<\/a>.\r\n\r\nKnowing which subcategory a firm wants to participate in is important because not all personas will be reading all subcategories of fitness accounts. It also allows a better understanding of the category as a whole and how to potentially mix and match approaches, as exemplified by massy.arias<\/a>.\r\n\r\nOnce you have gained membership by fitting in, your job is to find ways to distinguish yourself from others. In short, you want to fit in just enough that you are part of the category but you want to differentiate yourself enough that people will want to follow your Instagram account rather than one of your competitors. This is where the uniqueness of your brand comes into play.\r\n

Using Your Brand to Create Unique Content<\/h2>\r\nA brand<\/strong> is a name, term, design, symbol, and\/or other feature (e.g., Off-White and Off-White \u201cquotes,\u201d Coca-Cola and the Coke red, Bottega Venetta and its weave design) that identifies a company\u2019s products or services and differentiates them from those of other companies.\r\n\r\nOver the last three decades, practitioners and academics have developed many terms to help us better understand brands. For example, we now know what brands are more or less generally understood in the same way by consumers who have a certain image of the brands in their minds (brand image<\/strong>). The descriptive features that consumers use to describe these images are called brand attributes<\/strong>. We also know that marketers can play on this by assigning certain attributes\u2014personality traits\u2014to brands (brand personality<\/strong>).<\/strong> Marketers also strive to position their brand in a market in a way that is distinct and valued by consumers (brand positioning<\/strong>).\r\n\r\nThe main messages here are that brands serve to differentiate products and services, and, in our case, content created online, from other companies; that consumers form images of brands in their minds; and that, as digital marketers, we should strategically think of how to use brands to position ourselves, our products, our services and, importantly, our content.\r\n\r\nHence, once you have developed an understanding of the codes used around content creation in a market and how your competitors are uniquely positioned, the next step is to create content that will uniquely speak to consumers. Ideally, you will want this content to reflect who you are as a company, i.e., to reflect your brand.\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s take the example of brand personalities. Aaker (1997) identified five dimensions to the personality of brands:\r\n