Beating Content Creation Procrastination

The irony of this article is that it has been on my mind for a few weeks now and yet every time I have sat down to write it, something has come up that has pushed it back down my list of priorities – but no more of that!

I recently attended a marketing event where in a room of 100 people, around 80 said that content is a high priority in their marketing plans for 2024/25. Yet, almost the same number said that time was the biggest barrier to executing these plans. Many of these attendees ran SMEs or were part of a small marketing team within a much larger organisation, so I can completely understand this juxtaposition: your time often needs to be spent where the business can tangibly see the biggest ROI – which makes it a challenge to justify time spent on content creation. So, let’s first look at why content is so important and how we can start making it more of a priority.

The importance of content marketing

Content marketing is a powerful tool to use all the way through the marketing journey. From increasing brand awareness, improving SEO and driving visits to your website, to building trust through expertise, driving sales and post-purchase loyalty – never underestimate the ROI of a piece of content.

Remember that not EVERY piece of content will do all these things, and neither should it. The number 1 rule in content generation is being clear on the metrics of success, but other key points to consider include:

• Who is the audience?
• What is the purpose?
• Where is it being placed?
• What call to action are you encouraging?
• Why should your audience invest their time in your content?
• How does it fit into your wider marketing plans?

…and the list goes on.

Being overwhelmed by so many key consideration points can often lead to content procrastination, so here are our top 5 tips to ensure you can effectively plan, execute and get results with your content.

1.Find a place to start!

Settling on a starting point for your content can sometimes be the most daunting task, especially as there is already so much out there. Here are some natural places to get the ball rolling:

• If you are aiming to drive traffic to your website, look at your SEO data and see where the gaps are. Writing content that contains specific keywords and backlinks can help improve your website findability, so this data could provide a good indication of what you should be talking about.
• If you have a specific product or service you are trying to sell, focus on that. Think about your customers, the pain points you can solve for them and generally how this product or service could genuinely improve their experiences, without coming across as a sales piece.
• Tap into the latest trends or news to discover potential angles that work for your brand. Have a look at your competitors and see what kind of content they’re putting out, and see how you could bounce off their ideas to produce something unique.

2.Use tools for greater efficiency

Thankfully, there are tools that are making content generation a little more efficient nowadays. I’m sure you can’t talk about writing blogs, articles and thought leadership without someone in the business saying “just get ChatGPT to do it!”, and I am not going to discount this being possible as part of the process.

If you already know what you want to say and perhaps have it in bullet points or notes, then ChatGPT or other AI language models can be a good option for putting together first drafts or article outlines. Once your content has been generated, then it’s up to you to ensure your brand’s tone of voice is present, that it doesn’t sound robotic and that you are sharing a unique perspective.

3.Be timely and relevant

Audiences generally want to read content that is directly relevant to their current interests, pain points and challenges. Staying on top of industry trends, current events and evolving customer needs will help you create content that resonates more with your target audiences.

It is also important to get your content live in a timely manner to have maximum impact, and also to stay noticed in a world that is constantly oversaturated with new trends. This also will help build trust with your audience, positioning your brand as an insightful, up-to-date source for the latest insights.

4. Create a comprehensive plan

However, timeliness and relevancy alone are often not enough. Content should also be used as a tool to keep customers engaged and to show long-term expertise. Try creating a publishing plan or content calendar to ensure your brand is always top-of-mind with your audience, reminding yourself to publish consistently and not just deliver on a whim (although occasional ad hoc content pieces that correspond to sudden news or trends work well, too).

Make sure that your content aligns with your overall marketing strategy and addresses the needs of your target audience. Your plan or calendar should span over weeks or even months, allowing you to stay organised, maintain consistency and ensure you aren’t missing any major events or deadlines.

5. Keep learning from every piece of content

The great thing about digital content is the amount of data it provides, so long as you set KPIs prior to going live. This way, you will be able to examine if you are getting the responses you want. If your content is meeting or exceeding your KPIs, that’s a positive sign – you can take what worked well and apply a similar approach to future content.

On the other hand, don’t take underperforming content as a mark of failure. These can be valuable learning opportunities where you can analyse the data and see where you fell short. Next time, armed with these insights, you can tweak and change your approach to hopefully improve your metrics. There is no one set solution for what makes a great content piece – it all comes down to your individual KPIs, allowing you to analyse your performance and apply these data insights and learnings to continuously refine your content for better engagement.

Content creation is no walk in the park – it takes a variety of factors to make your brand’s content come together, and even to get started! The tips above can hopefully give you a fresh perspective on the world of content marketing and how you can utilise this tool to boost your ROI!