The secrets of creative content creation
Creative content creation is often seen as an unattainable goal. A Holy Grail in the world of online marketing: everyone desires it, but it seems out of reach. However, creating imaginative content is not a matter of innate talent, and creative thinking can be developed and learned. In this article, we offer practical advice on how to create creative, commercially useful Instagram and Facebook posts – wether at your own company or as team member at an online marketing agency.
Creative content creation is not (only) a God-given talent
It is possible that you invest huge sums in Facebook and Instagram ads, yet fail to achieve the desired business goal. The reason for this may be that your posts are likely irrelevant, schematic, and stereotypical. Therefore these do not appeal to your target audience. So what you are doing is not imaginative.
It is important to understand that creativity it is always based on rational, calm, and thoughtful data analysis. It is based on measurable, tangible, and provable information. So the first step is information gathering, for which you need to know who you want to address. To define your customers, i.e. your target demographic, you will find guidance in this article.
Do your homework! On the importance of research
The main characteristic of creative content creation is that the finished materials are current and relevant to your target audience. On the other hand, if you create posts about the world day of emojis and your audience is men over thirty? Or quotes about patience and perseverance for twenty-year-old, upper-middle-class young people? They won’t be interested.
To gain useful information about your target audience and to identify current trends, it is worth checking out the following sites and methods.
Google Analytics, a mirror of your company
Google Analytics is a free data analysis platform that allows you to collect data about the users and their activities on your website. With data analysis, you can filter out, among other things, which parts of your website are visited the most by people in your target audience. Do they scroll the most on the product/service page? Then you should also focus on them in your posts. Do they spend suspiciously much time on your blog posts? Maybe you should also focus on educational, information-rich content on social media. Consulting with a marketing agency in Budapest can enhance your analysis and strategy.
Pop is the new rock & roll – what does your target audience consume?
Pop culture is synonymous with relaxation and entertainment for today’s people. People of all ages have their favorite movies, music, books, and TV shows. Find out what, when, and from which period your customers consume and stay up-to-date with this information. These are particularly useful in creative content creation.
Refresh, refresh, refresh!
This slogan is not only important in the heat but also in content marketing. Freshness is the wind in the sail of creative content creation! Freshness moves you forward in the news feed and thus increases the chances of reaching your potential buyers. So follow the latest news and innovations related to your industry. A digital marketing agency can keep you updated on the latest trends and news.
You need to know what problems your audience is facing. Then you can think about how you can help with your products or services. For these problem areas, you can even search for quotes from relevant, inspiring people who your target audience looks up to (this is where the aforementioned pop culture research comes in).
Knowledge is power – yes, even in today’s world
Social media is often about entertainment – everyone knows that. In addition, you should also place equal emphasis on educational, informative content. Why? Because your audience bases their decisions on information. The more detailed, deeper, and unique information you share about the basics, functions, and benefits of your service/product, the more your content will capture the user’s attention. So gather every little detail about your product/service, then expand on them in 5-6 line paragraphs. Believe me, this “database” will be a great help in creative content creation.
4+1. The neighbor’s garden is (not) always greener
The timeless saying applies to creative content marketing as well. Competitor analysis (you can read more about it here) is necessary not only for determining your market position but also for creating creative Instagram and Facebook content. Check out your competitors’ social media profiles! Don’t copy ideas – this is neither original nor ethical! Use your research to discover the formulas (texts, emoji usage, post length) that have proven to be effective (many people react to them), as well as what to avoid.
Create a connection!
Let’s take the example of the new Elvis movie: let’s say that based on your research, your target audience watched the movie in large numbers and liked it. Because of this, you want to cover it in an entertaining, creative Facebook or Instagram post for image-building and entertainment purposes.
This is where relationship-building comes in, i.e., the role of creativity: if you just make a post and ask your followers if they liked it, don’t expect overwhelming activity. The secret of creative content creation lies in building relationships, so: connect the topic to your business! An online marketing agency can help you develop strategies for this.
We’ll illustrate the specific practice with Chiro’s Valentine’s Day post:
The situation: It’s Valentine’s Day, and you want to reach out to your target audience.
Step 1: Define your goal!
Ours was to increase our image and create an infotainment content for our current and potential customers with a Valentine’s Day content.
Step 2: Examine the trend, topic.
What details, words, stories, and characteristics come to mind? Feel free to use Google search for inspiration. – Valentine’s Day: love, happiness, romance, sacrifices, hearts, chocolate, surprise, passion, common hobby, common interests.
Step 3: Examine your target audience!
And gather thoughts about them: pain points, characteristics, benefits alike. The more specific, the better. – For example, keywords for Chiro’s target audience: Work, family business, service industry, hospitality, commerce, family-oriented, quality, challenges, trust.
Step 4: Think it through!
Which thematic keyword can be linked to your company, product? In this case, the best idea: common interests -> family business.
Step 5: Create the specific post idea!
For us, this was the result: respect for family-owned businesses (our customers), recognition of their challenges and perseverance on Valentine’s Day.
This association game doesn’t take much time, and after a while, this kind of thought process becomes routine, which produces valuable, creative ideas.
The foundation of successful, creative content creation is:
- Research, then database creation
- Association, finding a connection between your business and the topic using keywords
Additional ideas for vibrant, creative content creation:
Get inspired!
Before you start thinking about your Facebook content or Instagram post image, browse Pinterest posts on the topic.
Use easy-to-use graphic tools!
Unfortunately, when creating creative content, you won’t always have time to rely on the graphic designer’s work, so it’s worth reaching for a tool that allows you to easily do quality work. We highly recommend the Canva pro version, where you can also get inspired by pre-made templates, upload your own branding package and images.
Step out of the usual frames!
It’s clear that you can stand out the most with visually appealing, attention-grabbing content from the feed. With the rise of TikTok, creative content has become synonymous with video, animated posts on Instagram and Facebook as well. Place gifs in your post, animate the text to make it easier to notice.
Hop on the carousel!
Under carousel posts, we mean “flipping” posts. It may be worth communicating with this format on Instagram: instead of long post text, write several smaller details on the consecutive images. If you don’t want to operate with texts, it’s also worth serving mood images, photos of your products or services to your target audience this way.
Text, but in moderation!
It’s important to write shorter, well-structured texts. Your post only appears for a few seconds while scrolling through the feed, so it must be captivating and easy to consume at first glance. Structure it, use bullet points or even arrow emojis for easier readability.
“Act, create, grow, and” your marketing will come to light
I hope this post has convinced you that creativity is not a gift from heaven. Creative content creation is much more a conscious creative work and the result of tangible data that can help you achieve your business goals. Consulting an online marketing agency in Budapest can enhance your strategy. If you’d like to read more about the topic, we’ve prepared a free e-book for you that shows specific, practical steps for creating and scheduling social media posts.
And if you have any questions about the post or need help building your online marketing, feel free to contact us.
The post was written by: Csaba Nikolett és Matykó Noémi
Source: https://www.higherlogic.com/blog/how-to-master-infotainment-in-your-digital-content/
