Content creation: what is it?

Generating leads online has become a major challenge for any company that wants to thrive. We often hear about content strategy. It is important to understand all aspects of content creation in order to apply it in your strategy. In this article, discover the definition of content creation, the different types of existing content, how to choose the right content for your strategy, how to create it, and how to integrate it into your inbound marketing strategy.

The definition of content creation

Content creation refers to all the methods and practices involved in designing a document with the aim of providing a group of people with information on a specific topic. Drawn from your personal analysis, it gives your point of view on a subject you have mastered. This content can take different forms: articles, videos, podcasts. 

You may be tempted to reuse information found on a competitor’s web page to produce your content. You can do it that way. Nevertheless, you will need to find an original and catchy angle to attract your audience to your site rather than another. Be original, stand out, and add value to your content. It must be exclusive.

Tips: if you use music, make sure it is royalty-free or that you have obtained permission to use it. 

Content creation, an integral part of content strategy 

As we told you above, content creation is part of a content strategy. Indeed, creating content should allow you to position yourself as an expert in your field. If you sell phones, you are going to talk about all the information surrounding the topic of “phones”: brands, models, technology, possibilities, phone protection, etc. This is how you will stand out, become an expert in the eyes of your audience, and generate leads.

Also read: Content strategy: a complete guide to success

Content for every customer journey

Do you know the principle of the persona? It is an ideal representation of your customer. The one you dream of seeing walk through your company’s doors. It is unique to your company. Whether you are in B2B or B2C, before creating your content and distributing it on the web, it is essential to think about your persona. Describe them the way you want your user customer to be: first name, last name, photo (it is always better to name your personas and visualize them to make them more real), age, gender, passions, personality, fears, what they want, their job, whether they want to receive a notification to get information or whether they prefer to look for it themselves via a tool using technology. As the author, describe them as much as possible to be as precise as possible.

Tips: If you use a photo, respect image rights. Only use a photo that you are authorized to use. If you do not have one, ask a colleague to serve as an example.

Let’s go back to our mobile phone example. The ideal mobile phone customer would be:

 “Daniel, 20 years old, works full-time in the marketing sector and wants a cutting-edge phone in order to stay trendy in the field of telephony. He regularly checks social media and follows news pages about technology trends so as not to miss any news.”

This is a quick and incomplete representation, but you now have an overall idea of how to create your persona. If you want to learn more about the creation process, you can download our persona kit. This tool will allow you to start creating your persona on a very solid foundation.

Download my persona kit

You can create as many personas as you want. You are the sole judge of its relevance. The more precise your persona is, the better able you will be to adapt your content to meet its needs.

Why create content?

So far, you have been reading us while wondering what the point of creating content is, and your question is perfectly justified. There are plenty of benefits to creating content. 

First of all, in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization, which is organic search engine ranking). Search engines, especially Google, are very fond of complete, high-quality content. The more comprehensive your article is, the more it will be highlighted. For people who do not know you to arrive on your site, you must optimize your SEO as much as possible.

In addition, we all dream of getting to know our prospect or the user of our website better. Thanks to content, you can obtain valuable information. With forms, combined with marketing automation, your content can become powerful drivers for collecting personal data.

Finally, if your content brings you data, it allows you to segment your database and therefore communicate the right message to the right person at the right time. 

To sum up, your content will be useful to you in terms of:

• SEO
• Personal data collection
• Segmentation of your database

Personal data, protected by French law

We told you about collecting data through the content you will offer. We are now going to address the topic of data protection. It is an important element to take into account before starting to create content.

From a legal perspective, the collection of personal data on the internet has been regulated and protected by a law since June 2018. Its objective is to strengthen rights as well as protection concerning the use of personal data. To put it simply, each user owns their data. They have the right at any time to ask a company to delete this data. In this case, they must notify you by post or by email.

If you collect user data about the person visiting your website, you must have that person’s authorization to collect their personal data. You have the option of indicating data collection via cookies. You simply need to install a cookie pop-in. This way, every user of your website will receive a notification on this subject when they enter the site.  If a user wishes to refuse, they must be able to do so. 

In addition, you must also ensure that the protection of their data is guaranteed. If the subject interests you, you can consult the French public service website to find out everything about your obligations. 

You now know the entire procedure to put in place regarding the use of your users’ data. If you want to be fully compliant on the subject as a whole, you can call on a competent legal service to avoid any dispute and prevent any legal proceedings.

If you use user data for your marketing campaigns, ask yourself these questions:

• From a legal standpoint, did I collect this data lawfully?
• Is the notification regarding data collection on my website accessible to everyone?
• Do I have permission to use this data?
• Is this data protected?
• Does the user have the option to notify me that they no longer wish to be in my database?
• If yes, is the procedure explicit?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, you are compliant and can confidently start creating your content.

The different types of content 

There are different methods for creating content. They all have their advantages and disadvantages but share one thing in common: improving your credibility on a topic with your audience. Not all of this content is equal and it requires human and financial resources and tools that are more or less significant depending on the type of content. Here is a non-exhaustive list of content you can create. 

The article, low-cost and effective content for generating leads

The article is one of the easiest types of content to produce. It simply involves putting your knowledge and expertise into writing in an article. It can contain all types of characters, photos, images, and even GIFs. It is always more pleasant to read. The more complete your article is, the more interested your reader will be and the more likely they will be to subscribe to your company’s newsletter, or even buy your product, for example.

Finally, if your strategy is to internationalize your offering, it is important to provide a translation for your articles and offer them in several languages: French, English, Spanish, etc.

It is an inexpensive method that nevertheless has one shortcoming. It takes time for your articles to be highlighted in search engines such as Google. Also remember to mention the author of the article to prove the credibility of your information. Finally, if you have an application linked to your marketing strategy, you can send a notification to your user to announce the publication of your content 

Tips: to ensure the protection of your articles, use canonical tags. They indicate to Google and other search engines that you are the owner of your content. This therefore avoids any dispute from your competitors. 

Video, content that truly adds to your expertise

Video is one of the most effective types of content in terms of lead generation. Well optimized, video becomes a powerful communication channel. A video conveys a mood, images, a smile, an emotion.

The internet has become the kingdom of emotions and video is the easiest way to convey them. Your users will feel engaged. During your shoot, smile, be clear, and above all take the time to explain. Video does, however, require greater financial and human resources than writing an article, but the returns are often greater.

The white paper, your expertise in one piece of content

The white paper can be compared to a blog article in form. However, in substance, a white paper will be far more comprehensive than an article. It is not available directly on your site but accessible via a landing page. This content is very often used in marketing automation. Combined with it, the return on investment will be very attractive. For example, you can make this document exclusive to a segment of your database.

Tips: Your white paper can contain several pieces of information taken from the articles you have written. Organize your ideas and your articles in order to create exclusive and relevant content.

The infographic, highlighting numerical data through images

People often say that a picture is worth 1,000 words, and infographics are proof of that. Quick to understand, an infographic must contain a numerical summary of an event or a period. It can be a representation of a market, for example. This type of content catches your audience’s attention more easily because it is easy to read. The most useful information is given to them directly, thus avoiding a waste of time. You can also use it in a marketing automation campaign, always with the aim of collecting information about your prospects.

The case study, to close a sale

Very useful for prospects who are discovering you and looking for a solution, the case study serves as a reassuring element. In it, you are going to explain how one of your products works and demonstrate that it solved one of your clients’ problems. Quantify the results obtained by your client, for example “X euros spent on my solution brought our client X euros.” Also demonstrate in this case study the entire process you put in place to prove to them that your product is the right product.

The podcast, audio content

Journeys on public transport are sometimes long and boring. What could be better than a podcast to optimize your travel time? Podcasts have many advantages, sometimes overlooked, for getting a message or content across. Spoken only, a podcast is often well received since it is the opinion of a person who knows their field. Have a confident, persuasive tone and master your subject beyond dispute to optimize this content. Like the article, offer it in different translations: French, English, etc. It is also a good way to quickly make your company known in a field. The “Web Summit” highlighted the 2022 marketing trends. Audio content is one of the essential points to integrate into your strategy.

Also read: Web Summit 2021 recap

The webinar, the highest value-added content

The webinar is the next step after the podcast. Often more comprehensive and therefore more structured, the webinar allows you to establish your position as an expert and advise your audience in your area of expertise. The people who participate in this event are future prospects who want to understand all the ins and outs of the topic. 

It is also during a webinar that you will have the opportunity to answer certain questions from prospects. Take the opportunity to mention in your webinar the services your company offers without detracting from its content. It is important to note that deploying this tool requires significant financial, technological, and human resources, but the economic returns could greatly surprise you.

Here is a summary table of the content we have mentioned in this article

Finally, do not limit yourself to the content we have listed in this list. You have the right to do what you want in the way you want. There are many other types of content that you can use if you consider them relevant. Only your imagination and creativity can guide you toward the most relevant decision. Use all the technology you have in-house to create your content. Some media use photography, for example, as a communication channel. However, make sure you obtain authorization to use copyrighted material. 

What type of content should you choose for your strategy?

One of the most common obstacles encountered during the content creation process is the uncertainty linked to the use of this or that type of content. Before rushing into content creation, you absolutely must keep your customer’s buying journey in mind and know what they want.

The customer journey, a process to take into account

Remember, you create content to help and respond to your prospects’ problems. The buying journey process breaks down in this order:

• The first phase: the discovery phase
• The second phase: the evaluation phase
• The last phase: the decision phase

The discovery phase is the phase where your customer discovers a problem and seeks to understand all the issues surrounding it. The prospect is not yet ready to commit to a purchase. They are simply looking for information available on the web regarding their topic. It is in this phase that you will cover subjects around your core business: marketing, industry, handling, etc. Your prospect will tend to look for blog articles or infographics in order to explore all aspects of the topic that concerns them. “What is” type blog articles or key figures from your sector illustrated with an image are particularly effective in this phase.

The evaluation phase is the phase where your prospect has identified their problem and now wants to find a solution that will meet their needs. In this phase, you need to support your arguments and convince your audience that you are the expert they need. To do this, we advise you to write White Papers or offer podcasts. Here, your prospect is no longer trying to explore the aspects of the topic but is looking for comprehensive content. It is generally in this phase that your prospect becomes aware of the extent of the work awaiting them. They will therefore look for outside help.

Finally, the decision phase is the last phase of the buying process. It occurs when your prospect has understood their problem and must now make the decision to choose their partner. This is when you will need to show your sales arguments and your competitive advantages. We advise you to plan one or two typical case studies in which you explain the concrete benefits you brought to your client and how your product responded to the client’s problem. Also offer comparisons or benchmarks of your product with others on the market. Explain that your product is better than the others by listing the benefits it provides without mentioning any possible constraints. 

We have given you timing guidelines for using content. But above all, it is important to adapt your content to the phase you consider most relevant. Depending on the topic you address in your content, a product comparison or an infographic may fit into several phases. It is up to you to decide to what extent you will use this or that content. For example, you can set up a notification to know when to publish an article. The watchword is to adapt.

Adapting your content to your persona

And to adapt, there are not a thousand ways to go about it. Do you remember your marketing personas? This is where they come into play. If your persona revealed that they were looking for an effective solution to their problem, you have understood that they are in an evaluation phase. You will therefore target this persona with White Papers or podcasts. If your persona revealed that they were hesitating between several solutions, offer them case studies that have points in common with their needs.  

How do you create good content?

You have understood the importance of adapting your content according to the phase of your prospects’ buying process. Let us now see how to build high-quality content that will, without a doubt, be effective.

Complete and relevant content

It may seem logical to you, but it is important to create relevant and above all high-quality content. Imagine yourself in the place of your prospect who is looking for information on marketing automation. If you present them with an article simply telling them that marketing automation is cool, there is a very high chance that this content will not suit them and they will leave the page. If you want to talk about a particular topic, take the time to follow the standard content procedure: the definition, its purpose, the challenges, the benefits. Organize your ideas. This is where you will become an effective author. Describe everything that seems relevant to you and illustrate your points with concrete examples and images. 

Responding to your personas and their issues

To create quality content, you must take an interest in all the issues faced by your prospects and users. Understanding your persona’s expectations is a crucial element in your content creation. Remember, your persona is the fictional representation of your ideal customer. But before becoming customers, they are prospects. If your prospect’s issue is poorly understood or poorly explained, they will place little or no trust in you.

Integrating your content into an inbound strategy

You understand it now: creating content requires a very good knowledge of your market but also of your potential customers. In order to establish yourself over the long term, it is important to integrate your content into an Inbound Marketing strategy. In this strategy, the idea is to let the user come to the company and not the other way around. An inbound marketing strategy well adapted to your business sector can truly be a springboard for the long-term sustainability of your company.