Content conundrum checklist

Content! We’re swimming in it! But, that doesn’t mean, we’re necessarily doing it “properly”.

How do you know if you “get” or “understand” your audience?

Does something such as a persona exercise, cover it? Or, are you merely creating content, for content's sake?

As content creators, these are just some of the questions we should be asking ourselves. Each day.

That’s easier said than done of course, and by the way, this isn’t a bulletproof content blog, it’s far from perfect.

But that’s also kind of the point, because there’s no such thing as “perfect” content, and that’s also something that we must remember when we’re sat around a desk putting together our own content strategy.

What they're putting together down the road, might work for them, but not necessarily you. They probably aren’t speaking to the same audience as you anyway, so of course their conversation will be different.

Before this is confined to the virtual waste paper bin though, try asking yourself some honest questions about the content you’re producing.

For example; would you walk up to the first random person you see in the street, and start talking at them? You wouldn’t.When a conversation takes place we generally talk, listen, and respond. Generally.

Why then do so many of us publish content without listening or analysing who it might be for, first?

At Creode, we’re trying to look ahead, we’re trying, as so many other like-minded businesses are, to think about what’s around the corner and approach it in our own unique and informative way, but by focusing on the listening part first.

There’s so many platforms and ways of getting content out there that it can feel a little bit daunting and time consuming, especially when the needs of the client are often put above our own output.

To try and simplify things across platforms and via our own site, we’ve put together a basic eight point content checklist that we go through before publishing.

It’s not revolutionary and it’s unlikely to change the content landscape, but it provides us, we believe, with a good enough reason to share things.

Content checklist

• Who is the content for?
• What is the purpose of the content?
• Will the audience listen?
• What do they need to know?
• Is our content helping the readers and/or client?
• What might help them solve problems?
• Are we adding genuine value?
• Are we educating and informing our audience about matters that really concern them?

The above eight points don’t all need to be answered, that’s probably unrealistic, but a handful should be considered before publishing.

Remember, the type of content you post can take varying forms too. It doesn’t have to be a blog like this, and we’ll have more on that next month.

In the meantime, enjoy publishing, have some fun with your content, and if you’ve a question about any of the above, get in touch today.