In this blog, we discuss how to start creating content. You’ve probably heard that content is king, and it’s been confirmed—content is still on the throne.

Content gets your message out into the world and creates a buzz about your brand. Content creation is the process of generating topic ideas that appeal to your target audience, creating written or visual content around those ideas, and making that information readily available through various channels.

To be a successful content creator, you need to do more than take a picture of your pumpkin spice latte with your iPhone and post it on Instagram. Effective content creation takes time, strategy, ingenuity, and skill. There’s no exact formula, but there are steps you can take to make your content better.

Read on to learn how to start content creation like a pro.

How to Start Content Creation in 6 Steps

1. Set Content Goals

How to start making content begins well before the creative assets are made. First, you need to set goals and identify key performance indicators (KPIs). Common KPIs include increasing website traffic and generating more leads. Social media content metrics may include increasing post engagement and visibility. 

But it’s important to make your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. A basic goal may be to increase your follower count. As a SMART goal, it would be to reach 10k followers by the third quarter.

2. Brainstorm

Every piece of content comes from an idea. You can collect content ideas from a variety of sources, including:

1. Past data. You likely have a wealth of information on your computer (or phone) to work with. Past Q&As, polls, and posts that hit the high note are all great places to start. This information will help you determine which content types were most successful so you can create more of the same.

2. Competitor content. Your competitor's top-performing pieces may serve as a content creation guide for your own account. What topics are they talking about? How can you make it your own? Can you cover it from a different perspective? Remember, don’t outright copy someone else’s work, simply use it to generate new ideas.

3. Keywords. Search engines deliver users content related to the words and phrases they type into the search bar. Try typing in keywords that you want to rank for to see what kind of content populates. How many people are searching for that term? Can you compete with other websites ranking for it?

4. Hashtags. Similar to keywords, hashtags provide a ripe opportunity for social media content creators to discover new content. You can easily search hashtags on Instagram and scroll through thousands of posts using a specific hashtag. The mosaic of photos will likely spark some creative ideas on how you can use it, too.

3. Determine Your Content Types

Look at your goals to determine which content type you will use to promote your business. For instance, if you want to grow your authority as a thought leader, maybe you’ll focus on writing informative blogs that position you as an expert. If you want to become an influencer, you’ll need to amp up your social media content creation process. 

Here are some content types to consider, but this list certainly isn’t exhaustive:

Blog. Short- or long-form copy focused on trending topics, industry opinions, and information summaries that position you as a trusted, knowledgeable source.

Social post. Social media post types vary from platform to platform, but they’re a mix of images, videos, and captions that educate, empower, entertain, or engage.

White paper. Long-form content that informs or persuades the reader as to why your brand, product, or service solves their problems.

Case study. A written summary of a real-life business engagement where steps were taken to solve a problem successfully.

Podcast. Audio content that covers a specific topic of interest to a target audience.

Video. Visual content used when words alone can’t adequately communicate or emphasize the message, such as a tutorial.

Infographic. Visual content that tells a data story.

Email. A written message that can be short- or long-form to a niche audience. The content varies from promotional to personal.

Once you know the type of content you want to produce, it will dictate which channel you publish it on. For example, if you choose a blog, the channel is your website. If you choose a video, it could be YouTube or TikTok.

4. Develop a Content Calendar

After identifying your topics, content types, and channels, it’s time to schedule your posts. A content calendar is one of the best content creation tactics. It’s a written schedule of when and where you plan to publish upcoming content. Content calendars outline what you’re sharing, when you’re sharing it, and where you’re sharing it. 

You can use social media management apps like Later.com to help you plan and create a recurring schedule for content. Or, keep it simple and use Google Calendar. Do whatever works best for your content creation process.

5. Share Your Content

Finally, it’s time to share your content! You didn’t spend all of this time creating meaningful content just for fun. You created it to engage your audience and make a name for yourself in your field. But don’t share your content in real-time. Use your content calendar and a social media management program to schedule everything ahead of time, so content publishes without you even having to think about it.

6. Track Metrics

You may think you’re done after sharing your content, but that’s far from the truth. Every piece of content should be monitored to see how it performs. That way, you know what to produce more of and what to nix. Analyze your content by cross-referencing it with your KPIs to see if you’re reaching your goals. Here are some metrics to consider looking at:

Organic search engine traffic

- Bounce rate

- Open rate

- Pageviews

- Engagement rate

- Click-through rate

- Conversion rate

- Audience growth

Now that you know how to start content creation, you’re probably thinking that it’s a lot of work—and you’d be right. If you recognize the importance of the content creation process, but can’t execute a content creation plan by yourself, contact a content creation agency like Bonus Track that eats content for breakfast.

Bonus Track: A Content Creation Agency in Toronto, Canada

But we’re not just a content creation agency, we curate and produce pitch-perfect creative, design, branding, and beyond. Our content creation services are a small piece of the bigger picture.

In our increasingly digital world, the need for high-quality, engaging content is greater than ever. With consumers’ appetites for fresh content reaching new heights, the right creative partner is a business essential. 

At Bonus Track, we offer in-house creative content services, including photography, videography, design, and post-production. Our comprehensive production services include location scouting, talent casting & booking, and creative team building (hair, make-up, fashion, and prop styling, set dressing, etc.).

If you’re ready to build and execute a professional-grade content creation plan that reaches the masses, let’s chat.