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8 Content Creation Tools

8 Content Creation Tools

by | Aug 1, 2021 | Blog, content marketing

Here’s eight of our favorite tools for content creation, in no particular order.

  1. Canva. Of course! As an early adopter of Canva, we’ve been telling marketers about it for years. Canva is a very user friendly graphic design tool for creators who desire to make custom graphics including images, videos, pdfs, letters, business cards, and so much more! We love it so much, we now teach it at local learning centers and online webinars. Find a Canva webinar here and join in the fun! Need a Canva account? Here’s my affiliate link.

  2. National Day Calendar. Did you know there’s a “national day” for almost everything?  Find a holiday that’s relevant to your audience or your marketing pillars or your content plan to fill in those blanks. It’s a great tool for filler content! Click here for the National Day Calendar.
content creation ideas
national day calendar

3. Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator. Simply enter a noun into the generator tool and in just seconds you’ll have a week of blog ideas based on your word. And it’s free! You can find it here.

4. Feedly RSS reader. Feedly lets you keep up with the topics and trends you care about, without the overwhelm. The mobile app is super easy and you can even configure it to post to your social media accounts on the go. Now how easy is that? Click here to learn more about Feedly

5. Google Trends. What topics are trending in your industry? In your location? With your audience? Google trends has the answer and it’s free! Just head on over to Google Trends and give it a try.

hubspot
google trends

6. Content planner. Whether it’s a cool digital tool like Trello or Clickup, or a spreadsheet, or an old fashioned white board and post-it notes, the plan is the most critical part! We use a combination of Google spreadsheets and Clickup for planning our content.

7. Industry newsletters. Can’t find your favorite publisher on Feedly? Subscribe to their email newsletters and get the info you need delivered directly to your inbox.

8. Twitter. Follow trending topics on Twitter. If the trends align with your audience, share that content with them!

So there you have it, 8 free tools that you can add to your toolbox today! Come back next week for 8 more content creation tools that you’ll love just as much as these.

Creating content your audience can relate to

Creating content your audience can relate to

by | Jan 24, 2021 | Blog, content marketing

Why it’s important to understand our client’s pain points

Creating content that your audience relates to is critical for capturing that elusive “engagement” that we all desire.

Performing the Avatar Study is a critical step in identifying our ideal client avatar’s painpoints. And as the industry expert who has the answers your audience craves, it’s important to speak their language. You may know the solution in it’s formal format, but if your audience doesn’t know that language, you’ll miss an opportunity.

As has been said many times, “it’s not about you, it’s about them.” Using your audience’s words and phrases, even if they seem a little informal or casual to you the expert, can make all the difference in relating to your target market.

content creation ideas

How do you know what your clients are talking about now?

There are several methods to use that can help you identify the language your ideal client avatar is using. Here’s two easy ideas to get you started.

1. Google alerts is a free tool that tracks topics and trends. You set the search topics, the frequency of the alert notifications, and Google does the rest. As an example, I’m very interested in Agritourism. I have an alert set to notify me via email (I choose the daily digest notification) when content related to Agritourism hits the internet. Learn more about Google Alerts here.

2. Follow hashtags on Instagram. Assuming your ideal client avatar is using Instagram, this is a super easy way to find out what they’re talking about. In addition to receiving a daily email about the Agritourism industry from my Google alert, I also follow #agritourism on Instagram, which offers me more insight on that audience. I can see the other hashtags they use, follow them, connect with them, and create content that speaks to them.

 A recap of the Avatar Series:

we’ve determined what is an Ideal Client Avatar, how to perform an Avatar study, sorted out where they’re spending time online, and how to monitor  our Avatar’s language, pain points, topics and trends.

 

Next up: creating a comprehensive marketing plan.

Where are my clients?

Where are my clients?

by | Jan 18, 2021 | Blog, content marketing

Where are my ideal clients spending time online?

Ah yes, the million dollar question. No, seriously. Knowing where your ideal client is spending time online can definitely equal dollars! Now that you have identified three avatars, the next step is to do a little more research. 

But guess what? You don’t have to spend hours pouring through data. It’s already been done for you. Pew Research conducts massive research and all that information is available to you. Not only that, Marketing Charts has assembled that data into an easily digestible chart. Easy-peasy! 

Check out the 2019 MarketingChart here! 

What do I say to my ideal client avatar?

Another great question. It will depend on the platform and the avatar’s pain points. If your Avatar is spending most of her time on Instagram, you’ll focus on creating images, stories and hashtags that relate to her. 

If your Avatar is spending time on YouTube, you’ll create engaging and compelling, highly optimized videos that he wants to consume.

Bottom line Be where your Avatar is spending time. Build a relationship with them there, create engaging content, have a conversation, be social, and be consistent.

Avatar segmentation

What are your next steps?

Spend some time on the platforms where your Avatar spends time. Find her there, and pay attention to what she’s talking about. Discover what videos he prefers. Be inspired by the groups or pages they interact with. Then, armed with this information, you can begin to create a content marketing strategy.

 

Next on the blog: Content Creation made easy. 

Need more support in ID'ing your Avatar?

We’re rolling out two new 12-week coaching groups in January where you get access to individualized training for all of your marketing efforts. Learn more about Collective Coaching with Melanie Diehl here. 

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