Many years ago Bill Gates aptly predicted that content was going to be king. True to his projection, nowadays the term “content” is the most common buzz word in business. There is a very high demand for top-notch and engaging content on the internet and social media. What is content generation by the way? It is a process that entails the creation and propagation of material that engages people for various business-related purposes. It essentially involves developing structured information on topical issues that edu-tain and engages people. The pith of engaging people is to establish an audience or following. The endgame is to then affect different types of calls to action (CTAs) that are aimed at driving conversions. Let’s discuss more so that you get the idea:
Approaches To Content Generation
You might be wondering why it isn’t easy to directly market your products – after all, that’s your original intention anyway. It’s not as easy as it sounds; people no longer welcome the concept of having products or services shoved down their throats. Therefore content generation is meant to grow business revenue by returns on investment (ROIs) on your initiatives to provide people with creative & useful content. Broadly you can choose either of 3 ways i.e. doing content generation for your own products & services, directly for other people’s brands, and indirectly for other people’s brands by featuring their brands on your own platform. The ways are diverse and many; the one you choose will mainly be a function of how you want to package your business. By the way, content generation is mainly done through blogging, vlogging, podcasts, and social media.
Key Components
The premises & location needs aren’t quite a factor since content generation is a predominantly online initiative. You must have relevant computer hardware & software – the basic stuff that enables you to optimally operate online. Internet connectivity is mandatory; you must choose an internet package that ensures you are online all the time. One of the most important things you will need is several types of software. You can’t be a successful content generator with just an ordinary website – you’ll need specialized features and plugins or add-ons. You’ll need social media listening tools (e.g. BuzzSumo or BrandWatch). Audio-visual gear might be necessary since video content is the most potent now; graphic design software will also be necessary. Software applications for SEO and Keywords Analytics are also very strategic. As you can see a lot of investment will need to be done in paying for specialized software applications or services.
Human Resources
The idea of the 4 key roles must be put at play during your early days i.e. the visionary, the customer expert, the innovator & the rainmaker. I think in content generation you might need a lot of muscle in the innovation aspects – but in your thrust to keep your staffing lean you can leverage on two things. The possibility of outsourcing certain things & also the use of specialized software can thwart the need for having to hire several people with certain expertise. I do advise that the innovator must be very knowledgeable on SEO issues and the customer expert must be very well-versed in e-marketing.
Capital
As I pointed out earlier a lot of your initial investment will go into software payments. Still, the initial financial requirements are not quite overwhelming. This is because you could start off by using the free aspects of the software before going premium. That being the case, I still encourage that you get premium versions as they offer more functionality. Other financial needs will also pertain to running paid promotions and the like. Audio-visual equipment can come in later – initially you can make do with phones with HD features. Overall, you can start off on a very lean budget which you can comfortably foot in partnership with your team.
Market
Locally the market is quite huge and is still characterized by limited competition. Content generation is still evolving in Zimbabwe so that means anyone can easily claim their share of the market right now. A lot of advanced approaches now being employed in other countries are not yet fully appreciated locally. Thus if you put them to work here you’ll outsmart the competition out there. You still have all the leeway to choose your niche & your approaches.
Regulation
Company registration is the first step – a lot of people often neglect this but it’s important. Copyright is a very important aspect in content generation; you must ensure you don’t infringe the copyrights of other people’s material. This might seem like a small matter but if someone discovers you’ve violated their copyrights you can end up in big trouble. EU parliament is currently working on new copyright law for online companies. So be wary of not crossing the line by illegally using copyrighted material – it’s very easy to do so online so be careful.
Useful Information
In order to stay on top of the game, you must be consistently abreast with trends and current affairs. I mentioned the issues of social media listening tools and keywords. The most commonly used sequential strategy for generating content is categorizing (segmenting), then brainstorming (topics), followed by noting segment overlaps (repurposing where necessary), scheduling (when to upload) & buttressing with other relevant ad-hoc material.
Content creation and propagation drive six times more sales as compared to when you don’t use content. Studies have shown that blogging accounts for more than 60% of all revenue realized online. The demand for content marketing expertise has shot up by over 400% over the past 7 years. I’m just letting you in on how huge the prospects of the content generation business are. So make up your mind to start your own content generation business today.
