5 Ways to Increase the Quality of Your Content
here’s no way around it: In today’s digital era, content is king. And if you’re a regular Internet and social media user, you know that some pieces of content are just better than others. That’s because you’ve become an expert consumer. You can sniff out the good from the bad. Your years of experience interacting with photos, videos, graphics, and language on the web has refined your palette and made you the ultimate critic.
Congrats. That’s a good thing. But don’t forget: Every other person riding the digital wave is just like you. They, too, know great content when they see it, meaning they also know when to scroll past the fluff.
If you’re a growing brand or company trying to improve your presence on the Internet (which includes social media), step one is stepping up your content game. Here are some starting points to help you get on your way to creating better content.
1. Find a photographer
One of the most popular forms of content today is photography. It seems pretty straightforward, right? Take a photo, post it, let the cash flow in. Except it’s not that simple. Most believe it is, and that’s where they fall short.
Your goal in this crazy, complicated, and oversaturated digital age is to stand out--to rise above the status quo and give your audience something special. The only way to do that is with truly professional, high-quality photos.
For that, your best bet is to hire a photographer, who will have the equipment and software necessary to materialize fantastic photos for your brand. Let them handle locations, models, composition, and editing. Of course, you can try to do all of this yourself like everyone else, but then you’re just … everyone else. Focus on your brand and leave the photography to the professionals.
2. Find a videographer
Just like photography, the second most popular form of content on the Internet today is video media, and the only reason it isn’t as saturated as photography is because it’s harder to create. People LOVE videos, just like they love TV and movies. It captivates them as soon as it appears on their screen.
Any brand or company owner would be wise to push video content on their platforms. The challenge lies in finding the right people to do it. Videography is an art with many nuances, especially today. The calls to action must be up front (yet disguised), the editing must be quick and flashy to keep the viewers’ attention, and the overall length must be short. And, of course, the video must be high-quality, which requires expensive and hard-to-operate equipment and software.
Save yourself money and time and hire a videographer to create dazzling media for your platforms. Your investment pays off when you let the experts work their magic.
3. Find a graphic designer
Items number one and two on this listicle are directly complemented by the talents of a good graphic designer. That’s because it’s a great idea to overlay graphics on both of the aforementioned types of content.
Whether they are calls to action, logos, cool illustrations or something else, good graphics are what separates your brand from the rest. Anyone can capture or repost photos, and most can record and edit some footage on iMovie, but graphic design is hard, very hard, requiring a specialist.
When you have on-brand graphics, you’re telling your audience:
“Look at us. We are professional, high-quality, and better than the rest. That’s why you should choose us over the competitor”
More likely than not, you’re audience will reply: “Sounds good to me! Sign me up.”
4. Focus on your copy
Great copy is the glue that makes your photos, videos, and graphics come together behind one brand story, tone, and voice.
If you don’t deliver your content with great copy, you might as well have not delivered it at all. To gain trust and reputation, your audience wants to get an idea of what you sound like: Are you just another big, boring, mean company, or a person just like them?
You can answer these questions through copy. You can also get your audience to do certain things through great copy, like buy more, sign up, or tell their friends about your service.
Focus on your copy. Make it work with your visual media to elicit the response or emotion you want from your audience.
5. Optimize for platform
Last but certainly not least, ensure your content is optimized for the platform where you are posting it. This shows your audience that you are tech savvy and understand the particularities and nuances of the platforms where you post.
There’s nothing worse than recycling the same content across all platforms. When you do that, you look lazy. Even worse, sometimes your images don’t fit, are cut off, or just plain look bad.
So, once you’ve taken care of all the items above, make sure your content is hyper-optimized for the platform where it will be posted. Take the extra step, and it will pay off in the long run.
