Big Content Wins Olympic Gold!

(spoiler alert: you don’t have to be a gold-medal writer to make it happen)

A steady stream of content will win you a shiny gold medal in the eyes of your co-workers, customers and influencers.

While quality counts, quantity is the Michael Phelps of content marketing.

B2B marketers take heed: 71% of B2B companies are doing more content marketing than last year.

So where are you on the race to content creation?

Websites are Still Winners

Social media is how your content gets “out there,” but posting your content regularly – on a good old-fashioned website – is still the de facto starting line:

 “Add multiple types of content – video, blogs, images and so on. Don’t let your site get stale. Add content that’s better and more current than your competitors’. Be the best website you can be.”

           SEO is Not Rocket Science, Brian Cooper, OpenMoves

A good website incorporates fresh and frequent content: it’s that simple.

Inspiration is All Around

We’ve all had that frozen moment in front of a blinking cursor on a blank computer screen.

Newsflash: winners don’t use Google to randomly search for inspiration. You deserve a more-winning strategy.

The best-kept secret for inspiration may just be Slide Share. Known as the “YouTube of Presentations,” SlideShare allows users to upload, share and view professionally created PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, videos and more.

Enter a search term topic (there are presentations on everything from advanced SEO strategies to White House infographics)  and go. The site gets 60 million visitors a month who upload more than 40,000 presentations, making SlideShare the world’s largest professional content sharing community and a one-stop shop for inspiration.

Winning the race for quality content isn’t is hard as you think – lean on SlideShare and other company websites and blogs you admire for inspiration – then add your own distinct take.

Content Isn’t Just Words

Video. Charts. Infographics. Photographs. Visual elements can power your content even more effectively than words.

And the good news is: You don’t have to go all Danny Boyle on the production front.

Simply upload your visuals, cite the sources and you’re off!

But don’t forget to write a sentence or two as to WHY you are sharing it – How does it help? Why do you admire it (or maybe think it’s a loser?)…you need to breathe your own point of view into everything you share – even if it seems obvious to you.

Pump Your Pen (or Keyboard, but where’s the fun alliteration in that?)

Yes, hiring expert writers is one route.

But tapping into your inner scribe is another. Your blog, tweet, Facebook post, LinkedIn update…they don’t have to be Shakespeare. They just have to be helpful to the folks who are going to read them. Keep it short and punchy. 

Timing-wise, put one writing piece per week on your calendar – and stick to it.

You can also consider a hybrid solution – employ skilled writers to do a byline or thought piece, and save the 100 meter writing dashes for yourself.

One Last Olympic Pun

Think of creating quality content as a marathon with no finish line, – and the people cheering you on as your target audience. The steadier the pace of engaging content, the bigger your base of cheering fans.

And remember – writing online content regularly can be a challenge. But once you hit your stride, you’ll be a true online engagement champion in no time.