This is the third in a series of posts on how to become the Google of your niche. You can find part one HERE and part two HERE. In this third installment, we’ll discuss the types of content you can create.
CONTENT
Before we get started I want to make sure we are on the same page when I refer to content.
“Content is the audio, video and text you publish on your website to share your knowledge and expertise about your niche.”
Your content will largely be composed of posts, videos, presentations, images, podcasts, eBooks, pdfs, etc. The content is usually informative, entertaining and written in a manner to teach those who consume it.
You and I consume content every day. If you’ve ever read an article on the web, watched a video or downloaded an eBook you’ve consumed content.
It’s content that drives the internet and its content we use to drive becoming the Google of your niche.
CONTENT CREATION
Note: This entire section assumes you already have a blog/website set-up. If you don’t, watch this video. Follow the steps and get your blog started today
Content creation is where the rubber hits the road so to speak. It’s where your keyword research and knowledge of your niche collide to produce informative and entertaining content written specifically to teach your audience.
However, here’s the thing.
This going to be the most difficult part of this process. Why? Because it requires you to collect and organize your thoughts in a cohesive manner then translate them into audio, video or text form.
It sounds simple but trust me it’s not easy. Here’s some good news. The more you hit publish, the easier it becomes.
The process starts by collecting and organizing your thoughts and deciding which type of content you want to use. Then ask yourself, where does your audience reside? Are they on YouTube? Instagram? Websites? The answer to this will help you understand whether you need audio, video or text-based content.
(You can use all three but for the purpose of explanation we’ll assume you use one at a time)
THE THREE TYPES OF CONTENT
Text-Based Content
For text-based content, you’ll need to write out your thoughts on digital paper. How you do this or what app you use doesn’t matter. You can create content directly in WordPress if you like.
Personally, I create my content in a third-party app then paste it into WordPress. This prevents me from accidentally posting content that is not quite ready.
When writing posts consider your audience and what they want to learn. Keep in mind the keywords you researched and use them in your post. Don’t use them too many times, however, because Google frowns on this practice.
Keywords can also be used in the title of your post. Like this one for example.
If you search for “how do you become the google of your niche” you’ll find both of my previous posts. Eventually, this post will appear as well.
Audio Based Content
Just as it sounds, audio-based content is simply capturing your thoughts using an audio recording device such as your phone. If you have an iPhone the native voice memo app works great. Other apps such as GarageBand or boss jock work just as well.
There are many other options just search for audio recorder in iTunes or the Google Play store.
Keep in mind that while phone apps work they are limited in functionality and can be of lower quality. They will pick up all ambient noise in addition to the voices you want to be heard.
Regardless of how you record your audio, just like your text-based content, you will need to make sure your audio content fits the needs to your audience. This may mean you need to script out your audio before recording it.
This allows you to review it before you hit record. As a bonus for your audience, the written script for your audio can be added below the audio file on your site and serve as “show notes” much like those used for podcasts.
Video Based Content
The use of video for content is exploding. I don’t need to look any further than my youngest son to know video is huge.
Like audio content, it’s also very easy to produce especially since every phone now comes equipped with a camera.
Producing content is as easy as opening the camera app, switching to the front-facing camera and pressing record. When finished you can upload it to YouTube in seconds or minutes depending on length and internet connection.
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world and it’s owned by Google. If you’re serious about online reputation management and becoming the Google of your niche, you need to be on YouTube.
In addition to a regular video, you can now live stream video using Meerkat or Periscope. A word of caution about these platforms, though, they really do broadcast LIVE. So be careful what you stream.
Like audio, great video content starts with writing as well. Can you do great content without writing, perhaps, but I believe writing out your script beforehand will help you organize your thoughts and enable you to deliver a more powerful message.
SUMMARY
Creating content is the hardest part of becoming the Google of your niche but it’s also the most necessary. You need to create content in order to start building your reputation online.
The content you create can be audio, video or text-based. The format matters less than the content produced.
I believe regardless of the format you choose, all of them start with writing. If you want high quality, relevant audio, and video, before you press the record button you need to script out what you’re going to say.
Your favorite celebrities don’t ad lib on camera, you shouldn’t either.
Since Google uses keywords to determine what the content is about and to organize its results page, it should be obvious you need to use keywords in your content.
So as you develop content for your website keep in mind the keywords your audience or potential audience is searching for and use them in the body and or the title of the post.
In the next post, we’ll move into content curation. If you want a sneak peek listen to my presentation at WordCamp Dayton earlier this year.
