Content marketing has become a critical component of the marketing mix for businesses of all sizes and types. In fact, it’s so popular that the “content competition” will get tougher and tougher. It will be harder to stand out unless you find ways to separate your company’s content from the crowd. What’s a company to do? More research? Develop more content? Hire more guest bloggers?
Well, these may help, but what you learned in 3rd grade finger-painting class may be your company’s next secret weapon. Yes, you can paint outside the lines. It’s okay!
In fact, it’s more than okay. This could save your business from unprofitable obscurity.
6 Ways Creativity Is Your New Secret Weapon
1) Creativity Makes Your Company Stand Out
Creative content helps you stand out from the crowd. There are any number of people blogging about “how to remodel a kitchen” or “how to pick an architect”. How many architects are writing about “10 failed kitchen remodels and what they learned”??
2) Creativity Is Hard to Copy
Creative content is hard to copy. It becomes a competitive advantage for the companies that crack the code on creativity.
3) Creativity Keeps Your Smart People Engaged
Creativity keeps you and your staff interested. Churning out average content becomes a chore and the payoff can be very incremental. Creativity keeps smarter people interested (hint: mix in some more basic articles or guest posts to give them a break!).
4) Creativity Helps You “Milk” An Old Topic
Creativity means you can do more things on an old, tired topic. It allows you to look at the same subject from different angles. Instead of “how to give your dog exercise”, you can write about “10 outdoor adventures for you and your dog” or “how to work your dog out and lose a few pounds yourself”.
5) Creativity Moves You into Other Media
Creativity allows you to stretch your content into other media like pictures, video or infographics.
Pictures, videos or infographics not only keep your readers more interested, but they can help you get found more easily in search or in other platforms (like YouTube or Flickr, if you load your media there as well).
6) Creativity Builds a Deeper Bond with Your Audience
How deep of a bond can your audience build with a company that blogs about very generic and hum-drum things. No, they need to see some personality and some creativity. Sure, you’ll turn some people off, but who doesn’t want a more engaged and loyal audience?
How to Use Creativity When Blogging
Well, first of all get inspired. There may be different ways to find inspiration, and they are all different from person to person. Here’s what works for me:
- Turn on music playlists that make me feel inspired
- Go out for a walk
- Eat a piece of dark chocolate
- Run tools. Keyword research tools always help me discover topics I feel inspired about.
Once you feel inspired, go ahead and start writing that blog post.
Crafting a creative article isn’t always easy, in fact sometimes it’s horribly difficult. Writing perfection comes with patience and a lot of practice.
I’m sure if we asked some of the world’s most powerful bloggers how they thought some of their writing was, they would share that there’s always room for improvement. In order to begin to develop a strong and creative writing skill, you need to never stop improving and surprising yourself.
Keep in mind the following aspects of writing:
1. The Audience
Your target audience is key because blog posts are not a one-way street. When discussing a topic, you may be considered the expert, but your audience is not (that’s why they are taking the time to listen to you).
For example, when we answer questions about SEO/SEM we do not start by rattling off industry terms that clients may have never heard of. Instead, we paint a very broad picture that covers the main points that are easy to remember and understand.
Believe it or not, some of your blog audience may not know the topic you are blogging about, so it makes sense to keep them in mind when writing.
Let your audience help you write something truly creative and unique. Ask for their ideas on social media, publish surveys on your site and invite your readers to submit ideas and feedback.
Use email marketing to reach your past readers and invite them to share their questions and ideas. WP Forms can help you set up those surveys and email campaigns you need for the task. Hearing back from your audience is essential for making your inspired and creative.
According to Kia Ora Digital, customer centricity is key to creativity.
2. Passion & Entertainment
When planning to write on any topic, it is vital to have passion about the topic. Give your audience something to talk about after they are finished reading and convert them into believers.
This can be as simple as connecting with them on a personal level by telling a story or by going over the top. I will never forget my high school health teacher, she was so “cool” and even the hardest of students listened and respected her. Why did they do this? Because she demonstrated different processes by acting them out (entertainment) and she was deeply passionate about her job.
Creative content sticks with your audience long after they leave your site.
3. Point of View
Maybe the topic you are writing about seems like a broken record. Sometimes when we read or hear about the same thing over and over again it becomes difficult to find enthusiasm.
This is the time to step back, do a yoga pose (or whatever refreshes you) and put a new spin on a dry topic.
For example, play a game, embed a video or explain your topic in a way that the audience can relate to.
Tailoring an article, and pumping some life into your blog, will not only make you feel more confident as a blogger, but will also leave your audience inspired with a creative article that everyone will remember.
Ultimately, your most unique asset is your own personality. Your opinions, experience and skills are what will make your writing unique, so don’t be afraid to get personal. Tell personal stories, express your personal opinion and feelings.
Standing out in our era of content overload is difficult, so rely on what you always have: YOU. Creativity is hard to find unless you can rely on something solid, and there’s nothing more solid than your unique personality.
Turn your right brain on!
It might seem cliche, but you just have to stick with it. No matter how frustrated you get by the numbers, keep writing creative posts on a consistent basis. You don’t need to write them often, and you don’t need to keep them long. But you need to enjoy the process and take pleasure in your writing. Then numbers will not stress you out, and success will come. It always does when you enjoy what you do.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your right brain moving to help your business stand out!
About the Author
Ann Smarty is the Brand and Community manager at InternetMarketingNinjas.com as well as the founder of ViralContentBee.com. Ann has been into Internet Marketing for more than a decade, she is the former Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Journal and contributor to prominent search and social blogs including Small Biz Trends and Mashable. Ann is also the frequent speaker at Pubcon and the host of regular Twitter chats #vcbuzz and #myblogu.
