Blogs, podcasts or videos? Which content is right for your business?
Have you been in business for a while? Perhaps you created your website back in the day and have forgotten about it since?
We have so many responsibilities running a business, it’s easy to forget about updating our website, isn’t it?
So what’s the best way of keeping your website fresh? Writing a blog, creating a podcast, or adding video to your website?
Your decision will be based on the following:
How does your audience like to consume content? If you’ve done your ideal client avatar (ICA) work you’ll know a fair bit about your clientele; Where they hang out so that you can reach them, how busy they are, where they have time for a read or whether they like to consume content on the go and a podcast perhaps? Or maybe they prefer to watch a video at the comfort of their desk or at a café with earphones?
How do you like to create content? It’s all very well saying you’ll produce content in a certain format but if you don’t feel comfortable on camera, for example, it’s probably not ideal to commit to creating video content. If you love to write though, you could use that format to create a script for a podcast or voiceover on a video. It’s worth highlighting that not all video content needs to have your face on it. Imagine you’re creating a tutorial video using slides and use your voice as the commentary.
Do bear in mind that putting yourself in front of the camera does help you to connect with your audience in a deeper way – if you need some support with learning camera styles I know the perfect ladies.
Your business model. If you only need 4 to 5 clients you may feel it’s unnecessary to keep your website filled with content. Perhaps it’s simply a holding page that your client can check out that will give you credibility? If you are looking for a larger clientele (possibly a scalable business) you’ll want to encourage frequent website traffic and by creating regular content in the form of blogs, videos or podcasts you’re increasing the chances of your website being found in more searches.
Have a think about how you like to consume content too– our ICAs are often a lot like us as we help them get from a point we once were to a point we reached via a shorter route.
There may be obstacles to overcome in creating content in your ideal format, for instance the tech involved in creating videos and editing them, but my advice is to keep things as simple as possible in the early stages. If you become overwhelmed by the production of a video, that can stop you in your tracks.
My first few videos were simply recordings from zoom. I did invest in a webcam as my built-in MacBook camera wasn’t great. I also believe it’s important to have good sound quality so I use an Audio-Technica microphone, which I’m really pleased with. After a few recordings, I came across Ecamm Live and took out a subscription as you can film with your logo showing on the recording. There are many other features on Ecamm Live, which I haven’t used yet; plenty still to learn! Quicktime player on your Apple device offers easy-to-use editing options.
If you’re podcasting you can simply use the audio file from your zoom recording or use GarageBand on your iPhone (there will be an equivalent for Android but as I don’t use it, a simple Google search will give you the information you need).
Which leaves us with blog writing. If you’re like me you love writing with pen and paper – I find the words flow better when I write – it helps to keep my handwriting in check too! My favourite tip is to dictate my handwritten blog into Notes – the dictation tool seems more accurate than on Google docs.
But of course you’re not finished there, for all content you need to create a précis (excerpt) SEO keywords (making your blog easier to find) and some artwork for your website.
Do remember that although this may seem like a lot of work for little reward, these pieces of content will live on for weeks, months, even years and you can break them down into smaller chunks to use as social media posts so ensure that each content piece works as hard for you as it can.
Whichever format you choose, always be thinking of how else you can use it. For example if you’ve already created blogs why not reformat that content into podcasts or videos?
And if your personal learning style is via videos, check out my bite-size video tutorials here. I’m adding to these all the time so if there’s a particular subject you’d like me to cover, do let me know in the comments below.
