The platforms are free but the time and effort producing them isn’t (courtesy of zenfolio)
Let’s face it. We are swamped by content.
What used to be physical has now invaded our virtual and mobile spaces. With a gazillion blogs, videos, photos, podcasts, slide presentations, and so on, consumers are literally “consumed” by data.
Knowledge is no longer the preserve of the privileged few. Rather, anybody with a web-enabled mobile phone can now harness the genius of generations. Without paying a single cent (except for data charges).
In an online universe with hundreds of thousands of business, marketing, food, fashion, travel, movie, and hobby blogs, Youtube Channels, Facebook pages, and podcasts, how do you make yours stand out?
The honest truth is that there isn’t any one secret ingredient. Instead, it is a combination of various factors. Let me label these the 5 Cs of being outstanding:
Competence
The first thing you need to do is to focus on what you’re good at. Take a good hard look at yourself. What are you most familiar with? Where does your years of experience and expertise bring you?
Focusing on where your strengths lie is always preferred to randomly riding the latest consumer trends without understanding how you can deliver value to these trends.
Conviction
Any form of user generated content requires work. Writing, producing a video, or editing a photo requires discipline and concentration. To carry yourself through the sh*tty days (stranger yelled at you, deadlines at work, kids didn’t complete homework), you need to have deep passion, interest and motivation in your subject matter.
Community
From a gang of 5 to a garrison of 1000, any social media content producer needs a following. Shooting that video and uploading it on Youtube becomes a lot more fun and meaningful when people comment and interact with it. The exchange of ideas, views and thoughts help to expand your horizons, create new opportunities and provide that warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart.
Consistency
Don’t start what you cannot finish. In the brutal world of online content generation, being a “survivor” does require one to “outwit, outplay, and outlast” other players in the field. Try to maintain a certain cadence in how you roll out content – once a week, once every 2 or 3 days, or even (gasp) daily? Maintain that schedule come hell or highwater because you need to pump in fresh content to keep them reading, viewing and listening.
Creativity
The final “C” in our toolbox is a vital ingredient if you want to keep your producing fresh, interesting and fun content. A good way to write good content is to read good content. Expose yourself to videos, books, audio books, seminars, or events where you can plug yourself into what’s new and news in your world. Keep yourself updated and share that knowledge with your followers.
