Content is an essential part of marketing a business these days. It’s practically impossible to rank organically on search engines without it, and its presence on your website and/or social media channels establishes you as an authority or expert faster than almost anything. It’s also almost always an essential step in a marketing or sales funnel. But keeping up with the demands of creating it can be challenging.
Professional content creators face serious mental health challenges, with 75%-83% of them facing content burnout (source here). Along with the challenges artistic types have always faced, today’s creators are under constant scrutiny. While this statistic applies specifically to those trying to monetize content and earn a living as creators, it has implications for business owners as well. If you’re marketing your business with content, you have to compete with those who create as a labor of love, and you have to get through to an audience that’s as burned out from consuming content as anyone is from creating it.
Today’s consumers suffer from information overload, from seeing too much content too much of the time with too much of it being harmful, useless, or low-quality. It’s a tough environment if you want to market your business. Personal brands are much more likely to resonate than commercial ones. The process of strategically creating and distributing content requires more time and effort than most people assume. So, how can you avoid burning out? Here are some options and tips:
- Pull back/drop some of your channels. You don’t need to keep up with the Joneses by being on every single platform every single day. Your job is to reach the people most likely to matter to your business. There is a downside to this approach if your customers expect you to be on certain platforms, but you should be able to prioritize based on your industry and your buyer personas.
- Emphasize quality over quantity. The only way to truly compete with content creators is to create actual content rather than “salesy” materials. Focus on providing value to your customers. Work to make an actual connection with them. Even if you start small and grow, you will likely build up a core audience who is very loyal. One caveat is that you still have to produce a certain amount or you will lose the attention of even your most devoted fans. While it varies across industry and audience type, you want to post multiple times a week on each channel you’re using at a minimum.
- Delegate to staff. If your employees have the time and resources to devote to content creation, delegating to them can be a smart move. After all, they likely already understand your brand standards and marketing goals. Just know that you can’t expect someone to devote 3 or 4 hours a week to the process and have it be a marketing success. It requires time and effort. If your staff are putting in that time and effort, make sure they aren’t burning out as well.
- Use AI. Undeniably, AI can help you scale, but you want to make sure your material is still going to resonate with your audience. Some people consider AI-written content to be inauthentic or unethical. Make sure you understand your audience’s values before going this route. Additionally, you should avoid potential liability by fact-checking anything AI tells you. If AI is your creator, think of yourself as giving up the role of writer to become the editor. You still must scrutinize anything you put out in the world. Lastly, some state legislatures are proposing laws to ensure that people disclose when content has been created by AI (Pennsylvania’s law has already passed). Make sure you’re compliant with local legislation and legislation wherever your content is distributed.
- Outsource. You can outsource content strategy, creation, distribution, or all of the above. Outsourcing to an expert can be a good way to grow your brand and scale your content production, but it can be costly depending on the scope of the assignment. If the idea of getting content off your plate altogether is appealing to you, make sure you protect your brand by working with someone who truly understands both your goals and your brand’s voice.
Substance and Style 