Are you concerned that your content is just average?
Do you want to stand out in the market place?
This article shares how starting an investigation can pay many dividends.
We live in a changing world where keeping your finger on the pulse is more and more difficult. However, this does present excellent opportunities for content creation. If you work in a niche that you love, then things just get even better. It’s time to scale up your ideas.
Strive to Do More with Your Content
Quite often you hear internet marketers saying things like: “You need to become the online encyclopedia for your industry.” While this is a very worthwhile goal, could you be doing something more worthwhile that would also act as an encyclopedia? Let me explain.
The Leaders of Any Industry Are Innovators
I don’t think anyone will argue with this statement. The leaders of any industry are those who are constantly striving for more. They want things to be better. They try new ideas. Some work, some don’t work. Fundamentally they are people that are driving forwards.
Start an Investigation
Who remembers at the beginning of Star Trek when the announcer talks about their on-going mission to boldly go where no man has gone before? This is what we need to do for our content – come of with a purpose that will always keep us moving forward.
For example, I set up House Planning Help to explore what houses we should be building in the 21st century. There will never be a definitive answer to this but as someone that is concerned we are not doing the best we can, it gives me an opportunity to understand the issues and meet the people that are pushing the industry forward. I am not even really in this sector! But my purpose is one of being concerned about climate change and realising that energy efficiency is one action against climate change that has no down side. I strive to be someone of value.
7 Reasons Why an Investigation is a Good Idea
1. It brings out the passion in you. Perhaps you are so tied up in the day to day activities of your business that you haven’t really had a chance to step back and look at the bigger picture. If your mission is closely linked with your definite major purpose then creating this content will be very fulfilling. It’s the old adage that you become what you think about most. Any extra time that you can spend focussing on the bigger issues may lead to personal inspiration.
2. You are networking without even trying. If you are being thorough with your investigation you will be seeking out existing thought leaders to get a proper overview of the subject matter. These are figures you may otherwise not have met. Plus you may discover that you make a good connection because you share a desire for more. Who knows, this could even lead to working together.
3. People perceive you as an innovator. Although you may not have the answers yet, you are the person that really desires to find them. If you are persistent, this quality will not go by unnoticed so that people may assume that you will get there in the end. The mere process is communicating a positive message.
4. You can increase your knowledge. The way to become an industry leader is to make sure you never stop learning. This investigation will keep you being inquisitive as well as affording you time to listen to others and get a deeper understanding of the topic.
5. You attract a community of doers. One of the wonders of content marketing is that the community that begins to form around you consists of people who are in sync with you. The likelihood is that your followers are just as eager as you to make a difference. That opens up all sorts of possibilities and increases the depth of engagement.
6. Content creation becomes easy. Instead of creating the content you think you have to be making, you are creating content you actually want to make. There’s a big difference. You may find yourself with far too many avenues to explore, which is of course a far better situation to have rather than struggling with what to do next.
7. Your encyclopedia gets built as a by-product. Instead of sitting down to write the encyclopedia, which is undoubtedly a chore, wait until things need explaining. You may cover the same ground eventually but it will be in context.
Examine the Pain Points in Your Industry
Determining what your research should be about may be simple, but if not, consider the pain points in your niche. Where are the problems? Why are they not being resolved? What would things look like if we could create things the way we want them to be?
Stay Open-minded
An investigation is not going to be much good if you think you know everything already. Try to tell both sides of the argument without bias before making any deductions. It may be that no conclusions are necessary. This could be left entirely to the person consuming your content.
Break Your Content into Pieces
While your investigation might be huge, try to be much more focussed with each bit of content. Think of it as a jigsaw – most of your time is likely to be spent looking at small pieces of the bigger picture.
Share Your Breakthroughs
There is always a temptation to withhold your best information but this will be the very information that will escalate you to a leader in your industry. So share it with the knowledge that your generosity will come back to you in other ways. Acting like this will also drive you towards making the next breakthrough!
How do you create content that marks you out as someone special in your niche? What investigation would help your industry?
