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The contemporary world revolves around the search and consumption of content in the digital medium. Whether in the form of text, infographic, video, or photo, content is the great foundation of our daily knowledge and entertainment.
Moreover, it is one of the main sources of customer attraction and loyalty for many companies around the planet. But, after all, how is this content generated in an intelligent way? What is web content production?
If you are a copywriter who has demands for this type of content or want to work with copywriting, you need to master the concepts related to this universe.
The first mistake many people make when thinking about web content production is to ignore the differences between this type of creation and working with other text formats in general.
So that you don’t fall into this trap, we decided to point out the main peculiarities of web content production. First, a bit of history for you to see that the subject of this post is not new! Check it out:
How content production came about
Providing attractive and relevant content to the public is not a recent strategy. Or did you think that only with the Internet was it possible to put Content Marketing into practice?
The implementation of a content strategy similar to what is in the spotlight today began in 1895. John Deere, creator of the first forged steel plow and owner of a farm machinery company named after him, launched the company’s own publication, called "The Furrow".
The magazine was not used to advertise his products, but to provide the target audience with information about production techniques, personal stories from farmers, and market news.
A few years after Deere’s initiative, the French tire manufacturer’s first "Michelin Guide" was circulated. To give people reasons to have a car and to travel - and therefore to buy tires - the company launched the gastronomy and tourism guide! More effective than publishing a tire catalog, no?
Over the past century, more companies have given their business a boost through content production. We also have the example of Lego, which in the 1980s published the magazine "Brick Kinks". The goal was to encourage the use of the toy for educational purposes and show that the product went far beyond fun.
In the following decade, in 1998, the Custom Publishing Council was created in the United States. The entity was entirely dedicated to the creation of magazines published by brands, which had been successful in the market for years.
Finally, in 2001, the term content marketing was created by the North American company Penton Custom Media, run by the same founder of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), Joe Pulizzi.
Well, from this brief history it is possible to see how content plays a relevant role for business. Do you want to understand better this importance? Let’s get to the next topic.
The importance of content production for businesses
Content production serves as the foundation for building relationships between companies and their customers. This need has arisen because consumer habits have changed with the adoption of new technologies by consumers, who can now search for information and evaluations about products and services and communicate directly with brands.
Therefore, offering valuable content means showing experience and authority to the brand’s target audience. Therefore, the bonds created are long-lasting, and trust is strengthened.
Take a look at the main benefits that companies get from producing web content:
- the more quality content there is, the more time users will spend consuming the site;
- the more the organizations produce, the more likely they are to be ranked well by search engines;
- the conversion rate of visitors into leads increases due to the trust aroused by the content;
- brand visibility also grows on social networks by sharing effective content;
- valuable, relevant, and quality content for the target audience only favors the engagement between them and the company, which becomes unforgettable!
The role of planning Web content production is totally result-oriented. And for it to be successful, there is an essential first step: planning.
It is in this step that the objective, title, keywords, and language of the text must be determined. Remember: this must always be done carefully, studying the client’s strategy well and using good references for research.
In addition, it is at this moment that the best ways to share the content on social networks should be studied, because this is essential for the public’s contact with the text and for the results of the strategy.
Always think about the persona
One of the elements that most influence the production of web content is the text’s persona. A persona is a fictitious representative of the individual to whom we are directing the text, which is why it is so important that the content is really relevant and valuable to them.
To get the content production right, it is necessary to imagine - and study! - what are the challenges, problems, desires and needs of this persona.
The goal of the text should always be related to solving a doubt or problem of the persona, because this way we guarantee that the content will be useful for them, that they will read it completely and interact with it in some way.
Focus on evergreen content
If you work with web copywriting, you have surely heard about evergreen content. This type of content is a trend and is the production style chosen by companies investing in digital marketing.
Unlike news texts, which talk about momentary topics that can become uninteresting in a few days, evergreen content deals with more complete and perennial information about some subject, seeking to educate the persona about it.
When produced correctly, an evergreen content positions a company with authority in the market, besides generating much more value to the persona.
Hyperlinks: the key to interactive reading!
The use of hyperlinks is responsible for transforming the way we consume content and navigate the internet. The use of intelligent links strategically inserted into texts creates mobility for the reader, who is led from one text to another, complementing his reading.
Moreover, with the flow from page to page, hyperlinks are also important tools for SEO, which is a driver of traffic to the blog.
4 essential tips for web content production
Now that you know a little more about web content production, it’s time to understand what to do to produce good content and achieve your results and goals. See below the tips we have separated:
Powerful subheadings
I’m sure that, while surfing the web, you have sometimes abandoned texts because you were lazy with the huge paragraphs that some contents usually present. Well, this abandonment is an extremely common phenomenon, and there is a fundamental strategy to avoid it: the use of efficient subheadings.
If you, as a web writer, know how to divide your text with subheadings that make sense, you will greatly increase the permanence rate on the page - a sign that the information is organized in a more interesting way.
Use subheadings that relate to the title, creating a connection and a flow of ideas in the text. Also, avoid overly complicated words and long subheadings, as these can scare the reader away.
Standardize
Here’s another fundamental tip for web copywriting: standardize the formatting of your text. Remember that the subheadings of your content should have a pattern, because it is essential for creating an easy and fluid reading.
For example, in a text about digital marketing, which subheading structure do you consider most user-friendly?
"Learn what digital marketing is"
"What are the advantages of digital marketing?"
"X tips on digital marketing"
Or:
"What is digital marketing?"
"What are the benefits of digital marketing?"
"How to do Digital Marketing?"
The second group seems to sound much better, doesn’t it? This is due to the standardization of the intertitles.
Details for Scannability
In a survey conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group, it was found that 79% of Internet readers use scannability to evaluate a page, deciding whether to continue reading or close the browser window.
And what does this mean? Scannability is a set of techniques that should be applied to a text to ensure a more dynamic, faster, and simpler reading, which improves the reader’s experience.
To ensure good levels of scannability, there are some measures that a content producer can do. Check out some other tips:
be careful with text size: too large a text, no matter how well written, can end up scaring the reader away from your page;
develop small paragraphs: the logic here is the same used for the size of the texts, since badly divided contents, with large blocks of running text, are not attractive at all;
insert images and visual elements: inserting non-verbal elements in your text is a great technique to create a healthy reading break;
use and abuse of lists: whenever possible and interesting, present the information in the content in the form of lists, instead of everything in running text.
Link building and optimization
Hyperlinks, it is worth reinforcing, are an essential feature of web content production. Besides being important to lead the reader through a flow of complementary content, they are fundamental to measure and build the success of a site or blog.
When done the right way, link building helps to rank and strengthen a page, within SEO criteria.
Common mistakes in content production
1. Plagiarizing other people’s content
Originality is the watchword when it comes to producing valuable content, and it’s no wonder we listed this observation first.
Those who partially or totally copy other sites are risking their own authority in the marketplace. And, what’s more, it’s a nasty business.
Google, when indexing the pages that its robot captures, penalizes those that present copies to users. So this is considered a Black Hat attitude. If you want to create an image in the long term, offer unpublished content of better quality than that already existing on the web.
2. Limit yourself to only one type of content
Content, as you may have noticed while reading this article, is not limited to blog posts.
The web makes it possible for various content formats to be developed and published.
Suppose a subject such as the evolution of computers.
This subject, for example, would be better explained in an infographic format, with photos, illustrations, data and notes. These are more complete resources than a content created only in text.
Finally, don’t limit yourself to written language. The more a content uses images, podcasts, videos, infographics, etc., the more satisfied the user will be and the better your page will be positioned in the search engines!
3. Ignore Google’s suggested best practices
Speaking of search engine ranking, producing web content without thinking about SEO is putting your business exposure at risk.
Therefore, be sure to study the best practices valued by Google so that your page is well indexed and displayed among the first results of the search engine.
Another golden tip to avoid this mistake is to inform yourself about the best tools and tips on how to optimize your production. Right here on the Rock Content Community blog we have made available a complete SEO guide for freelance writers!
Web content production and Content Marketing
If you know a little bit about what Content Marketing is, you understand that different formats are an important tool for attraction, conversion and loyalty of readers!
So, for a strategy to be successful, it is necessary for the web writer to master different formats and all the stages of the sales funnel.
After all, the main goal of a content is to help the persona with his/her problem, lead him/her to other relevant content, and encourage interaction between him/her and the blog, thus generating conversion.
Without these details, web content would be text like any other and content marketing would never work.
The tasks in content production
Now that you better understand what Web Content Production is, it is time to understand what roles a freelance professional can play in this process. We are talking, specifically, about the roles and responsibilities that fall to each of the members of a creative team.
In general, we divide Web Content Production into three stages: writing, reviewing, and planning. Each one is linked to the other and a mistake made in any of them can mean a big problem in the client’s content strategy. That is why it is important to differentiate between them, before figuring out how you can best contribute to the area.
That said, let’s get to the definitions and examples of how each of these professionals work in their day to day jobs.
Copywriting
The main point of Web Content Production is the creation of content. In general, the professional responsible for this is known as a copywriter or copywriter. The role of the copywriter is to put the ideas defined as relevant to the client’s content strategy on paper and make them attractive enough to captivate readers and draw attention to the materials produced by a brand.
You can imagine, then, that the copywriter is a pretty busy person. After all, in most cases their work is divided into at least two stages: researching and writing content. During the research phase, the copywriter must contextualize himself in relation to the client’s strategy, understand his target audience, master the language that best addresses this audience, and, of course, know more about the subject he is going to approach.
It is when preparing the content that these professionals put their creativity to the test. They must seek a way to address a theme that is new enough to attract attention to a content. At the same time, they must be concerned with its formality, the way it is structured, and with points that cannot be ignored in the conception of a text for the web.
We are talking, precisely, about SEO, scannability and the creation of hyperlinks. All these are essential elements of Web Content Production and make the pieces developed by copywriters add as much value as possible for the client. They help a blog to rank higher in Google, make a piece of content easily found by the people who should contact it, and ensure that the reader will spend more time on the client’s website.
Copywriting Career
In general, content writers work as freelancers, which is common for the two other professions we will mention throughout this topic. This freedom to make one’s own schedule, choose one’s own demands, and define which clients to work for is one of the most striking positive points in the career of an Internet copywriter.
In addition to producing text, the copywriter also creates infographics, screenplays, e-books, and advanced content that specifically addresses the client’s industry. Whitepapers and in-depth reports are some examples of this.
Content proofreading
The content proofreader, on the other hand, is the professional responsible for ensuring that everything published on a client’s website passes a certain quality control. It may seem that this is the copywriter’s job, but the truth is that no matter how well he or she masters how to write texts, many times some grammatical mistakes may go unnoticed.
It is therefore the job of the proofreader to bring the materials developed for a particular client into conformity. He also makes sure that the idea conveyed in the text is in accordance with the agenda and that the writer has not forgotten any important points.
Unlike the copywriter, the proofreader only enters the Web Content Production process after a material has already been developed. This gives them the freedom to cover a wide range of demands, which do not necessarily have to relate to an area they are proficient in. Proofreaders can play a good role with both extremely technical texts and those that are more authorial.
This versatility means that the proofreader has many demands available. Because of this, it is a good idea to consider this career option if you have an affinity for the Portuguese language and can work under pressure. You see, just like copywriters, proofreaders have deadlines they have to meet and they have to be on top of their work if they really want to remain autonomous professionals.
Agenda planning
Although we are talking last about the planning of agendas, this is not the case during the process of creating a content for the web. In general, this is the first activity that should be done for a client because it defines what their entire content strategy will be and what materials will be developed at each stage.
The professional responsible for the agenda planning needs, first of all, to understand the client’s pains and, at the same time, understand how his audience relates to the brand. It is on the successful understanding of both aspects that the quality of an agenda depends. Being in tune with both ends of Content Production, therefore, is a must.
A lot of research and a bit of writing are part of these professionals’ daily routine. They need, even before the copywriter, to understand how an agenda will be built and identify the main subjects that should be addressed. A good agenda planner is curious, determined, and always up to date with the latest news (at least those that refer to his or her clients’ areas of expertise).
Planner’s career
To start in this career the ideal is to invest in Marketing certifications. Business planning requires an understanding of the entire sales funnel, as well as a mastery of how Content Marketing can help a brand stand out.
As a freelancer, agenda planners have the same freedom as other professionals in Content Production. However, it is important to note that agenda planning is usually the most effective part of the process.
To win clients on their own, this professional needs to be ready to exemplify how he or she masters all the steps in the creation of materials for the web and, at some point, will have to show his or her ability to deal with Marketing Planning as a whole.
Now that you understand what web content production is, be sure to keep up with everything that is happening in the market!