Project 366 / 325 - Understanding and creating content

We're all sales people. Whether you do it for a job or not, you're continually selling yourself and what you do in your life to others. That's just part of conversation. It's part of influence. You want to do something or make something happen? Then you're selling the concept.

But we're also all becoming media people too. With social media coming to the forefront of interaction then we're having to create more and more content. But how do some people appear so good at it whilst others struggle? Why do some people appear to effortlessly create engaging content whilst others don't even know where to start?

I think people think too hard. They ponder, debate, struggle and worry too much about what others may think before abandoning. They play it safe thinking that playing it safe is always the best option.

Creating content isn't difficult, you've just got to try and look at what you do from a slightly different angle. Maybe look at what you do as a journey and then document that journey from A to B. If you're starting out on a venture then create content based around your day to day struggles, your highs and your lows to get from where you are now to where you want to be. It hasn't all got to be inspiring or groundbreaking, it's just got to be real. Perhaps create a group or a series of posts based around a topic and then spread them over a period.

I was talking to my sport masseur yesterday and he's struggling to understand how to create content around what he does. I fired out 20 ideas in 20 seconds - basic short snippets to longer pieces. I suggested tips, tricks, how-to's, home help, self-treatment, pain referrals... content regurgitated in written format, video formats and keywords layered over photos. I suggested 15 second videos on individual muscle groups, what and where they are and what they do. 15 second videos showing stretching. Tips on warm-up and cool down exercises. See, it doesn't all have to be about treatment - it can be about prevention, about maintenance and about understanding your body.

And you can translate that train of thought to what you do. They say think outside the box, they mean look at it from a different perspective. Give away knowledge, after all it's all available for free on the internet so it may as well come from you.