Spaghetti bolognese, curry, pizza and chilli con carne. These meals all require prep, planning and a certain amount of time. Add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper - your meal is now ready to dish and serve to your friends and family.

What does this have to do with creating the perfect social media content?

Well, like the perfect recipe, content takes time and planning. In this article, Dragonfly looks at the best ingredients for creating the perfect content to help you engage with your target audience.

The preparation:

1 ounce of - content planning

Content planning is similar to walking around Tesco with your shopping list. You need to have a plan in place to follow and all the elements ready to create the perfect content. You should decide what content you would like to prepare, where it will be shared and how your target audience will receive it.

Start by preparing a list of content ideas, things that interest you, things that you think might interest your audience or even things that require you to do a little research. It may sound like a long process but providing high-quality content will make your brand more trust worthy and reliable.

200 grams of - creating original content

There are many reasons why creating original content is important to your dish. You may have had a Spaghetti Bolognese tens or hundreds of times, but what makes one stand out? An original ingredient or an innovative take on a tried and tested dish is often what makes is memorable. The same applies to content. Creating your own original content will put you ahead of your competitors. No business is exactly the same, nor is everyone's writing styles. Find something unique about your business and tell your audience why it stands out. Be creative, think outside the box and ensure your content is relevant to your brand and its image.

Second, Google is judging your creative abilities. Copying other people's content will result in the search engine knocking it down. The aim is to be creative and original enough that you will be ranked highly. For example, research current news and topics that are relevant to your industry and create a thought piece around it. Give an expert opinion or tell them how you are reacting to the news.

Ready to serve:

3 spoonfuls of - content visuals



Let's spice the content up a little. To make your content stand out, we can apply other ingredients to engage and drive interest. For example, you could include:

• Infographics
  
• Videos
  
• Images
  
• GIPHY's
  
• Ask the expert comments
  
• Quotes
  
• Statistics
  

By adding even one of those extra ingredients, your content has the potential to grab attention, engage your target audience and help people find your content through organic searches. Don't forget that the human mind understands and registers images faster than written content.

4 pinches of - social media

Think of social media as your seasoning. Social media is the fastest way to drive interest and reach your target audience. By sharing your content on social media, you will start to build a following and give your audience a way to express interest in your business and your products.

If you don't use social media, create an account and be active! You are missing out on a low cost and easy way to reach your target market. Oberlo have stated that 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family.

In conclusion, create show-stopping content for your business by researching and thinking about how your target audience will react to it. Make sure your content is original and throw in some visuals that really grab their attention. Finally, get it on social media! Don't miss out on the huge networking and promotional opportunity social media provides; and make sure your business has a voice and is present to your customers.

Bon apprête!

For the full article click here