What’s it like in your industry?

What’s the competition like?

When you look around at what’s happening online, you’ll see that there are thousands of podcasters, bloggers, video producers and so on, and sometimes this might give you the idea that you are already behind the curve, that it’s already too late for you to do something that is going to make an impact.

WRONG.

First of all, what I see online is not really representative of what is going on in the “business world”.  OK, so I know that “business world” is a pretty vague term, but what I mean is all businesses: finance, manufacturing, medical, legal etc. etc., not just in tech areas such as online marketing.  The fact is that people in areas such as online marketing and digital innovation are producing lots of content online because they have the know-how – they are always going to be among the early adopters for things like blogging and podcasting.

But what about the rest of us?

Well, for anyone involved in a more traditional industry (i.e. not an “online guru”) then it can be surprisingly easy to make a positive impact in terms of content, because in many of these industries there is not that much “great content” out there.

The reason for this is simple.  Unlike some online businesses, these more traditional enterprises did not start out life online.  Maybe they sell drill bits or insurance policies or cooking ingredients, and they had a successful business before the internet came along, or they have just never relied on online strategies before.

Digital innovation, and the search for more clients has led them to explore online marketing strategies, and for many of these companies this is definitely the right way to go.

But in many of these companies,  the quality and quantity of content begin produced and shared effectively can be relatively low – which means that you really have a chance to stand out!  You can make a big impact in a relatively short time.

So, take a look at your sector or your niche and ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Do your competitors have a regularly updated blog?
• Do they post audio content such as podcast interviews?
• Are there short, engaging videos on their website?
• How many pieces of content are they producing each week in total?
• Where are they appearing in the Search Engine Results for specific keywords?

If you can answer some of the above questions, then it will certainly give you an idea of where you and your company are, relative to the marketplace.

In my experience, the results are often surprising in that there isn’t necessarily that much quality content out there.

It’s also worth keeping in mind the competition in each type of content.  For example, a few years ago I was researching a specific industry.  There were many, many blogs being written and hundreds of blogposts being released each week.  So then I decided to research podcasts in the same niche.   I could only find one podcast on the topic and so I decided that releasing a podcast would be great place to start.  It was and immediately produced results.

It’s not just about releasing content, it’s about releasing the right kind of content!

What if there is lots of quality content out there?

You might find that your industry of sector is already packed with quality audio, video and written content, and that your competition seems really advanced compared to where you are right now.

If that is the case, do not worry!  There is always room for new content, for the following reasons:

New Content

While evergreen content is great, there will always be the need for new content, and especially content related to new events.  Why not produce content related to a current industry event, for example?

Specialized Content

Content consumers are always looking for more and more detailed content, so if you feel that the “general” topics are saturated, then it might be a good idea to niche down and create content for a sub-sector or specialized topic within your market.

Longer, Better, Different

There are other ways to make your content stand out.  Produce content on a similar topic to what’s out there already, but make it longer, more detailed, better, and different and your brand will start to get more attention.

So, whether your particular industry has lots of great content available already or not, there is always going to be a great opportunity for you to create content that stands out and, as a result, boost your brand, increase engagement, and generate more opportunities for your business.

If you would like with a content creation plan that works for your business, get in touch today and we’ll help you to get started