We’re closer to the year 2021 than we are to the start of 2020. For some of us, it’s hard to grasp just how quickly this year has flown by. For others, knowing that we’re closer to the summer of next year – and that we will never see this year again – is what brings peace of mind.Regardless of where you sit on the spectrum of ‘what this year has done to my psyche’, it’s likely that your plans have been shuffled around and that you now find yourself somewhere other than where you expected to be. So, as you adjust to your new wiggle room of time that has opened up just as venues close their doors again and overseas travel is taken off the table, it’s a good opportunity to take a personal stocktake. Ask yourself, what have I achieved this year? Are my goals still as relevant today as they were in early January? And from an organisational perspective, how has my business responded to the challenges of today’s climate?These areas of focus are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reorienting yourself in an unfamiliar entrepreneurial landscape – but their answers should almost certainly renew your momentum and reveal new avenues of growth for your professional life. So without further ado, we present some basic content creation premises that should help you navigate your spare time at home and build your online presence from there. If there is one thing to take away from this piece, it’s that your content should constantly evolve. Stockpiling an inventory of creative content to be distributed throughout the year might seem convenient and time-efficient, but it’ll compromise your campaigns’ impact and relevance in the long run. That’s why we’ve dedicated an article to rules underpinning successful content marketing – so that you too can keep your brand image alive and healthy.

Content creation is not a fancy word for advertising.

Instead, it’s the process of extracting your brand’s identity and materialising it in the form of digital and traditional marketing collateral. Photographers, designers, copywriters and videographers all fall under this unique category of creative marketing, developing internal assets and primary customer touchpoints.

Brand collateral that means something to your target audience.

The image you project, and the words you use to describe it, shape the way potential customers identify your company in a saturated market. Brand assets are designed to distinguish your unique selling points, resonate with your target audience and create an experience that inspires customer loyalty. They can invite new visitors to your store or website, increase brand awareness and evoke a feeling of familiarity or excitement.

Customer touchpoints design the way people experience your brand.

Brand collateral, like photography, videography, copywriting, website development and logo design, are intended to create meaning for a target audience. They tell a story, shape expectations, generate exposure and, in some cases, command a premium. Without a carefully tailored creative strategy, these symbols lack a compelling call-to-action. For this reason, the quality of your customer touchpoints determines the relationships that people have with your business and the success of your marketing campaigns.

Reinforce your branding with symbols, not icons.

Working within the parameters of your brand guidelines streamlines your company’s personality, tone, values and vision across marketing channels. This assigns value to each icon and sentiment to each statement, making sure that every piece of content is deliberate and on-brand for a consistently unified voice. The success of your digital advertising campaigns and online presence depends on this approach.

Know the platform you’re using and know your audience even better.

Formatted and developed for use on social-networking sites, social-specific content is tailored to the unique design and user characteristics of each channel. For example, when marketing promotional material on a primarily visual platform like Instagram, content specialists would feature a product or service using high-quality images, as opposed to lengthy text. This approach would differ on Twitter, for example, that is more commonly used to circulate written content.At Picos, our team of photographers, videographers, copywriters and design gurus live, breathe and practice creative content marketing on a daily basis. Whether you want to begin the branding process or recreate your image, our one-stop-shop for all things creative is an enquiry away. Find out how you can expand your client base in Australia, drive website traffic, boost customer engagement, optimise your online presence and generate discussion around your business with content creation.