The Content Creation Process – From Concept to Content

HEY FRIENDS!

It’s been awhile since I discussed anything blog related, but I’m finally delivering on content I promised. The world may be in limbo at the moment, but one thing this situation has provided me with is additional time to do one of the things I love. Yes, I’m talking about CONTENT CREATION. I’ve been blogging for quite sometime now, off and on, but there are many ways to share content besides through blogging. As you may know by now, I recently started a Youtube channel, which is one additional area where I’ll be sharing content. Prior to this, I’ve posted Instagram content from photoshoots around the house, gone crazy on Pinterest and even downloaded TikTok (one of my videos got to 10.5K views!).

I say all that to say, creating content can be so many different things, it doesn’t have to be solely blogging. Once in a while I get asked how I use my planner consistently as well as my content creation process for my Instagram page or blog, therefore this post idea was born. Thank me later if it really helped you out! To ensure I cover it all, I broke it down into two sections, content creation and planning process which really covers the “from concept to content” idea.

CONTENT CREATION

First off, what is “content”? I previously mentioned a few examples of what content can be, but more or less, it’s information. You were probably looking for some big definition, but think about it, anything we post is content. What we consume each day is content, the things we read online or in print, the images we view on our different social platforms, ALL OF IT IS CONTENT. Whether it’s information to inspire someone, teach something or to simply make them laugh, you’re probably already creating content and consuming it.

The Process:

Please be reminded that this is how I develop content for my various platforms, and I start off with a concept. The items listed below aren’t the only ways I come up with ideas, they’re just the most frequent ones since I’m always on social media. Sometimes I randomly get ideas in the shower or on my way to work (then I forget to write them down).

Pinterest – You can find thousands of posts on pinterest listing post ideas for different blogging niches. From viewing some of these they’re pretty similar. I may get one or two ideas from these lists then switch them around to make them my own. Pinterest is also a visual search engine, so you’d find inspiration for photos as well. Additionally, there’s lots of inspiration for photoshoots and even product flat lays; Pinterest is a gold mine!

Instagram – I look at what others are creating, not to copy them but only for inspiration purposes. This app is more visual, so I use it in terms of photo concepts, places to check out and hairstyles to recreate. This is where the save feature on instagram comes in handy, you can also use them to make collections. I also take notes of questions my followers will DM  me or comment and ask.

For example my Discover Antigua series was inspired by @theworldupcloser where she decided to visit Jamaica’s parishes and highlight the best things/her favourite things in fourteen days – 14 parishes 14 days.

Another avenue for new content ideas is your own story! Document your process, similar to what i’m doing here. If you have a hack or process for doing something that people are interested in, give them a little insight into it. Again, this documentation doesn’t have to be in the form of a blog, people also use Instagram to microblog.

When I get a concept I write it down and think about it logically then ask myself these questions:

1. What is it going to take for me to create this?
2. How long is it going to take to create this?
3. Will my audience be interested/what type of value does it offer them?
4. Can I get them to my blog/youtube this way?

For the last question, I didn’t really think about it much when I first started creating content for my blog, I just assumed that once I say click the link in my bio that people will do just that. Well, I was wrong! Therefore, I try to ensure I think about this more when I’m developing my content – this relates to capturing images, editing AND WRITING CAPTIONS.

The main areas of my brand are natural hair and [island] lifestyle. Therefore I attempt to create content buckets under these topics using the questions above as a guide. Content buckets can also be created around the various internationally recognized days (Friendship day, Mother’s Day etc) or major public holidays (Christmas, Easter etc.). Don’t forget days/events that happen locally (Carnival, Independence etc.)

Example of my content buckets:
Category: Natural Hair
Content Buckets: hair styling videos, natural hair tips graphic, pictures of hair styles, hair product reviews etc

PLANNING PROCESS

Similar to content creation, planning is not a one size fits all. What works for me may not work for you. Therefore it’s best to use the tips given and find your own style. Planning is definitely an important part of producing content – “failure to plan is planning to fail.” Currently I have two different books I use to plan my daily life and content, a notebook and an actual planner. I’ll outline the ways I use both below:

Planner – This is a 2020 planner with pages for each month, notes, space to list monthly goals, long-term goals and my wildest dreams, it also has spaces to do day-by-day planning. At the end of the month you can note your infinite winnings (goals you achieved). At the beginning of this year I used this planner mainly for my daily activities and to take note of upcoming events. As the year progressed and Ms. Corona intervened, it became my content calendar/planning schedule. With my planner I –

• Plan weekly or monthly – I like outlining activities I’m certain about on a monthly basis then as things pop up I factor them in and try to keep it updated on a weekly basis. There’s no designated day I do this but Sundays seem to be the most consistent.
• Schedule everything – from brainstorming sessions to filming content to writing a blog post, make time for each activity. For example if I’m doing a youtube video, i’ll film on Sunday, edit on week nights and post on Friday. I like seeing everything written out in front of me so I hardly use my calendar app.

Notebook – This is a blank notebook I found in Walmart, I really liked the words on the cover of it – You do you girl! It’s divided into three sections and at first I was going to use it as a bullet journal but then that idea never came to fruition. Anytime I get an idea, this is where I write it or if i’m without my notebook, I quickly put it into my notes app on my phone. I document various information in this book:

• Monthly Instagram plans
• Blog post ideas
• Notes from blogs I read/lives I watch relating to content development
• Youtube video ideas
• Photoshoot ideas

The list goes on and on, however this post is becoming a bit lengthy so there may be a part two or other topics spinning off of this. For now, let’s do a quick recap

1. Come up with an idea
2. Plan it out (who, what, where, when, why?)
3. Execute the idea
4. Post your content

I know I didn’t go into detail with the last few steps, but as I said this may turn into a series. If y’all have any questions about content creation or anything mentioned in this post, feel free to hit me up! The blogging process isn’t as simple as others may imagine, people actually get paid to do this! It’s A LOT. Hopefully, this post was helpful and we’ll talk soon. 😊