Creating new content and publishing it to a website seems like an easy thing to do, but it can be time-consuming, difficult, and expensive. That’s why many teams turn to automation or delegation of the task—but that’s not always the best strategy. If you want your content to be informative, trustworthy, and engaging, it needs to come from within your team and reflect your brand’s voice and tone, even if that means doing it yourself.
What does it mean to be a small but mighty team?
Most of us think that to succeed, we have to start large. The truth is quite different; size doesn’t matter. What does matter is being a good team player. The small and mighty teams are masters at collaboration—we work with our team and other partners to create great results while holding our own at every step along the way. A truly powerful team also keeps a pulse on what’s happening in your market, so you can craft content that makes sense for your readers.
Repurpose What You've Got
If you’re working on a small team and just can’t seem to find time to create new content, don’t fret. Look at what you already have and see if there are ways to reuse it in a new way. For example, if you recently published an ebook, consider rewriting some of its best sections into an email newsletter series. Or maybe your company has a treasure trove of past case studies? Rework them into more infographics or listicles.
Put A Plan In Place and Stick With It
There are all sorts of great ideas floating around out there for content, but you have to decide which ones your team will pursue. Once you’ve decided what content to create, plan when you’ll make it and who will be responsible for it. It may seem obvious, but planning is crucial if you want your team to hit its goals. And always remember KISS. Keep it simple stupid. Harsh but true, you do not want to be overloaded with processes and practices with a small team. Keep things simple by focusing on one or two initiatives that everyone agrees on. Then just get it done! You can always iterate or modify as needed later once you know what works best.
Treat Each Piece of Your Content Like An Investment
Remember that each piece of content is an investment in your brand and should therefore be treated as such. Consider how much work it took to create each piece, how much time was invested, what kind of return (if any) you got from creating it—and then ask yourself if creating another similar asset would actually be cost-effective for your business. If not, consider outsourcing or handing over responsibility for that particular type of content creation to someone else on your team who might be better suited for it than you are. And keep in mind that different types of businesses need different types of content; just because one company’s audience responds well to a series of videos doesn’t mean yours will, too.
Keep Up with Trends
Using social media like Instagram or even Tik Tok to stay updated with trends in your industry keeps you fresh, relevant and ahead of new opportunities. The amount of information that can be conveyed through a single tweet or post is incredible. Be sure to subscribe to top influencers on platforms relevant to your industry, so you can see trending topics in real time. You could also try Facebook Groups for specific topics or forums hosted by sites like Reddit for general content ideas. They may not always yield what you’re looking for, but chances are if people are posting about it there, it has reached its peak as a trend. If one platform doesn’t have what you need, move onto another until you find something that resonates with your brand!
Websites such as Buzzsumo make exploring popular subjects easy. Simply input a topic and it will surface recent articles published about said subject. Another benefit of using these tools is reading up on what others are doing wrong — their mistakes provide insight into how not to execute when building out an editorial calendar or developing campaign strategies.
Another great content idea generator is HubSpot's own blog topic generator. Simply add in some nouns, and you'll get a months worth of ideas. They also have their own content creation kit, stuffed full of templates, ideas and workbooks to get you started and have the whole year planned out in no time.
Get On A Schedule
Suppose you find yourself struggling to get content done and aren’t sure why it might be time to get on a schedule. Working in 90-minute chunks is an easy way to ensure you stay productive throughout your day and get more done—rather than struggle against your willpower, which is bound to give out eventually! I like to work for three blocks; some people prefer four 15-minute blocks. Whatever routine works best for you is okay; make sure there’s consistency. The point of getting on a schedule isn’t to know how much you can do at one sitting (or session); instead, it’s about maximizing productivity within specific blocks of time and organizing around those blocks.
Now that you have the content-generating, the ideas flowing, and you are ready to deploy, you can use software programs to schedule all of your content for you and not worry about what and how something is posted. HubSpot offers simple-to-use content publishing software in the Marketing Starter, Professional, and Enterprise programs. Just like Sprout, Later, or HootSuite, you can quickly schedule your blogs and posts, keep an eye on digital chatter, and save time and money.
