Content is king…but can it be cheap?

Answering the age-old question of how can I make something good, for less.

Facebook is officially the most successful organization ever; the fastest growing business of all time and more followers than Christianity. The folks at Facebook recognize this strength and have been gradually monetizing on the success of business pages on Facebook for a while now. Brands are finally feeling the serious decline in organic reach by the changes to the Facebook algorithms that now ensuring brands must pay to play.

Great. Now, here come the cavalry.

We should expect Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms to soon follow suit. There is only one way to be seen now. Small businesses MUST create quality content, or go the way of the dodo and become extinct in digital marketing. But can it be cheap? Depends on your perspective, size of business, and how much you value good digital marketing. However, there are a few ways a small business can create content on a dime.

The Fat:

Hire an Up and Comer

Up and comers are those who focus on content creation who have not cut their teeth in the profession, yet. In this way, they get value out of the experience you offer them, will work for less. We want to emphasize, this does not mean you go grab the nearest college student and let them run free on social media or your website creation. This must be a strategized, planned out, and calculated action. This does mean you may find someone who is on the edge of their profession full-time, like an aspiring photographer, part-time writer, or a brand new firm who has skills, but not much experience to charge for their services at the next level. Give them content goals and guidelines to let them shine!

Become a Creator

As the guys at Content Marketing Institute remind us; more and more brands are becoming media companies. Redbull, Pepsi, Marriott Hotels, and others are all either opening up their own content creation departments or swallowing up other publishers. What this means for the small business is that either the owner, manager, or trusted employee can make an effort to learn a craft. Its often the case that someone on your team already has a knack for content creation. It’s up to you to find out how you can nurture that within their current role to also create content. The key here is to ensure you don’t pull someone out of their comfort zone to learn something completely new. If you or someone on your current team begins taking photos and creating videos, make sure to give them ample opportunities to train and make mistakes in the craft to become a creator for the company.

Use Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing content can take on many shapes and sizes. The first method for your online design is to go to DesignCrowd or UpWork. Both work a little differently, but the premise is that both serve as platforms for freelancing professionals to create content for you. DesignCrowd is, as you guessed it, more focused on web design and logo creation. UpWork allows you to choose from a myriad of content creation, but the freelancer you go with may not produce the same quality of work that they bid for. There are more out there, but these are the two we trust the most.

Ask Influencers…Very Politely

Another method is to rub elbows with the right folks. We discussed this in our previous blog post on networking. It is important to build relationships with influencers and other professionals who are creating content. If you are given an opportunity, ask for a guest blog post, an interview, or another method of creating collaborative content to split the costs of making quality content.

The Takeaway

We would like to reassure you that creating quality content is going to help your reach with digital marketing. If it is entertaining, informative, or interesting content that your audience will want to engage with and share, then publish it. If it is not, don’t publish it and utilize your time more effectively elsewhere. These four options will help reduce the cost of your content creation, but nothing will replace just hiring the pros who do great work all day, every day.