Back in the early 2000s, every business on the planet agreed that “Content was King.” This idea permeated companies and drove them forward to either rousing success or abject failure. Today that idea has taken on new life and content isn’t just “King,” it’s pretty much the ruler of the universe.
This was made possible because there are so many forms of content. There’s written content, podcasts, blogs, videos, streaming video services, memes, chats, forums, tutorials, documentation, manuals, and real-time notifications. Content is everywhere and it drives and fuels the internet. If your business is turning a blind eye to content, you’re missing out on serious possibilities.
But if you want to dive into the world of content creation, what technology will you need? It’s going to be a mix of services and software, some of which you could even either build in-house or hire an outsource development firm to create for you. Just what is that technology? Let’s take a look.
Audio/Video Interviewing Tools
If part of your content strategy includes posting video or audio interviews, you’re going to need the software to make this possible. There are quite a few services and applications available for this, such as Zoom and Zencastr (both of which can do audio and video).
This is one of those areas where you’d be hard-pressed to build a better in-house option, as the technology for audio/video is quite complicated. However, you could opt to go the in-house route for the tools to present the audio/video content to your users. For example, if your website is based on WordPress, you could have your PHP development team build a solution for posting that content on your website.
Once you actually save those audio/video interviews, you’ll also need editing software such as Apple’s Final Cut Pro X (for video) and Audacity (for audio).
Cloud Storage
This should come as no surprise, but you’re going to need cloud storage to share this content with collaborators. Of course, since there are already so many outstanding options available, there’s no need to reinvent this wheel. Look no further than Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, or DropBox for your cloud storage needs.
Just make sure you have some form of multi-factor authentication setup for your cloud storage. You don’t want to take a chance on some bad actor breaking into your account and stealing your content.
Communication/Collaboration Tools
You can’t create content without a team behind you. And you can’t work efficiently without the right tools for communication. You’ll want to employ a platform like Slack, Trello, or ProofHub to make collaboration and communication simple and effective. And since we’re talking about content, you’ll want to make sure to select a platform that allows for the sharing of files with team members.
Although you might be tempted to choose a single platform for this, consider the idea that you might need one tool for communication and one for collaboration. This is especially true if you want to add Kanban into the mix.
Creative Software
You won’t get far in your content journey without creative software. You’re going to need visuals to go along with your words, branding to go along with just about everything, and images, images, images.
For that, you’re going to want to add graphic editing software into the mix. The de facto standard, of course, is Adobe Photoshop, but don’t discount free/open-source options like The GIMP. Of course, you could always purchase stock photos and videos from a service like iStock Photo, but there will be times when creating original images is a must.
One thing to keep in mind is that you will want to have someone on staff who is proficient with image editing software, otherwise your content will suffer from poor visuals.
Data Analysis Tools
This is where it gets a bit tricky. Why? Because data analysis is not easy and it takes specialty tools and people with the skills to use them. But as you continue on your journey of content creation, you’re going to need to be able to analyze data in order to evolve your content strategy and get the most out of it.
You could go the open-source route with Elasticsearch (a distributed RESTful search and analytics engine), but you’ll need the IT staff to deploy, configure, and manage it.
Hardware
You’re going to need hardware. Not just computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets, but microphones and cameras. If you’re serious about creating high-quality content, skip the cheap webcams and go with something at least prosumer grade. For a microphone, you can’t go wrong with the Blue Yeti. As for cameras, the Sony a7 III or IV is an outstanding option that’ll give you professional-quality video that can be used for about anything.
Newsletter Delivery Service
Part of your content strategy should also include a regular newsletter. For this, you could either have your IT team build something or deploy an open-source solution such as phplist or you could go with a proprietary service like MailChimp.
Two things that are very important to understand about mailing lists is that you need to collect email addresses ethically and you need to be regular with your mailings and make sure they include links to your content.
Transcription Software/Service
Finally, you’re going to want a transcription service to transcribe all of those video and audio interviews. Those transcriptions will make it possible for those who either prefer (or need) to read their content. There are plenty of services for this task, such as Rev and Scribe.
Do yourself (and your content) a bit of a favor. Even after paying a service to transcribe those video and audio files, make sure to edit them for clarity. Not only are these services imperfect, but few humans also speak in perfect grammar and complete sentences all the time. Go through the content and edit it so that it’s easier to read, otherwise you’ll look unprofessional.
Conclusion
Although creating content absolutely starts with a great idea, the journey it takes from idea to realization includes software, hardware, services, and a human touch. Make sure you give all of your content the time it requires to be the best it can be. Don’t rush anything, even as you feel the pressure of producing timely content for your business.
