There are many strategies behind creating and managing content. Content creation allows brands to be creative and express their personalities. By expressing a personality through their content, brands are creating their own brand message. Although creators have the platform and flexibility to express themselves in their preferred manner, there are some methods they can use to improve their content distribution.
As previously mentioned, creativity is essential to provide high-quality content. As obvious as it sounds, part of the content creation foundation is formed by being innovative and authentic. Deciphering what the brand will do to stand out from its competitors is the baseline for success. People gravitate toward content that is unique and refreshing rather than something they have seen before. As mentioned in one of the readings, one of the first things a brand should do to create a brand message is to establish who you are as a brand. The early stages are all about trying to figure out the who, what, where, when, why, and how of your brand. Guest Speaker Angela McLean talked about figuring out what the target audience is looking for and speaking with them rather than at them. A brand does not want to come across as solely a teacher to their audience but rather a company they can relate to through the content they release. One of the readings mentions how relating to your audience can also help shape brand messaging. Having an understanding of your current and potential audience will help you create content that revolves around the goals and what an audience wants to achieve by accessing your content.
On this note, analyzing what is making competitor brands successful using a competitive analysis is the next strategy behind creating content. Guest Speaker Angela McLean talked about the importance of a competitive analysis. She mentioned how completing a regular competitive analysis every 6-8 months can be beneficial for your brand. In a competitive analysis, a brand will find out what is working best for its competitors and how its content is resonating with viewers. For example, the YouTube channel, The United Stand has built a massive online fanbase with many people who resonate with their content. The United Stand is a channel that uploads content that revolves around Manchester United Football Club. The content they upload includes live streams, fan interviews, pre-match updates, and more. The United Stand was created a few years after AFTV, formally known as Arsenal Fan TV. Arsenal Fan TV was a fellow content-creating soccer channel that revolves around Arsenal. They were one of the first soccer fan channels to gain popularity. AFTV previously released content that is similar to the content that The United Stand currently releases. In particular, it is fair to assume the post-match interviews (fan cams) are something that The United Stand decided to use in their content from analyzing what was making their competitors (AFTV) successful. AFTV built its brand by interviewing fans after the game and giving many people an opportunity to express their beliefs. This type of content allows fans to speak about their frustrations and highlights. The audience may have similar views and thoughts about the current situation as the fans being interviewed. Since then, The United Stand has had great success and now has over 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube. The fan-cam content relates to speaking the same language as your target audience but not forcing it, as mentioned by Guest Speaker Angela McLean.
