Dont Publish Generic Content

It's easy to drown in the sea of online content, especially when so much of it feels like a rehash of the same old ideas. This article explores strategies to break free from generic content creation, focusing on how to produce unique, valuable material that resonates with your audience and boosts your SEO. We'll dive into actionable techniques for injecting originality and creativity into your content strategy, ensuring your message stands out from the noise.

What You’ll Learn

Why generic content fails
Understanding your audience deeply
Finding unique angles and perspectives
Leveraging data and research for originality
Injecting personality and brand voice
Experimenting with different content formats
Encouraging user-generated content
Promoting and repurposing content effectively
Measuring the impact of your content
Common pitfalls to avoid when using AI for SEO

Let's face it: the internet is overflowing. Every day, zillions of blog posts, articles, and social media updates are pumped into the digital void. The vast majority fade into obscurity almost instantly, leaving behind barely a trace. Why? Because they're generic. They rehash old ideas, lack originality, and fail to connect with their intended audience.

Why generic content fails

Generic content is the digital equivalent of elevator music. It fills the space, but nobody really listens. It’s the blog post that rephrases the same tired advice, the social media update that regurgitates industry news without adding any unique insight, and the website copy that reads like it was written by a robot. But what's so bad about it, you ask? It fails for a few key reasons:

It doesn’t stand out: In a world of endless content, originality is currency. Generic content blends into the background, making it nearly impossible to attract attention. Think about it: would you rather read another article on "10 Ways to Improve Your Productivity" (yawn) or a deep dive into a specific productivity hack that actually works, backed by data and real-world examples?
It doesn’t engage the audience: People crave connection. Generic content feels impersonal and detached, failing to resonate with readers on an emotional level. Readers want to feel like the content was created specifically for them. They want to see themselves in the stories, examples, and advice.
It doesn’t build trust: Generic content often lacks depth and authority. It skims the surface of topics without offering genuine insights or solutions. This undermines trust and makes it difficult to establish credibility with your audience. In a world of instant information, people are looking for authentic, authoritative voices they can rely on.
It hurts your SEO: Search engines like Google prioritize fresh, original content. Generic content is often penalized for being duplicate or low-quality, hindering your website's search engine rankings. In other words, publishing generic content is like shouting into the void—nobody hears you, and Google certainly doesn't reward you. In fact, according to a TechCrunch piece last spring, Google's algorithm updates increasingly favor content that demonstrates expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EAT).
It wastes resources: Creating any type of content takes time, money, and effort. Investing those resources in generic content is a wasted opportunity. ~~You’re better off focusing on creating less content of higher quality.~~

So, how do you avoid the generic content trap? It all starts with understanding your audience.

Understanding your audience deeply

You can't create content that resonates if you don't know who you're talking to. Forget broad demographics; dig deep into your audience's psychographics. What are their pain points? What keeps them up at night? What are their aspirations?

Here's how to get started:

Create detailed buyer personas: Give your ideal customers names, faces, and backstories. Map out their demographics, interests, behaviors, and motivations. The more detailed your personas, the better you'll understand their needs and preferences.
Conduct audience research: Go beyond basic surveys and polls. Conduct in-depth interviews with your customers. Monitor social media conversations to understand what they're talking about. Analyze your website analytics to see what content they're consuming.
Engage with your audience directly: Respond to comments on your blog and social media channels. Participate in relevant online communities. Host webinars and Q&A sessions. The more you engage with your audience, the better you'll understand their needs and interests.
Analyze customer feedback: Pay close attention to customer reviews, support tickets, and sales interactions. What are your customers saying about your products or services? What are their biggest challenges? Use this feedback to inform your content strategy.

Think of it this way: if you were throwing a party, you wouldn't just throw any old party. You'd tailor the music, food, and decorations to the specific tastes of your guests. The same principle applies to content creation. Understand your audience, and you'll be able to create content that they actually want to consume.

Let's consider a fictional example. Imagine you're selling project management software for startups. Instead of writing a generic blog post about "Project Management Tips," you could create a piece that addresses a specific pain point for your target audience, such as "How to Manage Project Scope Creep When Your Startup is Growing Rapidly." This level of specificity shows that you understand their unique challenges and are offering tailored solutions.

Once you have a solid understanding of your audience, it's time to start thinking about how to find unique angles and perspectives.

Finding unique angles and perspectives

Originality is the lifeblood of engaging content. It's what sets you apart from the competition and captures your audience's attention. But how do you find unique angles and perspectives in a world where everything seems to have been said already?

Here are a few strategies:

Challenge conventional wisdom: Don't be afraid to question accepted truths and offer alternative viewpoints. This can spark debate and generate interest. For example, instead of writing about "Why You Need a Content Calendar," you could write about "Why Content Calendars Can Stifle Creativity (and What to Do Instead)."
Focus on the counterintuitive: Sometimes, the most interesting insights come from unexpected places. Look for trends or patterns that defy expectations and explore their implications.
Tell stories: Everyone loves a good story. Use anecdotes, case studies, and personal experiences to illustrate your points and make your content more relatable. The key here is authenticity. Don’t just regurgitate a story you heard; share something personal and revealing.
Embrace controversy: Controversial topics can generate a lot of attention, but tread carefully. Be sure to present your arguments in a thoughtful and respectful manner.
Go deep, not wide: Instead of trying to cover a broad topic, focus on a specific niche or subtopic. This allows you to offer more in-depth analysis and insights. Instead of writing about "Social Media Marketing," you could write about "How to Use TikTok for B2B Lead Generation."
Use satire or humor: A well-placed joke or witty observation can make your content more engaging and memorable. Just be sure that your humor is appropriate for your audience and brand.

For example, instead of writing another article about "The Importance of SEO," you could write about "The Unexpected Benefits of Ignoring SEO (Sometimes)." This contrarian approach is likely to pique people's curiosity and make them want to learn more. Best of Web members already appreciate that SEO visibility can get an Unexpected Problem AI Content Boosts SERP Visibility.

Another technique is to "steal" an idea from a completely unrelated field and apply it to your own industry. For example, you could take a concept from behavioral economics and apply it to marketing, or take a strategy from sports and apply it to business.

Leveraging data and research for originality

Data and research can be powerful tools for uncovering fresh insights and perspectives. Instead of relying on anecdotal evidence or gut feelings, use data to support your claims and add credibility to your content.

Here's how to leverage data and research effectively:

Conduct original research: Surveys, experiments, and case studies can provide valuable data that you can use to create unique content.
Analyze existing data: There's a wealth of publicly available data that you can use to support your arguments and illustrate your points. Sources like government agencies, research institutions, and industry associations often publish valuable data sets.
Visualize data: Charts, graphs, and infographics can make complex data easier to understand and more engaging to consume.
Cite your sources: Always give credit to the sources of your data and research. This adds credibility to your content and helps to avoid plagiarism.

For instance, imagine you're writing about the effectiveness of different marketing channels. Instead of relying on generic advice, you could conduct a survey of your own customers to find out which channels they find most effective. This data would provide a unique and valuable perspective that you could share with your audience.

In the SaaS space, you might see a piece like: 73% of SaaS startups struggle with user onboarding, according to a recent study by XYZ Research. This kind of data-driven insight instantly adds credibility and makes your content more valuable. The Best of Web community knows this already, as they leverage AI blog automation for content velocity.

Injecting personality and brand voice

People connect with people, not with faceless corporations. Injecting personality and brand voice into your content can help you to build stronger relationships with your audience and create a more memorable experience.

Here's how to do it:

Define your brand voice: What are the key characteristics of your brand? Are you funny, serious, authoritative, or approachable? Use these characteristics to guide the tone and style of your content.
Use a conversational tone: Write like you're talking to a friend or colleague. Avoid jargon and overly formal language.
Share personal stories: Don't be afraid to share your own experiences, challenges, and successes. This can help you to build trust and rapport with your audience.
Use humor (appropriately): A well-placed joke or witty observation can make your content more engaging and memorable. Just be sure that your humor is appropriate for your audience and brand.
Don't be afraid to be different: Let your unique personality shine through in your content. Don't try to be someone you're not.

For example, let’s say you run a marketing agency. Instead of writing a dry, corporate blog post about "Content Marketing Strategies," you could share a personal story about a time when you messed up a content marketing campaign and what you learned from it. This would show your audience that you're human, that you're willing to be vulnerable, and that you're always learning.

Imagine your brand is a person. What kind of person would they be? What would they say? How would they say it? The more you can personify your brand, the easier it will be to inject personality and brand voice into your content. And, if your content's struggling, learn Here's How to Ignite AI Blog Automation.

Experimenting with different content formats

Don't limit yourself to traditional blog posts and articles. Experiment with different content formats to see what resonates best with your audience.

Here are a few ideas:

Videos: Videos are highly engaging and can be used to communicate complex ideas in a simple and visually appealing way.
Podcasts: Podcasts are a great way to reach your audience on the go. They can be used to share interviews, discussions, and educational content.
Infographics: Infographics are a visually appealing way to present data and information. They can be easily shared on social media and embedded on websites.
Ebooks: Ebooks are a great way to provide in-depth information on a specific topic. They can be used to generate leads and establish your authority.
Webinars: Webinars are a great way to connect with your audience in real time. They can be used to deliver presentations, conduct Q&A sessions, and build relationships.
Interactive content: Quizzes, polls, calculators, and other interactive content formats can be highly engaging and generate valuable data.

Let's say you're a financial advisor. Instead of writing another blog post about "Retirement Planning," you could create a short video explaining the basics of investing. Or, you could create an interactive retirement calculator that allows users to estimate how much they'll need to save.

The key is to think outside the box and find content formats that are both engaging and informative. And don't be afraid to experiment. Not every content format will be a hit, but you'll never know until you try.

Encouraging user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is any type of content that is created by your customers or audience, rather than by your own team. This can include reviews, testimonials, social media posts, blog comments, and more.

UGC can be a powerful way to add authenticity and originality to your content. It shows that real people are using and benefiting from your products or services. It also helps to build a sense of community around your brand.

Here are a few ways to encourage user-generated content:

Run contests and giveaways: Encourage your audience to submit photos, videos, or stories related to your brand.
Create a hashtag: Encourage your audience to use a specific hashtag when posting about your brand on social media.
Feature user-generated content: Showcase the best UGC on your website, social media channels, and marketing materials.
Ask for reviews and testimonials: Encourage your customers to leave reviews and testimonials on your website and third-party review sites.
Host a forum or community: Create a space where your audience can connect with each other and share their experiences.

Imagine you run a travel company. Instead of just posting your own photos of destinations, you could encourage your customers to share their travel photos using a specific hashtag. You could then feature the best photos on your Instagram page, giving your customers a chance to be recognized and building a sense of community.

A clever tactic here? Offer discounts or other incentives to those who submit UGC. ~~People love free stuff.~~

Promoting and repurposing content effectively

Creating great content is only half the battle. You also need to promote it effectively to reach your target audience. And you should be thinking about your visibility, too. For example, consider a content strategy guide for a Founders Network for Visibility.

Here are a few promotion strategies:

Share your content on social media: Use a variety of social media platforms to reach your audience. Tailor your message to each platform.
Email marketing: Send your content to your email subscribers. Segment your list to ensure that you're sending the right content to the right people.
Guest blogging: Write guest posts for other websites in your industry. This can help you to reach a new audience and build backlinks to your website.
Influencer marketing: Partner with influencers in your industry to promote your content.
Paid advertising: Use paid advertising platforms like Google Ads and social media ads to reach a wider audience.

But why stop there? You can also repurpose your content to get even more mileage out of it.

Here are a few repurposing strategies:

Turn a blog post into a video: Create a short video summarizing the key points of your blog post.
Turn a webinar into a podcast: Extract the audio from your webinar and turn it into a podcast episode.
Turn a series of blog posts into an ebook: Compile your best blog posts on a specific topic into an ebook.
Turn data into an infographic: Use the data from your research to create an infographic.
Create social media snippets: Chop up a piece into smaller quotes for social media.

Imagine you've written a comprehensive guide on "Content Marketing for Small Businesses." You could then create a series of shorter blog posts based on individual sections of the guide. You could also create a video summarizing the key points of the guide. And you could create an infographic visualizing the data from the guide. All from one piece!

Measuring the impact of your content

It's essential to track and measure the impact of your content so you can see what's working and what's not. This will help you to refine your content strategy and improve your results over time.

Here are a few metrics to track:

Website traffic: How much traffic is your content driving to your website?
Engagement: How are people engaging with your content (e.g., likes, shares, comments)?
Leads: How many leads are you generating from your content?
Sales: How many sales are you generating from your content?
SEO rankings: How is your content impacting your search engine rankings?
Time on page: How long are people spending on your page?

Use tools like Google Analytics, social media analytics, and marketing automation platforms to track these metrics. Analyze the data to identify trends and patterns. What types of content are performing best? What channels are driving the most traffic? Use these insights to inform your future content strategy.

Imagine you're tracking the performance of your blog posts. You notice that blog posts with videos tend to generate more traffic and engagement. This suggests that you should focus on creating more video content. Or, maybe you notice that certain topics are particularly popular with your audience. This suggests that you should create more content on those topics. Members of Best of Web can find content Automation Unlock Sustainable Website Traffic.

Common pitfalls to avoid when using AI for SEO

While AI can be a powerful tool for content creation, it's essential to be aware of the common pitfalls to avoid. Many startups are leveraging the power of AI to enhance their content for SEO purposes, and a lot of them are not doing it right.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Over-reliance on AI: Don't rely too heavily on AI to create your content. AI-generated content can often be generic and lack originality. Use AI as a tool to assist you, but always add your own unique insights and perspectives.
Ignoring quality: AI can generate content quickly, but that doesn't mean it's always high quality. Always review and edit AI-generated content to ensure that it's accurate, well-written, and engaging.
Neglecting human oversight: AI algorithms are not perfect. They can make mistakes and produce inaccurate or misleading content. Always have a human review AI-generated content before publishing it.
Not optimizing for humans: While it's important to optimize your content for search engines, it's even more important to optimize it for humans. Write content that is informative, engaging, and easy to read.
Plagiarism: Be careful about using AI to generate content that is plagiarized. Always check AI-generated content for plagiarism before publishing it.

For example, imagine you're using AI to generate a blog post on "The Benefits of Cloud Computing." The AI generates a well-written piece, but it's filled with generic information that's already been covered extensively online. Instead of publishing the AI-generated content as is, you could add your own unique insights and experiences to make it more original and valuable. The AI may produce content, but you need to add that human touch, like in How to Create High-Quality Content Using AI tools.

In conclusion, avoiding generic content requires a multifaceted approach that involves deep audience understanding, creative thinking, data-driven insights, and a willingness to experiment. By injecting personality, embracing different content formats, encouraging user-generated content, and measuring your impact, you can create content that stands out from the crowd and delivers real results for your business.