Captivating content marketing | Blog

This week we have an exclusive feature from one of our shining Marketing and Advertising Communications students, Zeus Feni. He’s a content creator, model and online influencer. He runs a series called “Art Study” where he chats to digital pioneers.

This week he sat down with Abongwe Qokela – polymath, content creator and social media enthusiast. She works for Superbalist – one of the fastest growing online stores in South Africa – and she shares four nuggets of content creation wisdom with us. Content marketing at its finest!

In the video, Abongwe unpacks the story behind why:

Content creation is part of your brand identity
Brand stories have to be told from a unique perspective
You need to define what you want from the stories
It’s better to push quality content, not quantity

Zeus has become a well-known figure across our campus as well as online. His personal brand oozes authenticity and he’s always working to improve his already strong digital skills.

Here’s what he had to say about the nuggets he gleaned from the interview:

Ask yourself: Why is your brand not creating content? And if you are, then you need to evaluate the quality of that content. I get it – a lot of companies see all these digital marketing trends and have no idea where to start. Some companies think content creation is a fad, others just throw money at it and then there are a few who really get it right either by creating their own content or outsourcing to professional content creators.

There are tons of articles on content creation that give the illusion that once you implement a “10 step guide” all your problems will go away, which is not the case. There are a few principles to follow that will be of major benefit to your content marketing strategy. I had a chat with Abongwe Qokela, who is a community manager at Superbalist.com about some best practices for creating content for your business or personal brand:

1. Create content around your brand identity

Brand identity or brand pillars assist with defining your brand tone. This is crucial as it gives direction to the type of content you should create – content that supports your strategy. There is nothing worse than a brand creating irrelevant content for the sake of it.

2. Observe and analyse trends

If your brand brand pillars are a bit too stiff, look at the current trends, analyse them and create content that is closely aligned with those. This way you do not step on anyone’s toes and you get to make valuable content that’s relevant to the market.

3. Content marketing means creating valuable content

When chatting to Abongwe, I asked, “Do people still read online blogs?” It turns out they do, but the competition is fierce for their attention so your work has to be engaging.

4. Still, have no idea what to do?

Outsource. It’s that simple. If you are struggling or just do not have the time, outsource to professional content creators. This strategy also makes room for a fresh perspective whether it is video content or just a simple blog write-up. Collaborations assist with reaching a new audience, cultivating new ideas and the working synergy will create captivating content.