Content Created Vs Date Created

When it comes to content, some people seem to get a little bit crazy about when they define a piece of content as being created.

They will take an article written three months ago and claim it is not worthy because it was posted three months earlier. Or a video that has been sitting in the editing process for weeks or even days is considered empty because it does not have an accompanying song or soundtrack.

These individuals are sometimes referred to as timestamp warriors. These people feel that if you make enough waves, someone will eventually acknowledge the true worth of your work.

The problem with this theory is that it assumes there is a standard way to evaluate content. There isn’t.

A couple years back, I wrote an article called Why Creating Great Content Is An Endless Task. In that article, I discussed how difficult it can be to create great content due to the diversity of messages we are exposed to through various media.

This exposure gives us all different ideas of what makes something good. We learn from others’ mistakes instead of looking at our own failures, so we never truly learned anything. As a result, we keep creating new pieces of content that fail to succeed. This cycle only adds onto the confusion as to whether their is one clear definition of what makes quality content.

Difference between the two?

There is an ongoing debate about when to use which type of content. Some say that content with no deadline, or content you create for pure enjoyment are the best types of posts.

Others argue that having a set date for your content will help push your site forward by creating engagement. This can be done through setting a goal to write a certain number of words per day, schedule time to produce the article, or set a timeline for it.

The problem with this approach is that if you don’t put in the effort to produce the content before the deadline, people may give up. You would also be falling short on your commitment to writing!

So what is the solution? Producing both types of content is okay, but not at the same time. One should be used as a catalyst for the other.

Having a set topic gives yourself a reason to write each week (the word count requirement), and producing something purely for fun can easily be timed out.

However, one must remember that without consistency, the growth of your website will slow down. It will seem like there is nothing happening because you didn’t publish anything for a while.

Who should use each one?

As mentioned before, content creators use content created to link directly with an audience or target market. They create their content for them to read, enjoy and respond to.

Content that is written by someone else’s standards may be interesting to look at, but it will not connect with your readers.

The person creating the content may have done so because they wanted credit for writing quality material, or maybe because they are very passionate about what they write. Either way, this type of content can hurt you in the long run.

It may make you feel bad for not having something important to say, or it could inspire you to do the same. Your readers will notice when you don’t put in much effort into yours, which will negatively affect how trusty they become.

Date created content doesn’t tell anyone anything except that you were able to publish a piece of content on time. This isn’t enough information to determine if the content was any good or not.

When to use each one?

There is a common myth that content created at any time can be posted onto your social media platform of choice, without any limitations. This couldn’t be farther from the truth!

When you create content, someone has to actually read it. They have to choose to spend their time looking through the various applications they use to access your platforms to find your article. This takes away time from them that they could be spending doing something else. Or maybe they don’t feel like reading this particular piece of content at this moment in time. Either way, there's a good chance they won't interact with it.

As I mentioned before, engagement is key for producing engaging posts. If no one looks at your content, then you haven’t done anything very well. You'll get limited success by trying to publish as much content as possible.

By creating content that matches what your audience wants to see, you will succeed where others fail.

Promote both

It’s very common to hear people talk about content “creation,” but what they mean by that term is often different from how we use the word content here at SparkPost.

When they refer to creation, sometimes they mean posting something new on social media or writing an article for their website. Sometimes they even include producing videos or other forms of content like blogs or ebooks.

However, when it comes down to it, none of those things matter much if you don’t promote your content. Simply putting together an item that you've put effort into won’t win anyone anything unless you get out there and spread it around.

That’s why it's so important to think not just about content creation, but content promotion as well.

Content doesn't do anything on its own- it needs someone else to read it, discuss it, share it, etc. And depending on who those people are, and how popular the content is, you'll want to make sure that you're including them in the conversation.

This can be done several ways. You could write a short comments section under the article, start a discussion thread on Facebook or another site, or create a link to the article on YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook and leave a comment there.

It all depends on what tools you have access to and which one seems most effective to you.

Do not promote either

This is one of the biggest reasons why your content marketing does not work or worse, makes you look like an idiot.

I see this done all the time by businesses that are trying to seem more important than they really are!

They will create a new article every day, spend hours writing it, then launch it into the wild with no promotion aside from posting it on their social media accounts.

Then they’ll go back a week later and find barely any traffic at all for their hard work. It’s very frustrating when you put in so much effort only to get little return.

But what if I told you there was another way? What if we revealed the truth about how to use content to gain attention and grow your business?

We’d have to start off by admitting something that many people already know…

There is no such thing as ‘good’ content.

Everything written down (content) has been around for a long time. People just gave it different names depending on what field or area of business they were in.

So, before anyone gets too excited about creating their own content, let me make one thing clear;

Content is boring. Boring content is the worst kind. There is nothing special or interesting about it.

Both are important

When it comes to content, timing is just as significant as what you’re writing. It seems like every entrepreneur and blogger I talk to says they start their day with an empty notebook and then at some point, something gets scribbled down and it starts the process of creating new content or revamping old material.

That’s great! We all need that creative break from the office (or home)– we’ve got to breathe otherwise things can get stressful. But before you take those next steps, make sure your current projects and responsibilities allow time for re-organization and pivot points.

If you’re in the middle of a big project and have a lot invested, consider setting aside extra time to sync up later. You don’t want to be distracted too soon! And if there’s one area of your business that’s struggling, investing in more equipment or resources may be the push your needs require.

One without the other is meaningless

The term content creator has become all too common in our digital age. It seems like every company these days is touting their platform as one that helps you to be a “content creator” or gives you the tools to create your own content.

But what does this really mean? And more importantly, how can you use this knowledge to succeed at creating your own content?

The term content creator was first coined back in 2005 by entrepreneur Russel Bruner. At the time he used it to describe anyone who produces material of value which people will pay for. People with higher levels of content creation earn greater incomes than those who do not.

Since then, the word has spread beyond just individuals though. Companies have adopted the concept and made it part of their marketing strategy.

Research shows that 94% of internet users check out products due to advertising or promotional materials rather than product listings or descriptions. This means that if you are trying to promote a service or product, making sure to include rich media (like videos or pictures) is essential in providing quality exposure.

There is no hard and fast rule about what constitutes a rich media piece, but anything longer than a few minutes likely qualifies.

Examples of each

Creating content is not the same as creating a piece of dated material that you put up online or publish in a magazine or newspaper.

Content creation involves producing various pieces of content at any time, whether it’s a short article, an infographic, a video, or an interactive feature. It can be writing a review for a product, taking pictures and editing them to make your own look cool, filming a YouTube series, or designing a website and fleshing it out with rich content and features.

It can even be giving feedback on a friend’s post or project!

Producing content always has been a staple in marketing, but now there are tools and strategies to do it on a much larger scale. You no longer have to write what others tell you to write or design something someone else created before.

You get to pick the topics you want to cover and the way you want to present them. Technically anyone can produce content, which makes it boring content. Produce quality content that people will actually enjoy reading/watching and you’ll reap the benefits.

There are many ways to gain more followers on social media, grow your audience on YouTube, and increase traffic to your site and all of these things require content.