How to Automate Content Creation and Management
When to-do lists continue to pile up and deadlines loom closer, all content marketers find themselves wishing for the same thing: a way to automate content creation and management tasks.
Technology allows us to seek out tools for as many functions of our job as possible so that we can focus on the larger, more creative elements of our positions. However, considering content creation and management both require a strong human and creative element, is it possible to automate these marketing functions?
Tools to Automate Content Creation Tasks
Content creation is arguably the trickiest area to automate. While there are tools that will churn out articles for you, the quality of this content is usually extremely lackluster. If you’re looking to automate content creation processes for the goal of quantity rather than quality, you need to rethink your entire content marketing strategy.
Your content should still be expertly crafted by a professional writer with the goal of informing and captivating your target audience on a particular platform. With this in mind, certain areas of the creation process can be altered to decrease production time through the use of specific tools and apps.
Topic Brainstorms
Brainstorming content ideas can take forever. From having the energy to brainstorm to weeding out the bad ideas, it’s a tiresome process. To speed up this activity, you can rely on online tools such as:
Another way to improve the brainstorming process is to monitor the competition’s content. Create a spreadsheet or database of their latest content as a reference and see how you can generate new ideas from it.
Grammar Checkers
Of all the work that goes into creating written content, the editing process can easily take the longest amount of time. When looking to automate content creation tasks, writers and editors alike can utilize grammar checking tools such as Grammarly to reduce overall content development and editing time.
Outsource Your Content Creation Needs
Chances are you don’t have enough hands on deck in-house to automate your content marketing collateral. With this in mind, consider outsourcing your work to a team of expert content writers. Not only are these professionals well-versed in the art of content creation, they understand your industry and goals. All you have to do is give them your list of topics, approve the deadlines, and sit back as they create valuable content for your business.
Automating Content Management Processes
Creating content is only half the battle. You also must curate pertinent content, distribute your work, and manage all of your efforts. Fortunately, several apps and tools exist to lighten your workload.
Content Curation
Finding and sharing excellent content produced by thought leaders and others in your industry is a great tactic for increasing your online following and reach. However, it’s also time-consuming. Use these tools to discover and distribute content fast:
For additional curation sources, check out this fantastic resource from Buffer.
Content Distribution
Much of content distribution lies in pushing content to relevant social media channels. Instead of manually sharing every single piece of content on multiple platforms, take advantage of social media scheduling tools to automate your work.
Some of the top scheduling tools include:
Email marketing is also a common distribution tactic. Marketers use email newsletters to share with their subscribers their latest articles, videos, and work. You can automate the content distribution process by syncing your content creation calendar with your email marketing lists and sending emails at the right time to a specific audience. Use tools such as MailChimp, Emma, and Constant Contact to aid in this process.
With these automation tools in your back pocket, you won’t be buried in content creation or management tasks any longer.
Anne is a copywriter and digital marketing specialist currently residing in the Greater Nashville area. Originally from New England, she leverages her three top talents (writing, marketing, and coffee consuming) for businesses and brands of all sizes across the globe.
Anne is a 2013 Marketing Communications/Advertising graduate from Western New England University in Springfield, MA. She credits her launch into writing to her legendary elementary school poem about pizza that wowed the judges and won the creative writing award in her school district.
When not writing or working on marketing campaigns, you can find Anne at a coffee shop, exploring somewhere new, or training in martial arts as a 3rd degree black belt.
