What does it mean to be consistent in your content marketing?

I recently read a quote: If content is king, then consistency is queen.

And it's so true! Like a little squirrel preparing for winter, going out and collecting seeds and nuts, consistency in your content marketing will set you up for success. 

We hear it all the time, right? The key to success is consistency, and I hate to be like yeah, they're right. But er yeah, they're right. Being consistent with your content marketing will help you reap the rewards, just like a little winter-prepared squirrel. I'm not sure how far I can drag out this metaphor, but I'm going to give it a go! 

Why is consistency important for content marketing?

Consistency is vital because it gives your audience a chance to get comfortable with you and who you are. 

If they feel like they know what's coming when visiting your blog or seeing updates from you on social channels, that will help them develop trust in you and the content you're providing. After all, if someone is coming to your blog or checking out your social profiles, they're probably looking for information that relates to the work that you do. 

Therefore, being consistent with sharing content and messaging will help them feel like this isn't just a fling – it's something serious! And when someone feels confident in what you provide enough to return regularly, that's when you know it's going to stick. 

Having consistency in your content strategy will also help show your audience who you are and what value they can get from their relationship with you and the information that comes from your brand. If someone wants more than just a one-night stand, then don't be afraid to take your relationship with them to the next level. 

So, knowing all that and why it's important, what does it even mean to be consistent with your content marketing? Well, whether it's on social media or blogs, there are three key areas that you need to be consistent in: 

Branding 

Branding is essential, from creating visual hallmarks of your brand with a recognisable font and logo to always writing in the same tone of voice. 

Messaging 

What are you trying to achieve?? Your content strategy isn't a nice to have; it's the foundation of everything you're putting out there. Consistent messaging will help your audience to identify what your brand stands for quickly.

Frequency

Regularly showing up for your audience by sharing content is key to a successful content strategy. When someone visits your blog or your social media channels and likes what they see, they want to know that you're active and consistently providing valuable or relatable information. 

How much is the perfect amount to show up and share? I hate to provide you with a meh answer, but it depends on your brand, industry, and capacity.

So, I will just say this: the perfect amount to share is whatever is sustainable for you. If you can show up for the 'gram five times a week and write two blogs a week consistently, then amazing, do it. But if you can only share a blog and post on social twice a week, then that's great too. If you can consistently manage to maintain that level of regular sharing, that's perfect. 

What can you do to create a tone of voice that’s consistent?

You can do several things to create your tone of voice, apart from just being yourself! 

One way is ensuring that the copy on all content pieces matches and goes together. Whether it's always writing in the same tense or using similar language throughout blog posts, consistency with this aspect creates an overall familiarity. 

Another way is by making sure that you maintain a similar style for all images and visuals used throughout whatever platform you're sharing on. Consistency with this aspect will help tie in the overall feel of your brand's visual presence, which helps create an identity behind it all. 

And finally, consistency with both aspects is fundamental to creating your recognisable voice online. This is because it helps you build trust and authority as a brand, which means that when people come across anything from you or about you in their newsfeeds, they know what to expect. 

It's also important to note that if the tone of your messaging changes over time – for example, you're writing more personal blog posts or sharing a bit lighter on social – that's fine too. Just don't do it for the sake of doing it. If your audience is coming to expect one thing, make sure that they continue to get what they want and need from you, even if your tone changes slightly. 

However, just because you may have gotten to know your audience and their needs over time doesn't mean that you can take them for granted. Consistency is the key! Don't ever underestimate what they expect from any brand or individual in terms of regularity and reliability. 

When should I share?

If you're wondering when the best time is to share your content, then wonder no more! There are a few ways that you can go about finding the best time to share your content.  

The first way is by looking at where and how often your target audience visits social media channels or blogs during their day. You can do so using tools like Google Analytics. 

Another way is by looking at when your audience regularly engages with content you've shared in the past, whether through comments on social media posts and blog post shares, or even just regular email subscriptions. This will give you a good idea of what to expect from the best time for sharing! 

But I don't have time to be consistent?!

I recently wrote a blog on how to create and streamline content, even when you're short on time, you can look at the post here. But one way to keep up with social media, blogging and everything else is by creating a content calendar or schedule. This will help you stay on top of all that you need to do for your content marketing!

Staying organised and focused

Consistency helps you stay organised and focused in several ways:

Firstly, consistency ensures that your audience gets what they've come to expect from you. Whether it's regular blog posts or IG stories shared every day of the week at around this time – if people get used to coming back for more content on a specific day of the week, for example – then that's what they'll be expecting from you. 

Secondly, consistency allows you to set goals and targets for yourself in content creation and distribution. This is because it helps you stay focused on your objectives as a brand or individual when it comes to sharing more regularly with people online, which can be a lot more time consuming than you may think. 

Finally, consistency helps with automation and minimising the need for extra labour or work! Choose a social scheduler that will allow you to batch your content so you can share consistently, even when you’re not actively online, therefore saving yourself a lot of time in the long run!

The importance of a routine 

Look, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but creating a routine is one of the best ways to ensure that you stay consistent in content marketing. This is especially true if you're working full time or have other commitments such as studying, tiny humans or any caring responsibilities.

The first thing that I'd recommend is creating a list of blog post ideas for each week so that you always have something to write about. You can do this by looking at your previous blog posts, as well as any current events or news items that are relevant to you and/or your industry. 

If you need some help with generating ideas for content marketing, then take a look at my post about streamlining content! Once you've got those ideas, turn them into an editorial calendar so that you have a good idea of what's coming up in the next few months, and you can schedule these posts accordingly. 

The other thing to consider is creating content that your audience will love reading or watching on social media! Social listening will give you great insights into who it is that makes up your target market so that you're able to incorporate their interests into every piece of content that you create. 

You can do this by using tools like BuzzSumo to find out the most popular posts on your chosen social media channels, as well as websites in your industry! Or Answer The Public to search for what your potential customers are asking. You could then use these ideas and adapt them for your audience to fit with what you're trying to achieve.

Consistency comes from having a routine and sticking to it. So, whether you create an editorial calendar or just have a list of your favourite blog post ideas for the week ahead, then consistency will soon become second nature! You'll have your seeds and nuts squirrelled away for winter in no time!

It seems like a lot of work, and honestly it is to start with. But by creating routines will help you with the prep and you’ll get into a rhythm, allowing you to consistently show up for your audience. Do the work to build routines and you’ll be a happy little squirrel, all ready for winter!

Content marketing is my specialty, from creating content strategy to implementing it through blogs and social content, I know how important it is to show up regularly and consistently. If you would like to have a chat about working together, why not drop me a message or book in a free 30-minute discovery call?