In a recent blog on chrisg.com entitled How to Solve the “Creativity Problem” and Stand Out in a Crowd, Chris Garrett discussed the misconceptions surrounding creativity and the assumption that there are only a few elite creative individuals when the truth is that everyone can be creative if only they take into consideration a few choice points.
New to You Is Seen as Creative
Any content created by an online marketer can be seen as having the elusive aura of creativity as long as it has not previously been seen by the current audience: The New to You approach. Of course this new content has to incorporate a considerable element of value, as it is not enough to just crank out something new and expect your customer base to embrace it automatically. There has to be a reason for your audience to want to be exposed to your content and in order to do so it has to be differentiated from your competitors’ similar content. To just assume that you can clone your competitor’s approach and just rubber stamp it with your own branding is a grievous error. The key to creative content is providing something new and fully original that is seen by your audience as noteworthy, relevant and of value.
You Are Unique. So Is Your Content
Your experiences and outlook as well as those of your brand are completely unique, as everyone has a background that varies from everyone else. That element of uniqueness is something that can be readily leveraged in the process of crafting content that is seen as creative, as all you need to do is to discuss or bring into play any of those situations, occurrences or experiences in your own individual past or that of your brand, and voila, instant creative-ness! You will have generated content that fits all the parameters of newness and uniqueness, and as long as you are concocting the content with an eye towards the needs of your audience, it will also check off the relevance and value checkboxes. Relying on taking into consideration the events and perspectives you and your brand have gained results in content that is highly creative, as only you could have generated it.
Even Shakespeare Based His Plays on Other Tales
Everyone knows Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but how many people know that it was in fact based on the medieval tale of Tristan and Isolde? It seems that just about everything is based on something that came before it. No one in their right mind would challenge the “creativity” of the great Bard himself, and no one will challenge you if you can take a concept from a pre-existing work and rework it to suit the requirements of your brand and its audience. Inspiration is everywhere: You can take a current event, a classic from literature, a movie or television story, even a concept discussed in a blog or other online article and apply your very own “spin” on it and you will have created something completely innovative! Emphatically this is not to say that you should copy other items or plagiarize other content creators, but as long as you can use the pre-existing works as a starting point for you to craft a completely unduplicated and fully original content, then you can truly claim to be creative!
It goes without saying that all creative content still has to adhere to the standards that draw in an audience and capture their time and attention. Headlines are of paramount importance and if you are writing a long column of text, it is just as important to break it up with subheads and pullquotes as required. If you are working in a more graphical environment, then selecting the right photos and images to bring life to your content, as well as reinforcing your brand identity through logos and color schemes, will also help your content “pop.” With a bit of thought, reflection, planning and proper execution, everyone and anyone can be creative… as long as you apply some of these simple points.
