How can content creation leaders develop their skills and knowledge to keep pace with industry changes?

One time, I watched a series of SEO videos on Semrush and proceeded to take the SEO toolkit exam. That experience gave me over a dozen perspectives about search engines. It was a game changer.

It's important who you seek feedback from. Don't ask for feedback from a random. Remember, you are dealing with content here. So, make sure it's someone who has knowledge about content writing and has enough experience and skills in the field. This way you could get deep insights into your content. And, do not get bummed if you get negative remarks. Take it on the chin and improve.

To keep up with the emerging trends in content creation, testing different approaches and asking for feedback is crucial. To understand if your content is bringing necessary impact, do not hesitate to ask and give feedback. You can gain insights from other's experiences and ideas.

Seek feedback in a polite manner with an unbiased mind. Understand the position of the person giving feedback. Ask them non-specific questions about the feedback, digging into the specifics will put them on the defensive.

You can’t please everybody, and you shouldn’t. Ask for feedback from people whose opinions matter to you and your content. Listen with an intent to learn and improve, but make sure it doesn’t wash out your branding. Execute changes that only makes sense for your content & target audience, but don’t take every feedback to heart just because they’re from experts. Think of your initial goal and the angle you want to present your ideas in, and then adjust as needed.

Once you have got 2-3 years of experience in content writing, it's time for you to expand your horizons and learn related skills like SEO, analytics, content design, etc. There a lot of free and paid courses available. You can choose the skill that you want to deep dive and start the relevant course. After completing the course, try to implement your newly learned skill in your day to day work. If you're an in-house writer, ask your manager that you learned a new skill and would like to try your hands at it. Trust me no one would say no since it's a win-win situation for both.

You have to stay curious! This is the most important thing! As well as not to specialize too much in a particular area. After all, this way we can miss out on a lot of valuable information that can make our work easier and the content more interesting. Let's learn something new every day, because learning means we improve!

Just like Bruce Lee said "Be water." Just be curious enough to maintain a coherent chain of thoughts about anything that seems interesting. Investing money in learning new skills is not a requirement. If you feel confused about learning, enroll in free courses from the likes of Google, Meta, or any educational platform.

Sure, learn the new design tool, writing framework, whatever. But also look outside the lines of narrow content niches. Study comedians to master timing and hooks that captivate audiences... ...Read philosophers for principles to craft compelling narratives... ...Nerd out on cognitive science to understand how people process ideas. The broader and deeper your skill set, the more creative tools you have to whip up truly unique, game-changing content that hooks hearts and minds.

Content creators must stay on top of industry trends to remain relevant. Here are the best resources to help you monitor and track industry trends: - LinkedIn. This platform provides the most recent commentary and discussion around industry trends in real time. Keep up with industry content posted on LinkedIn by your network and follow thought leaders. - Attend conferences. Industry conferences are centered around developing and improving industry trends. These often include workshops and networking events. - Presentations. Industry leaders often reveal the trajectory of future industry trends. - Sign up for newsletters, read blog posts, and follow podcasts to diversify and extend your knowledge about various industry trends.

I'd say to study the trend but not follow it right away. Before you jump on the bandwagon, make sure it works for your audience or your client's audience. Just because something works for someone, doesn't mean it works for you. Maybe you could take a test and see.

Personally speaking, networking has helped me enhance my knowledge big time. Ensure you are networking with the right people. Maybe you could check out their profile and work before networking with them. LinkedIn itself is a goldmine for networking. Maybe you can start there. :)

For starters, you can connect with content leaders on LinkedIn who regularly post their insights on the platform. I've personally connected with hundreds of content leaders of B2B SaaS companies across the globe. My LinkedIn feed is always filled with valuable insights, tricks, tips, and experiences that always gives me a new perspective towards content writing and content marketing. Make this a habit and you'll get ready made templates, frameworks, strategies, checklists, and other ready to execute content strategy diamonds for absolutely free.

To be a content leader, you must be open to change and leave room for creativity. Here's how to experiment and become more adaptable: - Be comfortable with risk. - Embrace change. - Learn from thought leaders within your industry. - Be open to networking and conversing with all industry members. Great ideas often come from unlikely places. - Research as much as time allows. - Brainstorm freely to foster creativity. - Experiment over and over again. - Learn from your mistakes, but don't dwell on them.

Over the years, I have experimented a lot. I have tried: -Writing in our local language to connect with the audience better. -Different types of blogs like guides, listicles, How-to blogs and infographics. -Videos and images in blogs -Adding relevant data to the content. -Long-form and short from blogs And, some of them have panned out truly well. Note: It's when you experiment, you understand what works and what doesn't.

The best investment is the investment in self-improvement. Chart out a personal development plan and invest time and energy in the same. Leadership in any domain requires continuous improvement and is no different in the content creation industry. There is always a scope to learn and grow at every stage of our life.

There are plenty of certification courses that you can enroll into. Some examples are: content marketing by Hubspot Academy, Inbound Marketing by Hubspot Academy. Apart from earning a certification, you will also benefit with the extra knowledge gained during the entire course.

Keep learning. You should not stop learning no matter the results. The digital sphere is continuing to evolve and every year the techniques and trends change. Read experts' blogs and expand your horizons :)

We can learn from YouTube and then exceute that to get best result. Alongwith free resources, we can go for paid course, they also teach us much more