5 Ways to Get Your Staff to Create Content

Motivate Your Staff with These Tips

Even with a dedicated team of writers, creating enough content for your company website and blog can be a daunting task. Even more daunting is asking staff members who don’t specialize in grammar and spelling to contribute content. Before you simply give up, consider these clever ways to inspire cooperation from your employees. You might just be surprised at the hidden talents they possess.

Implement Meme Monday

Somewhere deep inside every staff member is a sarcastic teenager clawing its way out. By giving that silly kid an outlet—with boundaries of course—you could end up with more content than you ever dreamed. Simply invite your staff members to create memes from the pop culture news of the week. Not only will you fill your pages with content, you also might just start the next viral movement.

Of course, ground rules are imperative. You want those memes to mesh with your company’s message. Once you set the boundaries and disqualify those who color outside the lines, you’ll be set to welcome more content than you thought possible.

Hold a Contest

Maybe your staff members don’t like writing, but that’s not the only content you need on your website. Rich media and videos perform very well, too, as long as the descriptions, tags, and alt-text are optimized correctly. With that in mind, set forth the rules of your contest to create the next company video. You can provide a theme or direction, or simply let your staff members run wild.

Just be sure you have a pretty exciting prize at the end. Creating videos is hard work, and the task probably falls well outside the job descriptions of most staff members. Make the hard work worth their while, and you’ll see incredible results. In fact, you could just find some hidden talent in the group.

Implement Incentive Programs

If you’re struggling to create enough content, start rewarding your staff when they contribute. Whether they provide blogs, web content, videos, images, memes, or whatever else you’d like to feature on your website, give a point for each item. As the points build up, reward those with certain amounts by providing lunch, giving paid time off, or entering their names into raffles for larger prizes.

The key to an incentive program is consistency. Be sure you always stay up to date on which staff members have contributed. The first time an employee doesn’t receive credit for the work he or she submitted, your new model will begin to fail.

Give a Byline

If you’ve been claiming credit for your staff’s work, they may feel underappreciated. When they work hard to create content for your website, they should get the credit. A simply byline with their name, picture, and even a bio could go a long way toward building some trust. They’ll also begin to take pride in the work they submit and perhaps even contribute on a more regular basis. Their blogs will be shared more often, too, as those employees tell parents, friends, and business acquaintances to check out their work.

Simple Praise

Believe it or not, few things work more than simple praise. Your employees want to feel valued, and they’ll put in a little extra work when you show your appreciation. For that reason, you should simply commend them when they’ve gone above and beyond their usual job duties. By demanding the work, you’ll find they get no joy in the extra assignment. Even worse, they may lose heart for their usual work responsibilities.

Praise can happen in many ways. You should adjust your methods for each member of your team. That may sound like a lot of extra work for you, but remember what you’re asking of them. If someone doesn’t like to be acknowledged in public, simply stop by his or her desk to give a heartfelt thank you in private. For those who thrive on being in the spotlight, you should wait until the next meeting to offer your appreciation in front of everyone.

With these simple steps, you’ll receive more content than you ever thought possible. Again, the key is consistency. Once the rules are set, maintain them. Make sure you follow through on promised rewards. Most of all, enjoy the hidden talents your staff members possess and pat yourself on the back for assembling a winning team.

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