Top Tips for Creating Great Content in 2020

Even with the best of intentions, it can be hard to consistently create original and engaging content that your followers and site visitors will not only enjoy, but actively benefit from.

That being said, there are ways in which you can ensure that the content you provide is both useful and innovative so that you can guarantee consumers will visit your site time and time again, and hopefully make purchases while they are there.

From utilizing the latest technologies to ensuring your design features complement your content, to the importance of trusted backlinks, keep reading to discover the top four tips for creating great, no outstanding, content in 2020.

1.   Ensure that all content you post is consistent

You probably already know this, but it is vital to post consistent content when trying to attract new customers as well as retain existing ones. People want to know what they are going to get when they visit your site and therefore, you must ensure that you do not post any confusing or contradicting content.

When you are deciding upon your brand’s content strategy, you may want to consider the below aspects:

• Your tone of voice
• The type of language you use
• Your preferred call to actions
• Specific words you use to describe or promote your products or services

Although, of course, you want your content to be original, the above components should always be consistent so that people will recognize your brand and know what to expect when they visit your site.

If you would like more help or advice on brand recognition, a digital marketing consultant will be able to help you create a solid and highly effective online marketing strategy including specific content strategies.

2.   Align your content with the right design features

There is a reason why copywriters and designers often work together. It is because the processes of writing content and creating visuals go hand in hand; you simply cannot create one effectively without the other.

You know the expression “you eat with your eyes”, well, the same goes for online content – “you consume with your eyes.”

If you want your site visitors or followers to actively engage with the content you post, then you need to ensure that the accompanying design features enhance your content rather than distract from it.

A professional web design agency can help ensure that the design aspect of your website and the content within it are as compatible and harmonious as possible.

3.   Always provide trusted backlinks

A key aspect of creating great content that is all too often overlooked, linking your page to related and trusted content, has so many benefits for your brand.

From increasing the authenticity of your post, to positively influencing purchasing decisions, to encouraging further traffic to your website, ensuring that every piece of content you publish has a good amount (but not too many) trusted backlinks can work wonders for your brand in 2020.

4.   Embrace new technologies

Content marketing technologies can be invaluable to content marketers with the ability to identify and define the target audience, automate distribution, organize and enhance content, as well as measure how effective each piece of content is.

Some of the top content marketing tech tools you should be using in 2020 are:

• AI content marketing technology
• Content mining technology
• Content marketing personas
• Content marketing analytics

Related reading

• 6 Tips to Produce Professional Video Content for Your Side Hustle
• How to Turn Everything into Engaging Content
• Three Reasons You Need A Website With Content Marketing
• Brilliant Content Marketing Tips for Law Firms
• how to make money blogging

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The mistake most brands made with content in 2020 (and still do)

Here's what I saw happen across hundreds of campaigns in 2020: brands created content frantically because they thought volume would save them. They'd pump out three blog posts a week, daily social posts, weekly videos. Then they'd wonder why engagement flatlined and nothing converted.

2026 Update: What I Would Tell My 2020 Self About Content Creation

I wrote this post back in 2020 and, honestly, some of it still holds up. But the content landscape has shifted so dramatically in the past few years that I felt it was time to sit down and add what I know now. If you are just arriving at this post for the first time, brilliant - read the original tips below, then come back to this section, because context matters.

The biggest change I have seen is that AI-assisted writing is now everywhere, and your audience can smell generic, padded content from a mile off. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are genuinely useful for research, outlining, and overcoming a blank page - I use them myself. But the content that performs in 2026 is the content that has a real point of view baked in. First-hand experience, specific examples, and opinions that might make some people click away are precisely what the algorithms and, more importantly, real human readers are rewarding right now. Bland is invisible.

Short-form video content has not slowed down - if anything the bar for quality has risen sharply. In 2020 you could post a slightly wobbly talking-head clip and do well. In 2026, your audience expects decent audio at minimum, a clear hook in the first two or three seconds, and content that respects their time. I am not saying you need a production studio, but you do need to stop treating video as an afterthought bolted onto your written content strategy.

Search has also changed in ways that matter for every content creator. AI-generated search summaries mean that traffic from informational queries has dropped for a lot of sites, including mine at certain points. The answer is not to panic and churn out more content. The answer is to create content that AI summaries cannot fully replace - your story, your client results, your specific process. That is what earns clicks in 2026.

Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, your email list is more valuable now than it has ever been. Social platforms continue to cut organic reach, and search behaviour is shifting. The people who gave you their email address have already told you they want to hear from you. Treat that relationship with respect, write to them like a human being, and make your newsletter worth opening. That advice was true in 2020 and it is even more true today.

The real problem wasn't laziness. It was panic mixed with a misunderstanding of how content works. Most brands were creating content FOR themselves, not FOR their audience. They'd write about their company mission when people wanted solutions to immediate problems. They'd post product updates when people needed reassurance during lockdown uncertainty.

What changed in 2020 (and stuck around) is that your content now competes against infinite noise and decreasing attention spans. But the fix isn't harder work. It's specificity.

How to reverse-engineer content that performs

I work backwards now. Always have, but 2020 taught everyone else to do this too. Here's my process:

• Start with one specific customer problem or question (not a vague topic). Write it down exactly as your customer would phrase it. For example: "I don't know if I should hire an SEO agency or do it in-house" beats "SEO best practices."
• Create one piece of content that answers that specific question so thoroughly that someone could act on it immediately. One blog post. One video. One email series. Not five thin pieces.
• Distribute that piece to the exact channel where your customer was asking that question. If they asked on LinkedIn, start there. If they asked in Facebook groups, that's where you post. You're not broadcasting; you're eavesdropping then helpfully responding.
• Measure whether they took the action you wanted (download, sign-up, purchase, share). If not, change the content itself, not the promotion.

I had a client selling accounting software to small business owners in 2020. She was writing general content about bookkeeping. Traffic was there. Conversions were nowhere. We switched to ultra-specific pieces: "Why your accountant is charging you extra for messy QuickBooks imports" (with screenshots of actual bad setups), "How to explain bookkeeping to your virtual assistant in 30 minutes," "What happens if you miss the VAT quarterly deadline." Those three pieces generated more qualified leads in three months than six months of general content.

The reason this works is psychological. Specific content feels like it was written for you personally. General content feels like marketing. Your brain filters out marketing. It leans into specificity.

One more thing: 2020 also meant people consumed content in fragmented ways. Someone might read your blog post on desktop, see your Instagram carousel in the evening, hear about your podcast from a friend. Your content strategy needs to account for the same idea working across formats for people with zero continuity in their day. That's not about repurposing. That's about making sure the core idea is strong enough to land regardless of medium.

More questions

How often should I publish content in 2026?

Stop thinking about frequency as a fixed number. I'd rather see one exceptional piece of content per month than four mediocre pieces per week. What matters is whether your audience found it, read it, and moved forward. If you have a content team, consistency helps because algorithms reward it. If you're solo, it's better to publish less often and ensure each piece is thoroughly useful. Quality beats rhythm every time.

Should I focus on blog posts, videos, or social content?

Start with whichever format your customer already uses to consume information in your industry. B2B software buyers often start with LinkedIn or long-form articles. Consumer product buyers might start with Instagram or TikTok. Don't chase trends. Find where your specific audience is learning, and meet them there. You can expand formats once you understand what messaging works.

How do I know if my content is working?

Track one clear action per piece: downloads, email signups, demo requests, or purchases. Set that target before you write. Publish. Wait two weeks minimum. If fewer than 5 percent of people who consumed it took that action, the content itself needs reworking, not the distribution. Most people undersell their good content rather than realizing the content isn't doing its job.

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Bottom line: Great content in 2020 comes down to understanding your audience deeply, focusing on quality over quantity, and mixing formats like video, podcasts, and long-form articles to meet people where they are. Consistency and a clear content strategy beat sporadic bursts of publishing every time.

Frequently asked questions

What type of content works best in 2020?

Video and interactive content continue to perform strongly, but well-researched long-form articles still build authority and search visibility. The best approach is a mix tailored to where your audience spends their time.

How often should I publish new content?

Consistency matters more than frequency. Publishing one high-quality piece a week is far more effective than five rushed posts that don't offer real value to readers.

Do I need video content to succeed in 2020?

Video helps, especially for engagement and social sharing, but it's not mandatory. Written content paired with strong visuals and clear structure can still perform very well if it answers real audience questions.

How do I make sure my content stands out?

Focus on originality, add your own data or experience, and answer the specific questions your audience is searching for. Content that solves a real problem always outperforms generic advice.