• University of Leeds
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  • Institute of Coding logo

How to Create Great Online Content

Discover what makes online content a success and learn how to create engaging content that's in line with your business goals.

5.0 (9 reviews)

4,078 enrolled on this course

How to Create Great Online Content

5.0 (9 reviews)

4,078 enrolled on this course

  • 2 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    2 weeks

  • Weekly study

    3 hours

  • 100% online

    How it works

  • Unlimited subscription

    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more
Overview
Syllabus
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Master the art of successful content creation for your business

Great content is the foundation of a successful digital marketing strategy. It can increase SEO rankings, enhance brand and product awareness, and encourage your audience to buy a product or share information – but what makes truly effective online content?

On this two-week course, you’ll find out how to create engaging content that meets your goals.

You’ll learn the value of delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time, and consider the importance of tone, style, and format.

Internet users are consuming more content than ever before. With this course, you’ll understand how to use different online platforms to your advantage to make your voice heard above the noise.

Critically examine digital content to help you deliver the right message

With an understanding that content is planned with a specific purpose, you’ll learn how to identify the messages and intentions within online content.

You’ll question the messaging and use of language to understand the best practices in content creation. You’ll also evaluate how various media formats can be used to create compelling content to help you identify which format suits your business intentions.

Develop a content strategy alongside industry professionals

You’ll learn how to use practical strategies to communicate effectively online. Hearing from industry professionals, you’ll discover how you can structure your content plans, and how to approach content creation for different platforms.

You’ll hear how experts put their content plans into action and by the end of this course, you’ll feel confident in structuring your own plan to respond to a specific brief.

Download video: standard or HD

Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds Sanne Vliegenthart: There are four billion active internet users worldwide, consuming more content than ever before. In a sea of text, audio and video, how can you make your voice heard online? How can your content to make the most impact on your audience? This course will help you find out, learn how tone, style, and format should change depending on your audience. Explore how to use different online platforms to your advantage and hear from industry professionals about how they put their content plans into action.

Skip to 0 minutes and 39 seconds How to create great online content is part of our suite of professional and digital skills courses from the University of Leeds and the Institute of Coding covering topics from coding to social media marketing all available for free to help you build your career today. Whether you’re new to the world of work or forging a new career for yourself, we look forward to sharing your journey into the fast-moving digital space.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    What does online content mean to you?

    • Welcome

      These first steps get you started thinking about content. You’ll explore what makes good content, and how to use language, tone and style to help deliver your content’s objectives.

    • What is the purpose of your content?

      In this activity, you will look at how content can help achieve objectives and influence audience behaviour and sentiment.

    • Language and tone in online communication

      In this activity, you’ll explore how language can be used creatively to develop or deliver on a particular tone. You’ll also see how style matters, especially in longer form content.

    • Matching your content and message with the context

      These steps explore how businesses make sure they use the right content to suit their audience, to convey the right message and to achieve the right results.

    • Summary

      In these steps, we bring Week 1 to a close and review what we have learned so far. You will also look ahead to the final week of the course.

  • Week 2

    Communicating online

    • Welcome to Week 2

      This week, you’ll explore what goes into the actual creation of compelling content for an online audience. You’ll be working with a toolkit to help you determine the format and style required to convey your content effectively.

    • Choosing your content format

      In these steps, you’ll begin to examine the main considerations when choosing the most effective and appropriate format for your content.

    • Online content via video, images and audio

      In this activity, you’ll look at which platforms perform best and offer your perspectives on which one engages you, and other audiences, the most.

    • Developing your own content

      This activity prepares you for making your own content plan. You’ll be looking at how others have put their content plans into action, and working with tools and templates to refine your own.

    • Summary

      These steps offer a summary of the activities covered in the past weeks and offer ideas about how to extend your learning beyond the course.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Interpret the messaging and intention behind online content
  • Evaluate the use of tone and language in communication
  • Describe how various media formats are used to create compelling online content
  • Identify suitable content format for a particular purpose
  • Describe key considerations for creating online content in a variety of media
  • Apply suitable tones and techniques to communicate a message effectively

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone interested in online content creation. It will be useful if you are working in marketing or if you are looking to boost your digital skills, whether you are wanting to improve your career prospects or you’re just entering the digital workplace. This may include those starting their careers, those who have a degree, or those who want to improve their career prospects.

The course will also be useful for anyone in employment who wants to boost their digital skills or anyone returning to the workplace who’d like to gain confidence in how working practices have evolved.

You might also be interested in the other courses in the Digital Skills for the Workplace collection from the University of Leeds and the Institute of Coding.

Who will you learn with?

Meg Pickard

Digital content/community/ transformation consultant, facilitator and trainer with 26+ years of industry experience.
Also passionate about neurodiversity and ethical business.
Drinks a lot of tea.

Who developed the course?

University of Leeds

As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.

Click Start

This course is part of Click Start, a nationwide training programme developed by the Institute of Coding (IoC) , a national collaboration of universities, employers and charities and funded by Nominet – the public benefit company and guardians of the .UK namespace.

Institute of Coding

The Institute of Coding (IoC) is a national collaboration of employers, universities, and charities, on a mission to provide people from all walks of life with access to digital learning and career opportunities.

Endorsers and supporters

funded by

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Choose the best way to learn for you!

Best Value - learn more, save more!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$54/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Continue & Upgrade

Start learning today

Free

Try this course - with limits

  • Limited to 2 weeks

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 2 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 2 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
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  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
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  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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