Content marketing is an essential part of the modern marketing mix for all kinds of businesses. The combination of different formats of online content, from blogs to video, helps you get your business in front of more potential customers and build trust with the ones you have. Done well, content marketing doesn’t sell but generates interest in your products or services. Here’s how to get it right.
Set Goals
Don’t create content just for the sake of it. Make sure you plan each piece with a clear purpose in mind, beyond just getting views. Do you want the content to launch a new product or to generate more leads? Do you want to offer more information on an existing service you offer? Do you want readers to share the content with their friends? Decide what the purpose of the content piece and create it with those goals in mind. All content should drive people back to your business and reach the right people. Content marketing agencies can help you to generate quality content that hits any goals you might have.
Repurpose Old Content
Don’t let old content go to waste. Repurposing content can increase leads, with minimal work from you. If you’ve created evergreen content (content that won’t date), revisit the topic. This can be done in several ways. If you’ve put out a podcast episode on an evergreen topic that was received, repurpose the content into a blog post, with a link to the episode. You can share one piece of content at several formats and build internal links too.
Revisit old blog posts and update them. Take better pictures for them or update with current statistics and reshare them. Turn blog posts into a newsletter or use the topic for a video.
Keep Brand Voice Consistent
Your brand voice should be the same across all content platforms you use. Whether it’s your company blog, your Twitter feed or your YouTube channel, they all need to sound recognisably like you and your business.
If multiple staff are creating content, or you use an outside agency, create clear brand guidelines to keep things consistent no matter who is creating. Set out guidelines for tone, any words you like to be used or never used, brand values and usage of assets like logos. A customer should be able to engage with any of your platforms and know it’s you.
Focus On Consistency And Quality
Competition online is fierce, with most businesses publishing a lot of content. To stand out, make sure everything you produce is top quality. Don’t churn out content for the sake of having something to post. It’s better to go a few days without new content than to share something poorly. One excellent post is better than five average ones.
Consistently produce content that serves your target customer. It should be useful, informative or entertaining (or a combination of all three). Use the best agency you can afford, or bring in professionals to create the best content you can for your business.
Tie Successful Content Into Your PPC Ads
If a content headline performs well that shows that its of real interest to your customer base. Take that headline and reuse it in any pay per click ad campaigns that you’re setting up. Successful ad copy shares the same hooks as a good headline, so make a good headline work harder by repurposing it.
Take An Unusual Angle
All businesses are producing a lot of content, and a lot of it ends up being pretty similar to each other. To stand out in a sea of content that’s all the same, approach a topic from an unusual angle.
Look at something from an unpopular stance or from a more controversial approach to stand out. Be careful not to cause offence, or to take a controversial stand just for the sake of it. Be honest with your opinions and your content will stand out for the right reasons.
Target Specific Keywords
A good keyword strategy helps you to get eyes on your content. Aim for key phrases that match the way people use search engines, and go after local searches. For example, if you own a florist, aim to rank for ‘wedding florist’ or ‘New York florist’ instead of just ‘florist’. This means you’re more likely to reach people in your area looking for a service you offer, instead of someone more casually searching. The right keywords bring in engaged customers who are more likely to convert.
