Here are a few simple steps to get you on your way to Content Marketing success:

Undertake a review: In some way or another, your business has produced content. Simply review it, consider things like your website, Social Media and any other content you produce. Identify areas of strength, weaknesses and possible areas to address. It also gives you the opportunity to examine the landscape see what competitors are doing and how their customers are reacting to their content. 

Consider & plan what type of content you will use: There are many types of content to consider using – Social Media, Blogs, Infographics, Videos, eBooks to name but a few. They all have different advantages & dis-advantages when planning your content. There are things to consider such as:

• Who is your target audience?
• What is the purpose and aim of the content?
• What type of medium are they likely to engage with?
• What medium fits with the resources you have available?
• Will you be able to produce content on these to time and on budget?

Pick the right channel for your business: Consider what platform to use for content efforts, different platforms require distinct types of content. As we have touched on in previous articles, they all have their own distinct ways and features that will be of use for your business. The key is to be engaging across all channels, you want customers & leads to see you as interesting, someone they can trust and build a working relationship with. Communicating this on your website, through email campaigns, Social Media, Blogging is a challenge. As an example, posting content via Social Media, LinkedIn is hugely B2B where you are likely to be reaching out to decision markers, ths requires a more formal approach than that of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat etc.

 Aim for ‘evergreen’: This is the ultimate goal for Content Marketers. Creating updated content repeatedly is a challenge, sometimes the ideas may run out or you may not have time with whatever else might be going on. Evergreen content can be used for a sustained period, it’s a ‘timeless’ piece and something that will always be of interest to your customers. Producing this will also help drive traffic and raise brand awareness over a sustained period of time.

Blogging is a great way to raise awareness of your business, your product, it services and develop an online presence. It is simple, effective and importantly anyone can do it, you do not have to be a marketing expert!

The advantage of Blogging is it is all about you. There is only so much you can say in a Facebook post, or 140 characters on Twitter but Blogging allows you to give much more details insight into your business, yourselves and write about what makes you great at what you do.

Blogging & Your Business….

Blogging gives your business a personality, a voice and gives your customers an insight into the business and its values. It encourages collaboration and discussion not just with customers but with other people associated with the industry and helps develop your businesses reputation in the garment decoration industry.

What makes blogging great is the fact it is all about you and your business, you can write about anything. Common things wrote about by garment decorators includes latest news, product reviews, latest offers, promotions, thoughts and opinions on what is affecting the business.

Creating Engaging Content…

Write about your business, simply write about its strengths and why it is great is and why you love print, embroidery, the industry and your customers.

But the key is to make the content interesting and stand out from your competitors, here are some simple tips to help:

• Create an eye catching title for your Blog (N.B. Just think what would you click and read plus what would you ignore).
• Use images, just a few pictures to support the blog you are writing. Using an image increases the likelihood of catching a reader’s attention.
• Tag your blog, this categorizes your blog. Readers can filter through and find your thoughts on a specific topic.

·       Do not make your blog too long! There is a fine line between engaging and boring a reader. Make your blog concise and to a point, many readers will not read essays. Your blog can be any length but be wary of boring the reader.

·       Blogging is fun, customers love honesty, your views and thoughts are much more likely to create engagement then writing something with no personality. (You want to give your business some character after all).

Blogging & SEO….

Using a Blog is also a great way to improve your businesses performance in Search Engines. It is a simple way of writing about your keywords and gaining some links back to your site from people who love your content sharing it!

One Last Thought…

You can of course integrate a blog into your website using a bespoke web design company. But, there are a wide range of FREE blogs out there for your business including Wordpress, Tumblr, Blogger, Medium, Weebly and 100s more. Blogging is a cost effective way of growing your online presence, developing an online personality and increasing traffic to your website. 

So what are you waiting for…. Get Blogging!