Content
Marketing is probably something your business has practiced over the years
without really knowing it. Creating valuable, relevant and interesting content
to your audience is Content Marketing in a nutshell.
Why Does Your
Business Needs Content Marketing?
There are numerous advantages to undertaking Content
Marketing and building it into your businesses strategy. Engaging customers has
a profound effect on several areas such as increasing sales, improving customer
retention and customer acquisition to name a few. In theory it sounds like a
lot of Marketing jargon, but simplified just tell your story, build your brand,
its values and write about what makes your business and its services so skilful
and important.
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?
Use Google
Keyword Planner: Now you have an idea of what type of content you are
going to produce, the creative juices will be flowing with mind maps and
campaign ideas. Validate your ideas using a keyword tool, there are 100s of out
there, but Google Keyword Planner is probably the most efficient. This will
give you an idea of what your audience are physically searching for, build
content around these key terms which will also aide your Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) efforts.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.
