Everyone knows content marketing is where it’s at. Sure it takes a
LOT more time and effort than other forms of traditional digital
advertising, but it works! Its no secret that people tend to tune out
the old school forms of advertising. So what makes content marketing
work so well, and what tools and tips are needed to make it even more effective?
Here’s a few key tidbits we’ve picked up from mashing up several articles in our heads:
1. Document Your Strategy – Seems pretty basic,
right? It’s hard to know what’s working well if you’re constantly
shooting from the hip. Make sure your efforts support your business
goals, which can vary based on your industry, otherwise it’s all just a
waste of time.
2. Measure and Track ROI – Of course this is not
always cut and dry. Content marketing is not meant to have an immediate
impact on sales, it’s more about building trust with customers. Metrics
such as web traffic, social interactions, and other metrics are common
forms of measurement, but are
they really impacting your business over
time? Although content marketing is a long term strategy, over time you
should be able to see an uptick in qualified leads and sales. Your
tactics ultimately need to make an impact, or it’s time to tweak your
strategy.
3. Use Infographics – This just makes sense. Humans
tend to digest information better in graphical form, even information
that seems kinda dry on the surface.
4. Distribution of Your Content – it can take some
trial and error to determine what works best for you. LinkedIn is
typically the most popular (and successful) option for B2B, while
Facebook or Pinterest are best for B2C. And many ad paid search and
sponsored posts to the mix as well. More the likely its gonna take a mix
of free and paid methods to get your message out there.
5. Produce Quality Content that Aligns with Your Goals
– the popularity of content marketing breeds the mediocrity of content.
Focus your efforts more on quality than sticking to a strict rule of
“must create one piece of content per day” rule.
6. Get Contributors With Multiple Perspectives – ok,
so I get it that you’re not comfortable with everyone writing your next
rad article. But chances are they either have ideas on what would
generate interest, or they can give you a good draft to work with. So
talk to product development, the sales team, your IT department and so
on. Even if you need to sit down and conduct an informal interview, a
different perspective can be very refreshing.
Nobody ever said content marketing is easy…but your customers like
reading stories, or learning more about topics that help them become
more educated on an important subject. It’s well worth the time and
extra effort in the long run.
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