It’s
2017. Where’s your content?!
As the
Content Marketing Institute (CMI) calls it, content marketing is today’s
marketing. It is no longer an option; it’s a requisite. According to the B2B
Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America
produced by CMI and MarketingProfs, around 88% of B2B marketers use content marketing as the
foundation of their marketing strategy. Add to that, 70% of these marketers are creating more content
than they did a year prior. According to
respondents, entire marketing departments have been restructured around content
marketing.
So, What Is Content Marketing?
Content
marketing is a type of marketing that includes the creation and sharing of
online content, such as blogs, videos, pictures or memes and other social media
post. It is practically anything. As integrated digital agency Portent, Inc.’s
CEO, Ian Lurie says: “Content isn't 'stuff we write to rank higher' or
'infographics' or 'long-form articles.' Content is anything that communicates a
message to the audience. Anything.”
So,
remember that photo album of your office Christmas party – the one with the
drunk limbo dance picture that you posted for everyone to see on your company
Facebook page? That’s content – and not a very good one.
Your
online content is there to promote your business. Add to that, it has to do so
subtly, without explicitly marketing your products. According to a study done
by the Content Marketing Association, poor content puts your brand in a bad
light with 70% of the respondents.
Still,
content marketing is a necessary and beneficial marketing investment for your
business.
Content Marketing Benefits
To this
day, content marketing may still be hard to sell. You can encounter some
difficulties getting buy-ins from your company executives. Results take time
and may be hard to measure. But, the benefits are there – so take advantage of
them.
1. Site
traffic
According
to the Aberdeen Group, businesses that lead when it comes to content market
enjoy a 7.8 times increase in
website traffic – and rightly so. Good quality engaging content,
shared through your social media accounts, makes people curious. It brings
people to your website.
The key
is that you consider what your target market is interested in. Know what is
valuable and useful to them. Search Engine Journal is a prime example of a
business that has been successful in getting to the heart of what its readers
want. In return, it enjoys more than a million unique visitors monthly.
2.
Better search engine optimization
Quality
content is an SEO goldmine. Because of it, your website can get editorial links
and mentions. This increases your site’s authority to the eyes of Google. It
also tells the search engine giant a lot about what your website is all about.
3.
Direct customer conversions
Good
content marketing puts your brand above the rest. It requires funds, time and
writing skills, yes. But, it is still 62% cheaper than traditional marketing, and it
gives you three times as many leads, according to a study by Demand Metric. You
can see conversion rates increase by nearly six times.
4.
Better brand awareness
The IBM
Digital Experience Survey of 2015 found that 56% of marketers believe that they get higher
engagement rates with personalized content. Brand-specific content is an
effective way of improving brand recall. When buyers remember you, they are
encouraged to engage with your website and social media presence.
5.
Indirect customer conversion
A good
write-up that praises your product or user reviews that talk you up improve
your standing with the online community. In fact, according to the Local
Consumer Review Survey conducted by BrightLocal, 88% of buyers trust online user reviews.
These
user-generated content, alongside your own, bridges the gap between you and
people interested in your product. They learn about you, and remember you when
it’s time to buy.
Content Marketing Best Practices
Ready to
create your content? Here are a few best practices to remember:
1. Know
your target market.
Do you
know who you want to reach with your content? What are their jobs and company
positions? Where are they located? What are their common problems and how can
you help?
These
are just a few things you need to know before you pick up the metaphorical pen.
Create a profile of your target audience. Use available online tools, such as
Google Analytics, to see what they’re searching for. Keep this in mind as you
create your content.
2. Write
naturally.
2016 is
the year mobile search overtook desktop searches. And, on the phone, people do
searches differently than when typing on a keyboard.
On
mobile, people search using plain language. They don’t edit themselves. They
don’t think about keywords. They just ask “Siri, where is the nearest pizza
takeout?” instead of typing “pizza takeout New York.”
Make
sure your content is optimized to consider mobile searches. Question-formatted
content, such as FAQs and how-to blogs, gives you a lot of options in this
department.
3.
Implement lead data capturing tools or strategies for the content you share.
Remember
that increased traffic does not immediately translate to an increase in
conversion rates. You have to generate qualified leads off your site traffic.
The best way to do this is to implement tools or strategies that capture your
leads’ data when they engage with your content. Examples here are site surveys
or email sign-ups prior to content download.
4. Be
consistent. Plan and follow a content calendar.
Plan
your content and publish them according to schedule. Your goal is to keep your
Google “freshness score” high. Doing so tells search engines that your content
is timely and relevant.
5.
Before you write, research on trends.
To
remain fresh and timely, look at what’s trending. Online tools, such as Google
Alerts and Google Trends, alert you on trending searches. Get ideas from here
on what to put out for your target audience.
6. Mix
up your content.
Make
sure to include a complete mix of content for your content marketing. Different
types of content reach out to a variety of people. For instance, light funny
content can easily go viral. They catch attention and are easy to digest.
How-tos and user guides, on the other hand, are more targeted, and tailor-fit
for people further down your sales funnel.
7. Write
for real people.
You know
the trending keywords, and now you want to use them in your content. That’s a
great idea. Just make sure to use these keywords naturally. Don’t make the
mistake of stuffing your content with keywords. Search engines have become
smarter than they were a decade ago. Top rank in search results requires
relevance more than having so-and-so number of keywords in your content.
8.
Measure everything that you do.
Make
sure that you measure everything that you do in the name of content marketing.
There’s no one formula for content marketing strategy that works. It’s
different per business. And, you’re not going to get it right the first time.
So, measure your progress and tweak where necessary.
About
the Author: When
not underwater and trying to talk to fish, Roda Novenario talks sales and
technology as in-house writer at Tenfold,
a CRM Phone Integration company.
Author: Dominik Bryant
