5 Tips for Content Marketing Success
Content marketing is imperative in the digital world. It provides an opportunity to create lead generation while establishing your brand’s expertise and culture. However, many business owners struggle with how to do content marketing effectively. If you are in this boat, here are five of the best content marketing strategies.
Understand Your Audience
Audience analysis is important in all forms of communication but particularly content marketing. Yet many businesses don’t stop to think about who their ideal customers are. Start by thinking about the groups that are most likely to want your product or service. Be as specific as possible. For example, “women over 30 who own a home” is more helpful than “women.”
If you aren’t sure of your audience, look at industry trends or describe existing customers. You may have more success noting types of customers you aren’t trying to target. Once you understand your audience, you can target content that is relevant for them.
Don’t Be Overly Sale-sy
The goal of content marketing is not to actively sell a product or service. Rather, you are trying to cultivate a relationship and brand image that will result in sales in the future. Perhaps the most common content marketing mistake businesses make is being overly sale-sy. This can turn off customers as it comes across as insincere.
It is perfectly reasonably to include a call to action at the end of content marketing. Encourage viewers to subscribe to your social media or click a link to learn more about a product. But the rest of each content marketing piece should be strictly informative. Establish yourself as a helpful expert rather than a pressuring salesperson.
Establish Your Brand
Building a brand is a core component of a successful content marketing strategy. Work to ensure that everything you generate is on brand. This includes things like generating the feelings you want associated with your business. If you are an attorney, you probably want to strive for a professional and respected tone. If you are a party planner, you may want the vibe of being fun and creative. Make your content represent this.
Another component of communicating your brand effectively lies in aesthetics. Things like the background colors in videos and images matching colors associated with your company logo can help. Having content polished and without errors is also important.
Follow Trends
When it comes to successful content marketing strategies, you want to follow trends. If you own a landscaping business, generate seasonal-related content that your audience will find timely. Are you an accountant? Start creating tax-related content in January. Make your content match what your audience wants to see.
If you don’t know what your audience wants to see, do some research. See what content competitors are writing. Check out industry trends. Use things like Google Trends to view the popularity of different search topics in your area.
Evaluate Your Success
Successful content marketing strategies require being able to see if you are having success. Establish a handful of key metrics to monitor. Pick what is most important to your business. Things like views, clicks, and shares can show you what content resonates while lead generation and sales metrics help show how content contributes to financial success.
There are many tools such as Google Analytics as well as various analytical tools within your social media accounts that can help you track success. Begin by picking a few different variables to monitor over time and use the data to inform your future content.
Final Thoughts
Effective content marketing may seem overwhelming at first. Taking small, informed steps can help you build a successful strategy. Start by integrating these five tips for content marketing success.
______________________________________________________
Mike Seals is a professor, analyst, and writer who enjoys exploring a wide array of topics. When he isn’t working, he is typically spending time with family, traveling, scuba diving,
Comments