Today, brands have a lot of competition for attention, and it’s not just from other businesses. The internet presents literally billions of distractions to users every day, from funny videos on YouTube to intriguing blogs to pop-up advertisements. When you search any subject on Google, there are an overwhelming number of articles that meet your query. Considering how much information and entertaining content there is out there, how are you ever going to reach consumers above the noise? Well, luckily for you, there is a way. It’s called content marketing.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing involves creating content that brings value to your consumers, such as informative blogs, educational videos, and how-to guides. Content marketing is more about providing relevant and useful information to people rather than outwardly advertising your products. It is an effective strategy for companies of all sizes! Here are eight content marketing tips to help get your brand in front of consumers:
1. Know Your Target Audience
The best way to attract people to your brand is to know who you’re advertising to. Unless you get to know your target audience, you won’t craft content that will interest them. You can craft content that your consumers will love by creating buyer personas. Buyer personas are made-up profiles based on real data and people. For instance, a company targeting a younger audience might make a buyer persona like this: Madison Blake, 14, enjoys social media and fashion, values eco-friendliness. You can be as detailed as you like when creating buyer personas to base your content around. Here is a more in-depth version of Madison’s persona:
Madison Blake has been interested in fashion ever since she was a little girl. She’s always been drawn toward the bold and edgy. When she was 10, she saw Lady Gaga perform in an outrageous outfit. After meeting the celebrity backstage, Madison decided she’d found her role model. She loves creating over-the-top outfit designs while dreaming up ways to make the fashion industry more environmentally friendly.
2. Use Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves using specialized techniques to rank higher on Google. Most people will never look on the second page of search results, so it’s important to make sure your content ranks on the first one, or your target audience won’t be able to find you. There are many SEO techniques you can use, such as choosing keywords to include in your blogs, internal linking, guest posting, etc. A lot goes into crafting an effective SEO strategy, and it’s easy to harm your chances of ranking rather than helping them if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why it’s better to work with a digital marketing agency for SEO.
3. Publish Regularly
Being consistent is important. People expect regular content, and they don’t like being kept waiting. Create an editorial calendar and stick with it. You can start small with two posts a month, then work your way up to weekly ones if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Or you can hire writers to do all that for you!
4. Create Original Images
It’s easy to fall back on free stock images when publishing your blog or article. However, there are two compelling reasons not to use stock images. One, it isn’t as good for SEO. Google is more likely to rank websites higher that create their own custom photos and graphics. Two, creating custom images is a great way to get backlinks. Backlinks occur when another website links to your content. If you create informative, shareable graphics, websites might start linking to them. This establishes your online authority and tells Google you deserve a higher ranking!
5. Use Data to Improve Your Strategy
Data and content marketing go together. By using analytical software, you can see which of your blogs get more engagement, which pages of your website perform better, and how much of your content actually converts leads into paying customers. Don’t be discouraged if your content doesn’t perform well at first. Keep tweaking it based on the data and continue doing so until you’re satisfied with your analytics.
6. Reuse High-Performing Content
Has one of your blogs done an incredible job drawing in customers? Is there a particular headline on your site that you’ve noticed boosts click rates? If so, reuse them! You can readapt any of your content into pay-per-click ads and social media posts to get even more traffic and engagement.
7. Stick to Your Brand’s Voice
We mentioned consistency in posting above. But being a consistent poster isn’t enough. You also need to be consistent when writing in your brand voice, which is your unique style. Depending on your brand, your content will be humorous, educational, edgy, or any other adjective that fits your company. But you can’t be a million things at once. Stick with one style of writing, or there will be a disconnect between your content and your brand. Also, make sure to keep your brand voice consistent across all of the platforms you post on.
8. Go Long
Longer content performs better on search engines. The top search results usually feature articles that are more than 2,000 words long. Thus, you should be in-depth when covering topics. Just be careful not to add in fluff to reach a certain word length. If you’re going to write long-form content, make every sentence count, or it won’t be valuable to your readers.
Get Content Marketing Assistance Today!
Content marketing isn’t easy. It requires a lot of consistent effort to get you where you want to be, and you won’t see results right away. Because content marketing requires so much focused effort, it’s best to hand the work off to a digital marketing team. Our professionals at ASAP Marketing can create content for your company that engages users and boosts your conversions. Contact us today for assistance!