In my last post we discussed how content marketing can drive an integrated marketing plan. Content marketing also can and should have a huge impact on your business’ search engine presence.
In addition, the messages used in your content marketing strategy can be used across other mediums, including social media and email marketing. But the benefits of a strong content marketing strategy extend much further with your customers.
Content Marketing…
Helps position brands as industry thought-leaders – Content marketing can help brands establish themselves as industry thought-leaders. Prospective customers don’t want to deal with sales pitches. But they will be much more receptive to recommendations from experts. Content marketing can help position companies and brands as thought-leaders who are providing solutions.
Help build a digital relationship between brands and customers – Opportunities for face-to-face sales interactions are becoming less and less common. While outside sales teams still exist, more companies are increasing their inside sales groups. With the boom of internet sales and e-commerce, sales reps are sometimes completely cut out of the sales process. Content marketing provides a means for companies to share thought-leadership, turning the brand into a trusted adviser and solving a pain point for customers.
Keep brands top-of-mind in between long touch points – For products that require more investment, there can be a long sales process. The time span between when a customer starts researching a product and actually purchases it can be weeks or months. Content marketing is a way for brands to keep regular, relevant content top-of-mind with their prospective customers.
Take Your Content Marketing to the Next Level
Now that you understand why you need a content marketing strategy, here are some tips to help level your efforts to all aspects of your marketing.
Start with Key Phrase Strategy
A well-planned key phrase strategy is at the cornerstone of effective content marketing. Determine what you want to accomplish with your content marketing. Are you looking for conversions, where you draw traffic to your website and then convert that traffic? Or are you looking for brand impressions, where your company is among others in broader general categories? If you’re looking to convert traffic, then long-tail, or specific key phrases should be used. If you are looking for branding impressions, then broad search terms are a good fit. Of course you can use a mix of both long-tail and broad key phrases. There are many tools out there to research key phrase search volume and competition. I personally prefer Google Keyword Planner.
Develop Content with Key Phrases in Mind
Once you have your key phrase strategy mapped out, you’ll want to develop an editorial calendar of the topics to be featured over the best online casinos next weeks or months. Develop content ideas that are in line with the key phrase strategy. For example, if you are a local automotive shop looking to increase sales of brake pad replacements, a blog post about how to improve the longevity of your brakes would be an effective content topic. The post will inherently contain information about brake pad replacements in Wilmington, N.C. In addition, customers will view your company as an expert on the topic and highly credible. While you are trying to sell brake pad replacements, you care about your customers and want your product to last as long as possible.
Keep your Audience Top-of-Mind
To create content that your customers truly care about, always keep their perspective top-of-mind. Draft content that is uncomplicated yet profound. Your content must be credible and believable. Stay away from grandiose claims. Back up any claims with expert sources, real-world examples or testimony. Don’t underestimate the power of emotion. You’re helping customers solve a pain point, so include emotional triggers where appropriate.
Plan for Compelling Graphics, Images or Video
Visual content, such as custom infographics or compelling photography, helps turn your content into something that truly sticks. The web is becoming more visual and graphics or images that deliver simple, credible or emotional messages will resonate with users. When sharing content on social platforms, strong visuals are essential to grab attention and encourage others to engage.
Incorporate into Other Marketing Efforts
Once you have your content published on your website, don’t stop there. Share it with custom social posts on your Facebook fan page, Twitter feed or Pinterest page. Use your content marketing strategy to drive the messages that you share on the social channels that are right for your business. If you send out regular email marketing messages, including callouts and links to your content can keep your contacts up-to-date. You can also use your content as a carrot for customers to sign up for your emails.
Help with Content Marketing Strategy
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help with your key phrase strategy or content marketing efforts, drop us a line at 910.681.0548 or send us an email.