Post by Savannah Marie of Mixios.
Forget about PayPal and apps – content is the new online currency.
Website owners still use display ads and emails to generate sales, but they also rely on blogs, white papers, and other intangible assets to attract attention and generate authority in their industry.
As a result, their marketing strategies are focusing more and more on unique content production.
People rarely happen to stumble on great content – they come across it thanks to carefully crafted strategies on the part of the creators.
If content marketing is part of your business strategy, here are seven tips to doing it right.
Set a Specific Goal
If someone asked you why you’re creating content, the answer can’t be, “To have content on the web.” That just makes it something to do.
- What do you want to happen after your content is up?
- Who do you want to respond?
- How do you want them to respond?
Your goals determine how you produce and share content, so set a lofty but realistic goal for your strategy.
Do Your Research
Everyone has a blog – which ones are your target audiences reading? Are your favorite topics relevant to the online universe?
As you map out your content strategy, find out what’s popular among readers. Look at keywords, blog topics, formats and other elements of great content and implement them into your blog.
Keep doing research as your strategy moves forward – you never know what people will want six months from now.
Manage the Details
When do you want to publish content? How often? What kinds of formats work best for your target audiences?
If you’re going to reach your goals, you need a plan for creating and distributing content. Keep track of your schedule with a content calendar, and create a library of resources where writers can find topic ideas.
Hire a Great Team
Even if you were one of the five people in the world who can design and write and analyze and manage online content, you still only have 24 hours in your day. Find the right team to help you.
While it’s best to put one person in charge of each task, you’ll get more mileage out of multi-talented people.
For instance, one person might be in charge of writing content, but could pitch in if the social media expert is unavailable or overbooked.
Choose the Right Distribution Channels
A Facebook page is perfect for a video about hair accessories, but not for SaaS platforms.
One publication could be great for reaching customers, while another would put you in touch with influencers. It takes too much time and money to publish content everywhere, so use your research to find the best places to publish, advertise, or share your content.
Integrate with Other Strategies
If you think content marketing is separate from SEO or social media, you won’t get far in any of them.
In fact, your content marketing strategy should dovetail with other marketing plans.
After all, social media will pay a big role in distribution and research, and SEO pays a big role in other aspects, including the important final step.
Measure, Improve, Measure Again
Marketers have a wide choice of tools to measure the results of marketing campaigns – use at least a few of them in your strategy.
Choose benchmarks that match your goals, including click-through rates and lead quality.
Once you measure your efforts, use the results to optimize your strategy and then measure again. Over time, you’ll see better performance – and return on investment – from each piece of content.
Since content has become a big business driver, you need to give your content marketing strategy the time and resources it needs. Follow these steps and you’ll have a solid start to a killer plan.
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