By now, we’re all sick of articles proclaiming that search engine optimisation and content marketing is essential for businesses. They always go on and on about the potential advantages and very, very rarely offer any practical advice on how to set up and manage your business’ content marketing strategy. For those articles that do actually offer steps to take, they are normally limited to looking at your titles and making sure you’re up to date on social media.
And what’s the result? A landfill of click-bait headlines that don’t offer any kind of practical advice – sure, they look good from the outside, but as soon as you’ve clicked on the alluring title the content is weak, uninformative and just generally shabby. Most content marketers are great a clogging up our Twitter feeds and inboxes, but it takes a special SEO Agency to offer advice that you can act on today.
When Content Marketing Works, It Really Works!
If you follow the best practices for marketing your business with engaging, informative content, it can be a great way to build relationships with your customers and share real knowledge without having to pitch your products or services. Perhaps that’s where the biggest problem lies – too many marketers and businesses still think that great content equals great sales, right from the get-go.
When we start to work with any business, particularly smaller businesses, start-ups and SMEs, we always take the time to explain that content marketing’s primary goal isn’t just another form of advertising. Aside from the search engine optimisation benefits, great content is only successful when it engages the reader; when it empowers, advises, educates and actually excites the viewer.
Great Content Marketing Tells A Story And Builds Relationships
Here’s the thing – people tend to mistake content marketing with publishing a few blog posts on their website. Whilst that’s a step in the right direction, it’s like saying that drinking a Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day makes you Irish.
Brands and businesses need to consider the big picture; step back from the individual pieces and focus on the whole. If each blog post, article or press release is a brush stroke, then the overarching content marketing strategy is the masterpiece hanging in the Louvre; it can take a long time to get there, but it is definitely worth it.
How Do I Get Started With Content Marketing?
We’re glad you asked!
The first step in your content marketing process is, simply, to change the questions that you’re asking yourself. Instead of asking yourself “How can I make more sales?” consider replacing it with “What does my audience need?”, “What do they want?” or “ How can I help my audience?”
Now, we know that’s easy to say – however, it really can be that simple when getting started with your online marketing. Remember that you are writing to engage and advice someone, not just to try and sell yourself, your business and your products/services.
Engage with customers over social media, encourage them to comment on your articles and offer “How To...” guides and informative content instead of jumping on the “Why You Need To Buy Our Industry-Leading...” bandwagon. It can be a good idea to put yourself in your customers’ shoes, particularly if you’re hoping to get your content shared across social media.
Content Marketing Tools To Make The Most Of In 2016!
If you’re certain that you want to take on your content marketing strategies yourself, then you’re going to need access to the very best tools and services available online. Digital marketing is getting harder and harder all the time, as the best writing and advice is often submerged in the deluge of low-quality content that is produced every day.
- CodeFuel – This tool offers engagement solutions to keep users on your site for longer. Not only will this service take an in-depth look at your user retention, but it will also support you in the delivery of relevant, brand-focused content through focused searches and native ad-placement.
- ClearVoice – This service combines popular and completely flexible workflow software with a built-in marketplace that brings the branding, publishing and creation communities together in one place. This service connects top writers with companies that need top content, according to your brand’s budget, timeline and narrative voice. The only issue with ClearVoice is that it can often offer a substandard service when compared to a professional and experienced SEO Agency.
- Curata – If you’re struggling to create content to the point that it is really damaging your campaign, then you need to make the most of this tool. For those marketers who are struggling to create and publish high-levels of quality content, Curata can help to create content inspired by relevant information from across the world.
Curata draws from hundreds of thousands of sources across the internet, and offers data-driven insights to identify which content resonates most with your audience. We’d advise that all the content you publish needs to be completely unique and even if it is inspired by another article you saw, it still needs to be written from scratch. The issues with content adoption like this, is that it can often damage your SEO efforts – negating one of the major benefits associated with creating great content in the first place. - OutBrain – One of the biggest problems that we’re coming across more and more often, is that people are creating great content – they just don’t know how to get it in front of the right people. The user-friendly platform, OutBrain, can drastically amplify your audience for pretty much any piece of content you create – this could include anything from a blog post to an infographic or even a video.
Unfortunately for many smaller businesses, this is a pay-to-play alternative, but it’s a sure-fire way to build a bigger audience for your content. Once you’ve gotten a large audience, there’s no reason you couldn’t stop using this service and continue to grow your audience naturally! - BuzzSumo – If you’re looking for an easy way to identify which online outlets and influencers are getting the most attention in your industry, then BuzzSumo is for you. Using this analytics-driven software, you can easily discover which content works best for a topic and which appeals to your audience the most.
If you’re really focusing on your social media marketing, you can even compare content shares on a range of social media sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. By combining this information with what you already know about your audience can create unstoppable, supremely-focused content.
The Strongest Content Marketing Tool Of All...
If you’re fortunate enough to have your own, in-house content creation team, then they are definitely going to be your strongest asset for digital marketing. By ensuring that they are up-to-date with the latest developments in the search marketing world, that they understand your brand identity and your audience intimately and that they are making the most of the best tools available, you can really start to enjoy fantastic benefits from their efforts.
Even then, most business can benefit from their team receiving the very best in digital marketing training from a team of professionals, even if you aren’t ready to hand over your online advertising to an external source.
Of course, there are incredible advantages to outsource your copywriting to a professional team with many years’ experience. It is important that you are confident in the direction that your business is going and that any decisions you make are driven by data, rather than personal opinion.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today on 0118 380 0203. Alternatively, you can email any questions or concerns that you might have regarding the hiring of an SEO agency to our team today, and we’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible!