Content marketing is a strategic approach to promoting your business online, focusing on creating valuable, relevant and above all consistent content to attract your target audience. It’s not about selling – it’s about communicating with your customers and establishing a bond of trust. But whilst this can be an incredibly effective tool for growth, it’s a skill and it does take time to get it right. If you’re new to the world of content marketing, here are some steps you can take to go about putting together a coherent strategy:
Establish Goals: You will only be able to keep an eye on your progress and track your ROI if you know exactly what your content marketing goals are from the outset. Whether you want to bring in more leads, increase your website traffic or boost your social media following, all of the following steps should be tailored towards this.
Connect With Customers: You should remember that your content marketing strategy begins with making a personal connection, so make it social. For example, use social media platforms to start a conversation, draw attention to trends in the industry or simply offer an entertaining article. People are far more likely to be drawn to and want to read content that makes them laugh or cry. People are far more likely to share your content with their own followers if it resonates with them on a personal level.
Be Informative and Consistent: With your content, you should aim to make it valuable and to really tell your customers what they want to know. Think about common problems your clients might face, or particular trends that are of interest. Can you build an article or blog post around these? You will find that the more relevant your content, the more likely it is to interest your target audience. Also, be consistent: people tend to trust things more if there are no surprises. Make sure you update your content on a regular basis and don’t vary your tone too much. If you’re going for informal and it seems to be working, then stick to that as far as possible.
Make It Accessible: Ensure that your entire team is aware of the strategy you have set out and that it is easy to follow. This doesn’t just mean your marketing team (if you have one). All employees should be able to participate, whether that is sales, human resources, admin or anybody else. Encourage the use of social media to promote your key aims, for example, and welcome any suggestions or feedback that anybody may have.
Measure Your Success: Whatever your goals might be, make sure that you know how to track metrics so you can find out whether your strategy is working or whether it needs a tweak. If you’re not sure how to do this, think about hiring a content marketing expert for a short time. They will be able to show you how to measure your results accurately on a monthly basis.
Establish Goals: You will only be able to keep an eye on your progress and track your ROI if you know exactly what your content marketing goals are from the outset. Whether you want to bring in more leads, increase your website traffic or boost your social media following, all of the following steps should be tailored towards this.
Connect With Customers: You should remember that your content marketing strategy begins with making a personal connection, so make it social. For example, use social media platforms to start a conversation, draw attention to trends in the industry or simply offer an entertaining article. People are far more likely to be drawn to and want to read content that makes them laugh or cry. People are far more likely to share your content with their own followers if it resonates with them on a personal level.
Be Informative and Consistent: With your content, you should aim to make it valuable and to really tell your customers what they want to know. Think about common problems your clients might face, or particular trends that are of interest. Can you build an article or blog post around these? You will find that the more relevant your content, the more likely it is to interest your target audience. Also, be consistent: people tend to trust things more if there are no surprises. Make sure you update your content on a regular basis and don’t vary your tone too much. If you’re going for informal and it seems to be working, then stick to that as far as possible.
Make It Accessible: Ensure that your entire team is aware of the strategy you have set out and that it is easy to follow. This doesn’t just mean your marketing team (if you have one). All employees should be able to participate, whether that is sales, human resources, admin or anybody else. Encourage the use of social media to promote your key aims, for example, and welcome any suggestions or feedback that anybody may have.
Measure Your Success: Whatever your goals might be, make sure that you know how to track metrics so you can find out whether your strategy is working or whether it needs a tweak. If you’re not sure how to do this, think about hiring a content marketing expert for a short time. They will be able to show you how to measure your results accurately on a monthly basis.
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