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Content marketing is one of the most important functions of blogging, as this growing approach to advertising drives traffic, leads, and sales directly from your website. More and more businesses are turning to content networks such as Twitter and Facebook to spread the word about their products and services.
By having people share and discuss your content on social media platforms, you’re able to reach an enormous audience. Statistics show that 92% of consumers who read company reviews follow a business account on LinkedIn, and 68% of those same consumers save the article on Amazon!
You can also create topical content channels to connect with others in your industry. This way you can cover topics that are related to your target market.
The best part about content channelizing? You do it without putting much effort or money into it. Because it's relevant to your topic, whatever you put out there will get read and shared. That means hundreds of people may see something written on someone else’s site - sometimes even ending up on the top of Google search results.
It’s impossible to tell which methods will work and which won’t, unless you try them out. Data helps make this process more efficient. Let’s look at an example.
Say you send out an email campaign. How many people do you think will open the email or click on the link in the subject line? Probably not too many, if any. Yet you still want to release that email template filled with info about your brand and links to content like articles (blog posts) or images.
Content is key when it comes to digital marketing because it establishes trust with your readers. Also, without content, there is no reason for anyone to continue reading your emails.
Let’s say you have a very targeted email list of people who are interested in what you have to offer. And let’s say you perform web design well enough to be a local go-to guy. You may decide to run a quick experiment using direct mail to see how well your designed message matches the worded messages inside your emails. Based on previous experiences, you know that text message campaigns tend to fail. They can seem spammy and irritating to users.
However, with good old fashioned written words, people feel much better connecting with the content conveyed in the email. Direct mail gives its recipient the chance to read through the message before they opt to respond. This way, they can be sure that it is something worth reading
If you’re going to do content marketing, there’s a good chance that you’ll be investing in creating quality content.
Your content should aim to inform and educate your target audience about topics they care about.
You can use other people’s success stories or predictions as starting points, but what makes your content unique is how you apply these lessons to your context and goals.
That way, your content will have more impact and be more engaging than content created by someone else.
By being informed and educated, you are also showing that you're willing to learn and work hard, which boosts your trustworthiness as an author.
Your content should help them solve their next business problem, whether that is finding new resources, tools, or information.
The better you understand your audience, the better you'll be at choosing fresh approaches to content creation. You'll take bits of advice from those who've been around a while and improve it with things you learned recently.
Finding out what problems your audience has and giving them solutions is one of the most important aspects of content marketing. Let's look at some examples.
If you’re not making it easy for people to find your content, they won’t share it. This is because they want to make sure their friends will like it.
There are lots of ways to do this, but the most common one is by using tags. Tags can be a word or phrase that defines what the piece of content is about, such as “health tips”, or they can be index terms (quotes) in inverted files (such as pdfs).
When someone wants to find out more information related to these tags, they will search for it. By having an appropriate tag or metadata field with all of its corresponding contents, searching becomes easier.
And, when people are able to easily locate freely available content, they will also become more likely to use and buy products and services from your brand. It makes the content closer to them so they feel like it is a part of their world.
Find out as much information about your customers as possible. Whether you have a retail business or are just trying to generate leads, learn all that you can about your current market and likely future market.
You will need to understand what they expect from you and how you can offer them something new and better. Who are their competitors? What do they offer that is different or better? These are things that you should ask yourself.
Do not be afraid to ask questions. People love sharing stories about themselves and taking an interest in others.
This helps build relationships and trust which is very important when getting people involved with your brand.
More importantly than building relationships and trusts, it’s going to help get people engaged with your content.
If you write a compelling story that makes your audience laugh or cry, they will want to read more.
Content marketing focuses on creating quality content that appeals to readers and fans. It’s writing good articles, reviews, podcasts, videos, etc. That appeal way beyond selling them anything.
The truth is that high-quality content offers convenience for the reader. If there are no articles of certain types, then they may feel like they are missing out by having to read less.
That could hurt your sales numbers because users might not know they can buy products through your website. More buyers mean more conversions, which means more money in your wallet.
Blogging is an excellent way to connect with your audience. However, it’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day routine of blogging without taking time to think about the bigger picture.
You may be posting several articles per week, but are you building relationships that will last months or years? You may have content marketing ideas popping into your head, but do they really match what your target audience wants?
LinkedIN says its goal is to help people make changes before they wake up in the morning. That’s why it’s important to invest not only in creating great content, but in developing quality connections with other bloggers and audiences.
By putting yourself out there, you’re effectively reaching dozens if not hundreds of individuals. And while some might question how valuable these various links are, you need to remember that all websites start with a zero.
There’s no need to overwhelm your site with business information just because someone linked to you. Research each link carefully to ensure you don’t miss any critical info.
And most importantly, let go of the stress from trying to compete with others. Nobody is immune from competition – including you.
After you have launched your content marketing campaign, there are various ways to measure its effectiveness.
The type of content you create will play a major role in how you track these metrics. For example, if you write an article per month, then you can easily see results from that one piece of content.
If you’re still not sure whether or not your content is effective, take this simple test.
Do people who read the article end up making changes to their lives due to reading it? Does the article provide a quick fix or solution to the problem it talks about? If not, then your content may need some updating or replacing.
There are several different ways to go about doing this. You can ask yourself questions like these:
Did anyone close to you notice a change to your lifestyle? Was there a difference between before and after you made any improvements?
These questions dig deeper into what works for you and doesn’t work for you. A lot has changed since you were younger (for better or worse), so don’t be afraid to give yourself a chance to get back in shape.
It all starts with trying new things, having confidence in yourself and others, and being open to new experiences. Most importantly, start taking care of yourself now!
It’s impossible to build a reputation as a go-to person if you don’t stay consistent in your efforts. When things get hectic, people lose track of how much time it takes to do what they want to do.
It’s easier to keep up with new projects when you have plenty of time. But now I am asking you to choose between them and my business.
I believe consistency is one of the most important qualities someone can have, especially in this day and age. People are looking for trust and reliability.
Consistency is also an investment strategy that works well in financial markets but can be difficult to implement into marketing strategies. Over several years, investors learn about their brokers and what they offer.
They understand their strengths and weaknesses and pick a plan that suits those skills. Investors who consistently demand more from themselves will always achieve better results.
That is why I am so passionate about investing; its benefits are real, no matter what level you're at. Consistent effort is required on your part. That being said, good things come out of demanding habits.
Facebook is by far the most popular way people start conversations about things that matter to them. It’s also a very personal platform where you have access to someone’s entire life story via their profile.
You can create interest in your brand before they even know you exist by being proactive with your own Facebook page. This shows that you are willing to invest time in building a relationship over time.
You can use Twitter and other tools to promote yourself, your product, and your message. But at its core, Twitter is a conversation. And the best way to connect with others and find out what matters to them is by having a conversation with them.
This is why, when possible, try to interact with followers and avoid preaching at them. People like it when you take the time to ask questions or make comments that add value to their lives.
And one of the biggest reasons companies struggle to generate traffic is because they don’t share content that’s worth sharing. More often than not, everything you do online should be focused on getting more traffic to your website.
Content marketing is a great way to educate customers and increase word-of-mouth communication. When we talk about content marketing, we’re talking about written (not digital) content created with the intent of attracting new visitors and educating existing users.
