23 Dec Content is King: Content Marketing Tips
There is no denying that consumers can now very easily switch off when it comes to the traditional world of marketing. So for those of us in marketing, we need to evolve our communications to be more engaging.
So let us introduce you to the world of content marketing.
The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
So ask yourself, are you creating enough content and using the right distribution channels?
Here are some critical content marketing dos and don’ts:
- Create a strategy: Start by outlining your goals, deadline and process.
- Don’t be a salesperson: Content marketing should be used to educate, entertain and inspire buyers to take an action. Doug Kessler from Velocity recently wrote a post and what resonated with us was his point on transparency — Doug shared these insights, “we exist as marketers to help sell something, so embrace it, but leave the used-car salesman act at home. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and do your best to make it valuable to them. Make what you have to say compelling, enlightening, even inspirational. People want to feel inspired, to be that hero that brings a new solution to their workplace. Make them understand why it should be your solution”.
- Make it social and shareable: Users love sharing great content – and when they share it, they actually get more out of it themselves. Give your visitors the tools to do just that by integrating social sharing buttons. Don’t forget to share your content via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ to spark conversations and increase consumer engagement.
- Design is Important: There is no doubt that great content will keep visitors coming back for more, but what about the look and feel of your blog and the site that houses it? Besides looking pretty, your site needs to be easy to navigate. Good design leads the viewer’s eyes from one area to the next and highlights key messages along the way.
- Use multimedia: Content marketing isn’t just tied to blogging. It now spans an ever increasing number of form factors — everything from traditional data sheets, case studies and videos; to podcasts, tweets and Facebook posts. Make sure you change it and give your users a well-rounded experience. People interact with your brand across multiple channels, and the more opportunities you give them to interact with you, the higher chance you have of getting them to share what you produce and maintain engagement.
Here is a great pin we found on Pinterest that sums up content marketing up really nicely:
