4 ways to build a strong content marketing strategy for your brand
Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
The essential element of any digital marketing campaign and the all-round champion of getting your brand out there is content. But, the problem is that so many brands and companies have just started capitalizing on content yet, and have not started exploring just what content can do to bring more customers in.
So, are you one of these companies? Have you had no idea where to start with your content? Well, we can help. We examined a few companies’ practices to find out just how to start a content strategy and build it into a lucrative marketing essential. From creating a strategy, to the essential elements of it, to actually rolling it out, we thought we would look at what you need to know!
Focus on educational content
We have been asked repeatedly what should be focussed on with regard to content marketing, and the first place where most companies start going wrong, is the type of content that they are creating. The fact is, if your customer is not learning something from your content, especially about your products, industry, company and what you are doing, you are wasting your time.
Your content needs to be educational, informative and give something the customer can take away. Think about it like this. If you are an insurance provider, for example, you will want to provide educational information to your clients about insurance, cars and finance. In this way, you can establish yourself as the authoritative brand in the industry, and the customer will want to come back to you to find out more.
This is where we believe that every company should have a growth marketing blog. With the blog, you will be able to share crucial information about your industry, top tips, guidelines, and useful how-to’s that your customer can keep coming back to to learn something and start developing trust with your company.
Make use of content tools and technology
The great thing about digital marketing, and the current ease of digital, is that most of what you need is at your fingertips. And, what is more, there are usually a few different options for your needs and budgets. So, if you are just starting out, you can get tools and platforms that can automate a lot for you, and choose a budget that works for you.
From email platforms like Mailchimp that allow you to create and send email to your database en masse from one dashboard, to tools that manage your social media, there are a plethora of options. You are also able to use platforms that actually help you streamline your content strategy and help you build content. Take a look at a paragraph generator, for example. These help you create and build up content that you can then share from your channels.
You are then able to use tools like Google Analytics, and even the channels themselves to monitor how the campaigns are doing. How many opens did your mails get? You can gather data and information and use it all to plan future strategies.
Keep SEO in mind at all times
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash
The common mistake that people make with SEO is that they think that it is a once off exercise that they have to do, and they can move on from there. This is incredibly short-sighted, and we encourage all of our brands to regularly do keyword research on their industries.
As much as you want certain keywords for your site, you will need to keep abreast of what your customers are searching for, and what is trending when you are creating your marketing content. So, if you are an insurance company, for example, you will want words like car insurance, home insurance and affordable insurance. But, what if there is a new traffic law coming in, or what if there is a brand new car with heightened safety features that people are talking about? You will want to capitalize on that!
So, keep checking what is trending. It is also worth your while to create a content calendar that takes in mind seasonal, monthly and annual celebrations. Think about it, with holidays, religious observances etc., people will be moving more, so you will want them to consider insurance over that period. Keep keywords top of mind at all times.
Share. Share. Share.
We have touched on social channel marketing like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram as well as your email tools. But, let’s look a bit further than that. Affiliate programmes are another great way of getting your content out there, and even more than that, being placed in front of highly targeted audiences.
Take time building relationships with media partners, micro-influencers and taking out paid ads. The problem with a ton of companies out there is that they are afraid of spending money on advertising and that is where they fall short. If you need to pay someone to share some content for you, do it. Take out paid ads. Boost your social posts. Pay a well-chosen micro-influencer to share your content and your brand.
The bottom line
Don’t be scared to spend some money on marketing. But, in saying that, do your research and make sure you have an ROI for the spend. Your marketing strategy will need to pay off with what you are putting out!
