How To Leverage the Latest Content Marketing Trends
A well-planned content marketing strategy can bring significant growth for your business online. This includes combining social media, search engine marketing, and blogging for more leads and sales. Original articles that meet the needs of your audience combined with the right connections are just the beginning to a successful strategy.
According to a study by Kapost®, “Two thirds of B2B marketers say content is fuel across all channels, including events, social, demand generation, etc.”
It’s more important than ever for businesses to improve on the quality of their content in order to effectively increase brand awareness. Doug Kessler, Creative Director & Co-founder of Velocity, said in an article and podcast on Content Marketing Institute that, “a tidal wave of crappy content that will cause audiences to raise their barriers, shutting out high-quality content along with the dreck.”
Over the next year content creators will be focusing more on quality rather than quantity beginning with authentic marketing on social media, as shown in this statistic on the Content Standard blog:
Your leads and customers are passing over unremarkable content, which is especially a growing trend on mobile devices. In order to attract a larger audience you need to provide exceptional, quality content that reaches your audience on their level, and appeals to their needs and desires in a meaningful way. Here are several key methods to use when planning your content marketing strategy for the new year:
Focus on storytelling – One way that content stands out is through videos that speak directly to a viewer’s emotions. Visual storytelling that includes both video and images has proven to attract a wider audience, and garners 40 percent more responses than text according to Newscred. They recommend choosing images that an audience can relate to, like this example from Nike, who posted this picture on Instagram of Luis Felipe Diaz Vasquez, who has been paralyzed since the age of 6, yet pursued his dream of weightlifting:
Connect with your community – With the recent rise of live streaming with tools like Periscope, Google Hangouts, and live video on YouTube, businesses can show a more personal side to their audience and communicate with them right away, which can build more trust and desire to know more. Marketing expert and CEO of iSocialFanz, Brian Fanzo, stated on the Superheroes of Marketing podcast, that “Customers and potential customers crave a behind-the-scenes look into businesses, and this real-time sharing fits the bill perfectly.” Fanzo recommends to “think like a fan,” and that through a great strategy and brand story you can provide something that people want. “Show the store before it opens,” he said. “The hard-working employees no one sees when they come through the door, fun interactions at lunch or in the break room.”
Adopt new SEO strategies – Search engine marketing isn’t going away anytime soon, but the way businesses optimize their content has changed significantly over the last couple of years as social media and conversational search has influenced algorithms. This means that instead of focusing on a few key terms, content should include a mix of topics or phrases that come out of keywords. Google Adwords provides a great starting point for this, in addition to analytics and research on blogs and in social media. Fresh, original long-form content will also attract more readers and better search engine ratings as reported in a recent study by Backlinko:
Reconnect through email marketing – If your customer service has lagged over the last year part of the problem might be a lack of communication and consistency with your subscribers. Try changing the format and provide something of value such as a free eBook, report, special promotions, and exclusive announcements. By customizing your communication you can tailor your messages to your target market and show a personal interest in what they need from your company.
Include paid advertisements in your marketing mix – Make a plan in your advertising budget to invest in targeted ads this year. This is still a great way to bring more visibility and sales, and can now be done through Google and social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. An enticing offer can go a long way in building your community who you can continue to nurture and grow through other marketing strategies.
The key to lasting success in content marketing is to be aware of your business’s ROI each month, which can include your blog subscribers, fan base on social media, content sharing statistics, clicks on links, etc. Google Analytics, which is free, can provide valuable insights into all of the data in addition to analytics from social media and management tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social.
As your business grows its brand message online keep in mind that mobile and interactive content will continue to be a driving force for your community, with an increasing demand in authentic and useful information that provides an answer to their needs, wants, and desires. Use Video and high-quality images that speak to your niche, which will garner more leads and sales.
Susan Gilbert
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