Now consider what content fulfills the need of the user at each stage - you need to do a lot more than simply optimising pages for those terms.
2) Consider how your content will be delivered
Understanding who you are targeting and what their motivations are is a good first step, but there are more factors that will shape your content strategy.
What channels will be used to deliver the content?
“Content marketing” can often share the same space as “SEO” as there is a significant overlap with the two channels.
Using content to target people searching for particular search terms is a very effective approach as it always tries to satisfy an existing need. You know what keywords are being searched for and have a good idea of how to deliver content to rank for those terms.
But other channels such as social media or email marketing can be just as effective if you understand that you are no longer satisfying an existing demand, but inspiring demand from potential customers that are either earlier in their decision making journey or hadn’t considered you as a supplier.
Take this article. It will work well as a “SEO target” - it should rank on search engines for relevant terms and satisfy the needs of those searchers by effectively delivering some actionable points for marketing professionals.
In terms of goals, over time it should gather some inbound links and increase awareness of our brand which will help with our other marketing efforts. It might even encourage new clients to chat to us about an Umbraco website (quick pitch - Umbraco is REALLY powerful and a great tool for marketers!).
But what about the other channels?
If we were to email this full article, which is rather lengthy, to our existing clients, would it have the same effect?
Probably not - it’s a lot to digest and not something our clients might be looking for at this particular moment in time. Plus, if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t read most of the marketing emails that hit your inbox!
But, it is still relevant - typically our main points of contact with our clients are the marketing team and we offer flexible marketing support for many clients. There’s a good match there, which makes the article useful for clients who want to get started with content marketing.
The key point here is that context is important with content marketing. Think about how you will deliver your content and put the same effort into crafting it for the channel, as you do for the customer group.
3) What resources do you have to work with?
All too often ‘optimal’ plans never see the light of day because of a failure to consider how they will be implemented. Lack of resource, lack of time, lack of budget and lack of stakeholder buy-in can all result in a very dissapointed Marketing Manager!
These tips can help you get the most of your marketing resource as it’s entirely possible to get a lot from even a shoestring budget.
Get stakeholders on board
There’s a good chance you’re not a technical expert in your sector - as a marketing professional you’re supporting the activities of the wider organisation. Of course, you know your market and create great content for the industry, but that technical expertise and insight your colleagues have is gold dust!
Unfortunately, it can be tough to get people involved in marketing, let alone get them excited about it! But, it’s not impossible and if you can increase the cross-team involvement in your content marketing campaigns it can be really effective.
- Give them advanced warning. Simply saying “I need a blog post next week” probably isn’t going to give you the results you want.
- Be flexible on the requirements. Getting the key points from a technical expert is a good starting point and quicker to do than asking for a fully-crafted blog post.
- Establish a clear plan. Ensure it fits into everyone’s schedule.
- Keep an eye out for rising stars. Some of your colleagues will be enthusiastic and deliver great content. Make good use of them!
- Be sure to share your success. Lack of understanding about marketing is the main barrier to wider organisational adoption. Make sure your stakeholders understand the impact you’re making.
Stick to, and carefully consider your schedule
A content schedule or calendar is a great way of ensuring you are getting content out there for people to read. However, one trap we can fall into is thinking that we need to get lots of content out there regularly, when the quality of your content is way more important and valued than the volume of content you put on your website.
Consider how much of "content marketing" has been inherited from SEO. The idea of publishing content frequently has its roots in SEO. Base your plans on what's best for your business and your industry. A great blog post each month is better than 4 average attempts.
A lot can be gained from refreshing old content
You don’t always need to create something new to succeed. Improving and updating old content can be a great way to increase its value.
Look at what is successful and what isn’t. What’s driving hits or conversions? What’s not getting any traffic at all? Reviewing what’s doing well and not so well can make an impact on your business for the better.
We reviewed our content recently and found one of our old blog posts, 11 Great Ways to Finish Off Your Blog Posts wasn’t performing as well as it used to, so we decided to revamp it by adding fresh content and visuals and now it’s bringing in much more organic traffic.
Use external resources
Even with a small budget, it’s possible to get a lot from external suppliers. As with the other points here, it’s worth managing your expectations - you’re not going to get a stellar piece of content for £50.
But with the right preparation, you can find great copywriters and designers to follow your brief and that should get you pretty close to having a decent piece of content.
As with contributions from your colleagues or clients, the content might not be “publish-ready” right away, but with some polish it can be ready pretty quickly. This process is a much more effective use of your time.
The key point here is to focus the time and expertise available to you in the most productive ways possible. If you aren’t a great copywriter, then outsource it. If your colleague is too busy to write an article, then get some key points to brief a copywriter. Figure out the most effective use of everyone’s time and you’ll be a step ahead of the competition.
4) Tips for crafting effective content
Screw SEO. Your headline needs to capture your target audience.
If you write a great article but your headline is poor then it’s no use putting your content out there, you’re not going to gain any traffic or engagement.
While it is important to optimise your content for search engines, you also need to consider other channels as well. Will your title encourage people to click through to your website? How will it look when it’s shared on social media?
Successful publishers have the ability to grasp and gain an audience by writing well-crafted titles.
- Simple but powerful keywords - Draw the reader in, make them click on your article (avoid complexed PR jargon).
- Include numbers - People love list posts like our Top 8 Reasons to Love Social Media article because they enjoy predictability and is easier for the brain to process if your article is in step-by-step form.
- Competitor research - What are your competitors titles like? Do they encourage you to click-through? Take notes!
- Keyword research - Search terms and find keywords with the highest monthly volumes to aid your SEO.
Be sure to check out our 31 Great Headlines You Can Use Right Now article to get started on creating your catchy headlines.
Evergreen content will give you better ROI
“Evergreen” content continues to be useful and relevant over time (unlike news or viral content that may only have an appeal for a limited period of time).
This makes it a great content marketing investment as it will continue to bring value over time - if you can produce regular pieces of evergreen content that perform well, your ROI on marketing spend will be great. And your reports will look awesome!
Check out the landing page sessions for this single piece of content we created for a client:
Examples of evergreen content could be:
- Regular sales pages. They retain their function and relevance over time.
- How-to guides. Great sharable and linkable resources.
- Lists. Ultimate resource lists for a subject.
- Resources. For example, templates, code snippets, etc.
The difficulty is that many content marketers use this tactic. You need to be able to differentiate your content from theirs, and you do so by carefully targeting your content to your audience.
Don’t be afraid of long posts
Regular blog posts tend to range between 400-800 words but don’t be afraid to write a longer style post if you feel you have to.
Yeah, most people enjoy reading something short and simple, but a more detailed post can be beneficial to users who want to know more about a particular topic area or require a step-by-step guide.
Longer posts tend to rank on search engines for a broader range of long tail keywords too, so your content will drive more visitors.
If you have a lot to say on one topic but you’re not keen on writing a very long post, creating a series of curated posts may be a good option for you. A series of posts ensures you’re getting content out regularly and it’s useful to cover small topics in detail.
However, bigger isn’t always better. Be wary of simply padding out your content for the sake of it - this can actually have the opposite effect than intended.
Have a think about how effectively your content is satisfying the demand of your target audience - sometimes 300-400 words is plenty.
Make it personal
Don’t worry about using PR speak or jargon. More and more writers are personalising their content in order to connect with the reader even if they don’t come from a marketing background - and it works!
People want to read your content without getting bored and adding a bit of humour into the mix and keeping it chatty / informal works a treat in keeping users on your page.
Consider other content formats
Aside from writing your content, it’s also important to consider other content formats/themes.
Ask yourself, what else could I put out there other than writing style posts? You could share infographics, podcasts, video, slideshow, interviews and so on. Many people enjoy a mix of different content formats especially video and infographics because users find they can consume the information quicker and are easily shareable on social media.
Take time to source relevant images
If you haven’t taken your own blog photos, make sure you either get a professional to take some, or you can use stock image sites like BigStock. Many stock images can be said to be unrealistic or “cheesy” so it is important to do thorough research to ensure you get the best images to compliment your message and making it appealing to the reader.
You have control of how your content is positioned and perceived by your target audience. Take the time to ensure you get it right.
5) Some final tips for your content marketing efforts
- Your campaigns should be measurable. It’s easy to do. No excuse!
- Content is the fuel for other digital marketing efforts. Calling it a channel on its own is perhaps the wrong thing to do. Content greatly influences other digital marketing channels.
- 70% of content marketing should be spent on promotion, with 30% spent on creation. OK, those are arbitrary numbers, but you shouldn’t just create and hope for the best.
- Focus on promotional channels relevant to your audience. Content marketing isn’t a scattergun tactic - success comes from precision targeting.
- The Pareto Principle applies. Find the effective 20% and make the most of it.
- You probably have more resource available to you than you realise. Take a step back and figure out where you can extract value from your organisation.
