How to Make Content the Cornerstone of Your Marketing Campaign
These days you can find hints and tips from Digital Marketing Content experts almost everywhere about how to improve your ‘content marketing.’
But when you break it down, what is content marketing? Isn’t it just marketing…with good content?
The reality is, good content is at the heart of any good marketing campaign, whether that’s email marketing, social media marketing, blogging, websites, LinkedIn articles – the list goes on.
Sadly, lots of businesses get their content really wrong…and then wonder why their marketing isn’t working.
Wouldn’t it be helpful if you had some hints and tips from a reliable Digital Marketing Content expert?
Sound familiar? If so, read on for some hints and tips on how to get your content marketing just right so that your customer engagement increases, and your online profile is raised:
Share your knowledge
Think about your online content and ask yourself; so what? If you’re not sharing something interesting, useful, relevant, new people will just switch off. Use your knowledge to your advantage and write content that piques people’s interest. Make that information shareable and your customers could end up doing your marketing for you!
Write consistently and regularly
So often we speak with businesses that produce a flurry of content, only to follow it up with one LinkedIn post a few months later. Post too much content and your readers will be put off, post too infrequently and they’ll simply forget you. That is why it is important to have a Digital Marketing Content strategy. Well-written, regular and consistent content is the key to engagement online – the more interesting content you share, the better.
Be visible online
The great thing about social media platforms is that there are thousands of communities out there that are easy to join and can really help in widening your audience reach. If your business is online you should be visible online; engage in other posts, collaborate with other businesses, make comments, start conversations and share content – you might just find yours is shared back.
Use content to build trust
Customers want to buy from businesses they trust, and if you lose that trust some people will boycott brands for a lifetime. It doesn’t have to be all about persuading your customers to believe in you – think about sharing honest reviews or video feedback from previous clients and customers to cement that trust. Having Trustpilot on your website for example can make you look more attractive.
Use bitesize content
In some instances, large bodies of work like e-books and whitepapers are useful to share, in other instances they will act as a turn-off. Think about your recipient and the platform you are on and break down your content into bitesize sections if appropriate – think short blogs, infographics, captions, even memes. Tailor your content and think outside the box.
Focus on quality
All too often we see businesses trying to get as much content out there as quickly as possible without considering the quality of the work they are sharing, let alone grammar and punctuation mistakes! Your content affects your reputation and customer engagement; it has to be top notch. Double-check, re-write, develop a Digital Marketing Content strategy, get someone else to do your copy if you need to, but always make sure your content is the very best it can be.
Tell a story
Great storytelling is at the heart of all good content. Don’t be afraid to use storytelling in your own content marketing to get your point across and make an impact. Case studies for example are a brilliant way of demonstrating your expertise and showcasing feedback from previous clients. Just always remember, this isn’t an excuse to talk about how great your business is, this is about what you can offer your customer.
Be honest
Customers are not interested in reading sweeping statements about how you can ‘cater to every type of business’ and ‘fix any issue’. Don’t just write what you think your customers want to hear, write what might be useful to them. If in doubt, ask yourself – is that really true? If you want to build solid, long-lasting connections, you need to be honest with your customer. Trust us, it will work in your favour.
See the funny side
Humour is a brilliant way of catching people’s attention, making them feel at ease and building relationships, yet it’s so often forgotten about in business content. Content marketing does not have to be dry, and lightening things up with a bit of humour every now and again can really make a difference. Be warned though, use sarcasm with caution; it is very easy to be misinterpreted in written content.
The upshot? Content really should be the cornerstone of every and any campaign, not just your ‘content marketing’. The trouble is, creating engaging, pertinent content is a real skill and not everyone can get it right. If that’s you, or you simply don’t have enough time to be producing and delivering content regularly across all your online channels don’t panic – at soVision IT we’ve been helping our clients for years to use content to their advantage and build up their online profile. If you’d like to know more about our Digital Marketing Content experts just get in touch, we’re always happy to talk.