By now you should have heard many reasons why you should put efforts into content marketing and possibly some advice on how often to produce content, how to share it, with whom to share it and what types of content to share.
You may be confused about how much to exactly invest into content marketing and who you should have produce it , manage it and measure its effectiveness. This is why you should consider a proper Content Marketing Strategy . Short of that, you should follow my 10 DO’s of content marketing.
Content marketing is becoming a centerpiece of SEO . Content marketing is becoming a centerpiece of social media marketing. If you’re serious about using the Internet to drive business, you need to be serious about Content Marketing.
I’ve been developing Content Marketing Strategies for businesses around the world for the last 10 years. I’ve been managing content marketing programs for clients for the last 5. I have been involved in content planning for start ups, slow moving (to the web) manufacturing companies, branding agencies, search companies , accounting firms, you name it, I have seen it all when it comes to content marketing. I remember when a simple Blog went to a Vlog to info graphics to motion graphics to Virtual Reality.
No matter what business you’re in you need a strong content marketing program to drive online visibility and customer engagement on the Internet. In my many years of being a content marketer, I’ve seen all the good, the bad and the ugly in the world of content marketing. So now I’d like to share with you my Top 10 DO’s for effective Content Marketing Strategy. Read, enjoy and of course, share this with your social media circles.
The Top 10 Do’s of Effective Content Marketing Strategy
1. DO have a content marketing plan that details the types of content that aligns with your specific company position. This is directly related to your audience. You need to know what types of content your audience consumes to ultimately make buying decisions. A proper Content Plan designed for your business can get you there.
2. DO have the proper resources for producing all types of content. This is related to the people you have in content production. At my agency. Agent-cy, I continually invest in qualified content creators for my online brand and for our clients. You should vet content producers based on the types of content your business calls for – post content planning, of course.
3. DO have a content monitoring system in place before you start. It is critical that if you invest in content marketing, you can measure its impact in social branding and traffic drivers, as well as customer acquisition.
This ties into your social media strategy, where you should have a monitoring tool in place to track content effectiveness across the board. For smaller businesses, Hootsuite is a sound choice; for larger companies, choose systems like Salesforce’s Social Studio. Read my interview on ClickZ.com with Symantec Director of Social Media, Charles Treadwell, on how they use Social Studio.
4. DO take the time to review automated content marketing tools. You may notice on the right side of my website a featured called RECOMMENDED CONTENT. I am utilizing a great tool called Brightinfo which lets me suggest content based on site user behavior. Further, it allows me to understand what content is the most read.
5. DO invest in proper visual content. Whether that is custom infographic, custom motion graphics, professionally produced videos or illustration, visual content that is strong has a better chance of engagement. For an example, see my H ow to Hire A Social Media Trainer Info graphic I created to help Marketing Directors and Hiring Directors understand the proper qualifications and experience for hiring a B2B Social Media Trainer.
6. DO create content based on customer demand. Again, this is where proper research of your customer’s online content consumption behaviors come in handy.
7. DO have the proper mix between original content, guest content, and third party content. This is the real art of content marketing. Learning how to promote, while promoting others, sharing proper opinions and adding value to your ecosystem is the key for content mix effectiveness.
8. DO invest in proper content marketing training. Training can be as light as a day on Blogging to as intensive as ongoing internal team training on sell able content. I train companies in all of these areas so that they can build strong content teams.
9. DO realize that original content can come from anyone on your team. Your employees may become your best content creators, with a little bit of training. They know the company culture and needs of your customers.
10. DO have a content management approval system in place before starting on content marketing. Just like you have an approval process in place for what goes on your web site, you should do the same with any piece of content you share in social media.