4 Secrets to a Winning Content Marketing Strategy
Nobody said content marketing was easy. Creating compelling, interesting, lead-generating content in the form of blogs, white papers, ebooks and social media, day after day after day, is no easy feat.
One could say it’s a huge challenge.
But it’s not rocket science, either. And the payoff is immense.
A good content marketing campaign can:
- Drive traffic.
- Build authority.
- Generate leads.
- Act as the hub for social media.
With a few insider secrets, you can put your business blog on the map and secure your position as an local or industry leader.
Don’t believe me? Think you don’t have the time? The skill? The raw stuff?
All you need is this simple road map.
1. Focus on process
Kickstart content creation by brainstorming a list of ideas. Write down the questions clients or customers ask you over and over. List the problems your product solves. Identify the objections customers have.
Then, map out a publishing plan. How often will you blog? Once a week? What purposes could ebooks serve? What content can you plan on repurposing?
Every so often, take your next set of five, 10 or 15 blogs, and create outlines for the ideas. When it comes time to write them, the outline will speed up the process.
Always work in advance, so you have a stockpile of content to post in case you run into roadblocks.
2. Create compelling content
Leave your hard-earned sales tactics at the door when you create content. Content marketing requires a different approach, one that’s more subtle and consumer-friendly. Essentially, it’s a conversation that takes place in the webosphere between you and your customers. In this space, you want to be your customers’ best friend and advisor.
Before you can create content, you must first get to know your customers. What do they want out of life? What are the dreams and worst nightmares? What are their struggles? Then, figure out how your product or services serves the customer.
With this knowledge in hand, you can get started creating content. Write for people first, numbers second. What does this mean exactly? Avoid writing content solely for the purpose of pleasing the SEO bots, as it may serve to generate traffic, but it won’t be the right kind of traffic.
3. Stand out from the crowd
What will set you apart from your competition, and every other blog out there that’s targeting the same niche? It’s your unique approach to the problem, and your authority. These are the elements you need your blog to convey. Here’s how:
- Write authoritatively. Keep in mind that consumers are turning to you because they are novices in getting a mortgage, and they need your expert advice. Perhaps they don’t know anything about home improvement, so they’re searching for advice about how to choose hardwood floors. Don’t take the humble road here; you’ll just get lost in the crowd. Consumer need your expertise, so don’t be afraid to be the expert!
- Don’t write just to write. Always write something of value for consumers. Before you write a blog, ask yourself, is this worth writing? Does it offer my customers value?
- Be a credible source of information by citing studies in the industry, quoting experts in your field, and using case studies and testimonials to prove your points.
4. Don’t hide your light
With all of this great content you’re producing, you need a plan for distributing it. Essentially, a plan to spread your content across the web will shine a light on your business. The conversation you start on the blog can extend to other platforms, like an email list and in social media.
With the right approach, you can create a winning content marketing strategy that doesn’t suck the life out of you and steal your precious time. Put a few foundational building blocks in place first, and you’ll get your content marketing campaign off to a great start.
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