1. Create A Content Marketing Plan
A successful content marketing campaign begins with a good plan.
When we talk about content marketing, the first thing that comes to mind is blogging.
This isn’t bad, but with a content marketing strategy, it’s not just about creating a blog and starting to publish content.
Blogs are an important aspect of content marketing, but that’s not the end of the story. It is just one of the means to execute your content marketing plan.
2. Publish Evergreen Content
The first element of your plan is the type of content to be published.
For long-term success, you need evergreen content.
The evergreen content has the following characteristics:
- It is unique and original
- It is useful
- It is always relevant (it is not associated with a specific period, but it is relevant as long as you read it)
- It is complete, detailed and informative.
- Searchable: covers topics users search on Google
Evergreen content helps establish a strong online presence, and overtime also helps boost rankings on Google, which in turn generates more traffic.
3. Write For Users, Optimize For Search Engines
I know it’s a cliché to say it, but it’s the truth. When thinking about content, you must write for users and optimize for search engines.
I know that several people disagree with this approach, but let me explain why both are equally important.
Search engines have a purpose, to make users happy by answering their questions or queries.
If you only care about what people want to read regardless of what search engines can understand, at the end of the day you will post great content that no one will read.
On the other hand, if you think first about the users and the type of content they need and then optimize them for search engines, you have a win-win situation.
4. Build Topic Relevance
When you start posting content to your website or blog, make sure it’s related to your niche and area of expertise.
For many, this may be obvious, but some people are still wrong.
For example, if you’re running a tech blog, you shouldn’t blog about cooking just because you like it. No one will punish you for that, but the chances of making a profit from that post are minimized.
The best approach is to post related content that is in line with your site’s overall goals.
For example, if you sell coffee machines online, in addition to providing all the technical information about your products (specifications, photos, reviews, videos), you must also provide a blog with articles related to coffee (manufacture, drink, recipes, tips etc.)
5. Publish Thorough Content
When it comes to text content, like blog posts, several studies have found that long content (over 1500 words) ranks higher in search engines, and it is more shareable in social media.
The lesson we can learn from these studies is that it is better to publish a long and detailed post that covers all aspects of a topic, instead of publishing 2-3 smaller articles.
Since long content is more shareable on social media, this means that you’re not only fetching food to search engines, but also offering users what they want.
6. Publish Shareable Content
You need to search social media and find out what kind of content people like.
For example, fashion seekers may want to see more images and videos than text content. This means that you must adjust your content marketing strategy to meet this need.
Some ideas for content that can be shared and that are suitable for all niches are:
- Top 10 lists …
- The best of the lists …
- How …
- 10 ways to …
- Most popular forms …
- Top tips for …
7. Publish Content Consistently
In addition to providing accurate and up-to-date content, another tip you can take is to make sure you keep a consistent publishing schedule.
Having a predefined publishing schedule will help you better organize your time and also build a list of loyal followers.
Don’t forget that new content is also an incentive for:
- Search engines to visit your site
- Get more visits from your newsletter and RSS feed
- Get more visits to social networks
- Keep your regular visitors happy
8. Promote Your Content
Don’t wait for your potential customers to search to find your site, visit and buy your products.
When you post new content, you need to promote it so that it gets the attention it deserves.
There are several ways to promote your content without exaggeration and without risk. Therefore, the next immediate step after pressing the Publish button is to make a good promotion.
Your best bet is on social media because the results are extremely fast and immediate, but never underestimate the power of email and RSS.
9. Create Better Content Than Your Competitors
Content marketing is a great way to increase traffic and sales, but that’s just good news.
The bad news is that you are not alone and if you want your content to work well, it must be better than your competitors.
Before creating your content, search Google, Facebook, Twitter (or the network closest to your target audience) and analyze what type of content appears in the top positions.
Look at things like content size, type, quality, and format, and try to improve your content in every way.
Content that is no better than what is already ranked on Google has no chance of high rankings.
Therefore, it is better to spend more time and improve content than to rush to press the publish button and waste time.
Conclusion
Content marketing is important for all types of companies. The benefits of content marketing are many, and recent studies have shown that a large percentage of people (over 70%) prefer to read articles about a company than reading advertorials.
When designing your content marketing strategy, you must find the right balance between content creation, user satisfaction, and conversions.
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