Great content is the best SEO. Below are our keys to having an effective content marketing strategy. Internalize it and use it as a checklist/process when creating your content.
1. Understand Your Audience
Do your homework. It is essential that you know whom you’re writing for. To have an effective content marketing strategy, it needs to be targeted to the right audience. The internet and your on-line presence revolve around the simple concept of a network; you need to understand that network and the people you are dealing with. The better you know them, the better you can help them.
2. Ask Yourself What Information is Beneficial to Them
Now that you know whom you’re dealing with and whom you are trying to help; ask yourself what information will solve some of their issues. It’s about being helpful. As an expert in your field, you have to be able to pinpoint issues that your audience may face and provide them with solutions.
3. Deliver it Creatively (Engage Your Audience)
We’ve spoken about it before: Creating Quality Content at its core entails being creative and innovative. Now, I hope it goes without saying that if you will write, you better write well. The internet is being bombarded with second-rate content due to repackaged information and poor quality writing. To have an effective content marketing strategy, you must engage your audience. The information not only need be useful but enjoyable. We’re aiming for an all around good experience.
How you deliver it is of paramount importance and today we have loads of options:
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Infographics
- Social Media Posts
- Blog Posts
- Newsletters
Remember that ultimately this comes down to knowing your audience and their preferred form of information intake.
4. Make it Easily Shareable
This has less to do with your content and more to do with your webpage setup. Having social sharing tools built in to your website will make it easy for your audience to comment, like and share your content. Good webpages have all their social platforms built in to the page so their audience are only a click away. Also, as an example, this blog post will also be sent out through our twitter feed. Twitter is great social platform for sharing information with other likeminded readers; all it takes is a retweet.
5. Consistently Deliver
Just as you spend time learning about your audience so do they, with you. By consistently delivering quality content to your audience, you build your relationship with them. You have to consistently deliver quality content so they keep coming back. We don’t want any one hit wonders here.
If you post once a week, make sure you post at the same time each week. This is critical. If your audience knows you will post every Wednesday at noon, post every Wednesday at noon. Your audience is busy as well; they take the time to come read your posts so deliver them on time.
6. Engage in a Conversation with your Audience
What better way to get to know your audience than to engage in a conversation with them? This overlaps with number 4 in making your content easily shareable. First allow them the possibility to comment and share, and once they do, engage in a conversation with them. This is free feedback and it is an excellent way to gain insight in to the minds of your audience.
7. Adjust Content based on your Audience’s Feedback
Now this is where it all ties in and goes full circle once again. A properly oiled machine. The perfect scientific process:
- Ask a Question
- Do Background Research
- Construct a Hypothesis
- Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
- Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
- Communicate Your Results
(Scientific process from: www.sciencebuddies.org)
Now it’s not exactly the same but I hope you see where I’m going with this. If you’re lucky enough to have your audience engage in a conversation with you, do not take it for granted, it is gold. Valuable feedback from your audience is a gift. Not only will you see what they liked and disliked but you’ll also have a better idea of how to deliver better the next time.
Keeping this checklist and process in mind at all times will ensure you are moving in the right direction in building an effective content marketing strategy.
