Content marketing is the new in thing amongst businesses, individuals and marketers. This could be because, over the years, people have witnessed the wonders it has done for brands.
The emergence and pervasiveness of content marketing has disrupted traditional forms of marketing. In order to stay ahead and move with the times, it’s important that professionals understand the ins and outs of this form of marketing and how to apply it to their respective businesses.
The good news is that although it can take time and strategy, it isn’t a deeply complex task. Here are six ways that you can improve your content marketing efforts in the below article.
#1 Know Your Audience
Your audience is essentially the people that you’re marketing to and that will help you achieve marketing success. Seeing as they’re the core reason for marketing, knowing them inside out should be one of your primary goals. If you’re wondering how you can know your audience better, begin by doing market research, Also, note that this type of research should be ongoing, as audience interests and needs are constantly changing.
To carry out market research, first look for free market data. There are a number of places that you can find information on your chosen market if you look. The Office for National Statistics, for instance, can give you information on people’s spending habits, demographics, and price changes.
Your goal should be to find as much information as possible that will tell you about who your audience is and how to communicate with them in a way that they’ll listen. This can prevent you wasting time and resources in pursuits where you aren’t reaching your customers.
#2 Look at your Competition
Knowing your competition and making a note of what they’re doing right and wrong is another effective way of improving your content marketing. There are always opportunities to learn, especially from those who may be excelling beyond where you are.
Do a little eavesdropping and find out which of their content is performing best. Assess whether this may be because of topics they choose, the images they use, or their tone. Knowing these things can give you both ideas as well as hints regarding what you need to work on.
#3 Work on Your Writing Skills
Strong writing skills aren’t something that is developed overnight. As with any skill you want to master, it can take days, weeks, and years of working at it until you get your desired result. However, the more work you put in and the better you get at writing the more likely your content is to get read and shared. See below a few ways to work on your writing skills.
Proofread Your Content: The last thing you want is to find that your content is filled with grammatical errors, poor sentence structures and the wrong use of punctuation. Read through it thoroughly and use apps to cross check, so you know the finished product is of a good standard.
Additionally, think about buying a printer as looking at printed versions of your work sometimes helps you see mistakes easier. You can get affordable ink that works with various printer brands from Cartridge People, for example. Don’t be caught out by something as trivial as grammatical errors. Make sure you have the facilities to physically look over your content.
Use Your Analytics: If you want to know whether your writing needs work, take a look at your analytics. Although the quality of your content isn’t the only factor, it can tell you a lot about whether people are engaging with the content or not and potential changes you need to make.
Write Often: To improve your writing skills, it’s imperative that you learn to write often. You don’t necessarily have to stick with one form of writing, so try exploring different types whether poetry, journal entries, or short stories. The goal is to get better at writing as well as learn to be more creative.
#4 Be consistent
Although it is often argued that certain days of the week and times of the day are better to post, it can be said that consistency is what’s most important. Think about what you want to commit to as a brand, whether it is creating and sharing content three times a week or daily. This helps create a schedule in the mind of your audience, and they know when to anticipate updates from you.
#5 Use Different Types of Content
The type of content that you choose to post could have a significant effect on how well it does. Pay attention to the types of content that your target market is sharing and focus on creating that. Here are a few different kinds of content and how they work to give you ideas.
- Infographics: You have probably seen an image filled with statistics and facts floating around on the internet before. It may have been an infographic which is a visual and fun way of sharing interesting and informative information with your audience. The good thing is that they’re easy to share, easy to make and also educational as well.
- Case studies: Another type of content to think about exploring is case studies. Amongst some target audiences, case studies which usually share customer success stories tend to perform well. This could be because it helps build trust and makes your brand more relatable.
- Video: Content marketing through explainer video is becoming increasingly popular, so ensure you use this media form in your content. It’s a visually engaging way of passing information and can prove to be effective when executed in the right way.
#6 Make Sure it Has a Clear Purpose
All of your content should have an end goal, so avoid posting for the sake of it. Ask yourself what need your content is meeting for customers and whether your content is providing solutions. Do you want your posts to inspire, entertain, inform, or educate? The answers to these questions should help guide your efforts so that you create content that is more likely to give you the levels of engagement that you’re hoping for.
By Steve Conway
Steve Conway is a content marketing professional and inbound marketing expert. Previously, Steve worked as a marketing manager for a tech software start-up. He is passionate about discovering new software that will that will advance his already well-honed digital marketing techniques.