Content marketing has evolved in recent years and is now something marketers around the world are actively working into their digital strategies. It is split into two main parts: content and promotion – you can’t do one without the other, but when used together effectively it can be a great tool for grabbing the interest of your target audience and getting them to pass on the content to their own online community.
There are endless ways in which you can engage in content marketing. Whether it is through an infographic, video or white paper, the content needs to be sharable and give something back to the reader. More often than not, content will be accessed by a reader in the hope of learning something new. People look for knowledge based content that will interest them and can easily be shared.
What doesn’t work is content that is continually pushing a promotional message – the reader will just get bored and leave the page because it doesn’t give anything back to them. When looking to make a purchasing decision, consumers are not interested in advertising, they are looking to gain more information that will help inform their purchase. Use your content to help build up trust with your audience. Building trust will encourage people to return to view future pieces of content.
Imagery
One way of creating interesting content is through the use of imagery. Research by KissMetrics found that articles containing images received as much as 94% more views. So where possible, cut down on the text and replace it with images. It makes for a much more digestible read that is also visually appealing will better engage with the reader.
Infographics
Another way to grab attention is through infographics. These provide a simpler way of accessing information, making the topic easy to learn about. Through imagery and short facts and statements, infographics can become a key part of any content marketing strategy. Even the most dull facts can become much more interesting when presented in a visually dynamic way.
Short and Snappy Text
If you are looking to create a text based piece of content, consider using bullet points in sections and ensure that each one is laid out in a way that makes it easy to read. Not only will having headings for each section make the article more digestible, it will also help with SEO. Content presented in big chunks of text will most likely not be read. Imagine your reader has a really short attention span, you want to engage them in the shortest amount of time possible.
Idea Inspiration
If you are stuck when thinking of ideas for pieces of content to produce, or you haven’t been getting the results back that you had hoped for, then there is a great tool you can use called BuzzSumo. This is a website used to help identify some of the best ranking content for particular topics. It ranks by the number of shares each piece has had. This can help offer inspiration and insights into what areas are going to be most appealing to your audience.
Looking at Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a well known tool used for analysing your website’s traffic but it can also be used to help inform your content. Look back at the keywords that are driving traffic to your website. This will give you an idea of the topics your audience are looking for. Also look at your top performing content as this will give insights into the articles that are performing the best which will help build a picture of what your visitors are interested in seeing. Use this as a guide to identify the type of content your readers want more of.
Once your content has been created you need to share it on social media channels to help direct traffic back to your website. Distributing articles through social channels will push it out to a wider audience of people that are interested in viewing the information. In time, content marketing will lead to your audience subscribing to your content and sharing it with their community.
