Build a Winning Content Strategy With These 5 Tips
By Andrew Patricio
December 02, 2015
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Share Facebook Tweet on Twitter Share with Email Share with LinkedIn Share with Pinterest
By the small business content developers at BizLaunch.com.
The catchphrase “content is king” still resonates years after it was first uttered because it is true! Content marketing is a means to connect deeply with your public, building bonds of trust, and provide substantial insights into what makes your services or your offerings unique. Meaningful and compelling content is a guaranteed way to build a relationship with your target audience as well as enhance your website’s prominence on search engine results. Here are 5 quick tips to help you develop the best approach:
1. Be Interesting.
It’s easier said than done, but your ultimate goal should be to create an exceptional and intriguing contribution to your topic. Are you interested in your subject? Because if you aren’t, chances are no one else will be either. Look for points and perspectives that are fascinating or entertaining. You might be tempted to manufacture drama for clicks, but few things will undermine your trustworthiness more than falsehoods. While it may take years to build trust, you can destroy it in an instant.
2. Schedule and Plan.
Just as you have a plan when you head out on vacation, you need a plan for how you will manage your content marketing. Editorial calendars are only the beginning. It is imperative that you create a blueprint for how you will approach your content development and promotion. How often will you post? How often will you share to social media? What types of posts will you use? What kinds of visual assets will you deploy? A comprehensive plan of action will address these types of questions and more.
3. Analyze.
There are a wide range of tools that can help you analyze the raw data of audience behaviors. Look at which posts attract the strongest response. Was it the subject matter or the way you shared it? Google Analytics is a great all-purpose tool that can help start examining how your content performs. Facebook also provides the Page Insights tool which can tell you the optimal time for posts as well as how your audience interacts with each of your posts. Observe what works and try to replicate it. Abandon the actions that are high effort and low payoff.
4. Adapt.
It might be tempting to use a single method across platforms, but a post with hashtags and images that works well on Instagram might not have as strong an appeal on Twitter. Each piece of content has different value depending on how and where it is deployed. A longer post might work well on your blog and bomb on social media, but an extract with an attractive image might attract a big audience. It is also important to pay attention to what devices your audience uses. Something that looks great on a desktop computer might bog down a user on a mobile device. Put time and effort into modifying your contributions depending on where they’ll be published and how they’ll be viewed.
5. Share.
Promotion is a key aspect as to the longevity and the magnitude of your content’s impact. Your publicity of your content via social media, email, or newsletters is only part of the way you can publicize your material. Give your audience the means to share your content quickly via buttons or forms on your website. Remember to share your content more than once. If you don’t, you can miss a significant portion of your intended audience.
The catchphrase “content is king” still resonates years after it was first uttered because it is true! Content marketing is a means to connect deeply with your public, building bonds of trust, and provide substantial insights into what makes your services or your offerings unique. Meaningful and compelling content is a guaranteed way to build a relationship with your target audience as well as enhance your website’s prominence on search engine results. Here are 5 quick tips to help you develop the best approach:
1. Be Interesting.
It’s easier said than done, but your ultimate goal should be to create an exceptional and intriguing contribution to your topic. Are you interested in your subject? Because if you aren’t, chances are no one else will be either. Look for points and perspectives that are fascinating or entertaining. You might be tempted to manufacture drama for clicks, but few things will undermine your trustworthiness more than falsehoods. While it may take years to build trust, you can destroy it in an instant.
2. Schedule and Plan.
Just as you have a plan when you head out on vacation, you need a plan for how you will manage your content marketing. Editorial calendars are only the beginning. It is imperative that you create a blueprint for how you will approach your content development and promotion. How often will you post? How often will you share to social media? What types of posts will you use? What kinds of visual assets will you deploy? A comprehensive plan of action will address these types of questions and more.
3. Analyze.
There are a wide range of tools that can help you analyze the raw data of audience behaviors. Look at which posts attract the strongest response. Was it the subject matter or the way you shared it? Google Analytics is a great all-purpose tool that can help start examining how your content performs. Facebook also provides the Page Insights tool which can tell you the optimal time for posts as well as how your audience interacts with each of your posts. Observe what works and try to replicate it. Abandon the actions that are high effort and low payoff.
4. Adapt.
It might be tempting to use a single method across platforms, but a post with hashtags and images that works well on Instagram might not have as strong an appeal on Twitter. Each piece of content has different value depending on how and where it is deployed. A longer post might work well on your blog and bomb on social media, but an extract with an attractive image might attract a big audience. It is also important to pay attention to what devices your audience uses. Something that looks great on a desktop computer might bog down a user on a mobile device. Put time and effort into modifying your contributions depending on where they’ll be published and how they’ll be viewed.
5. Share.
Promotion is a key aspect as to the longevity and the magnitude of your content’s impact. Your publicity of your content via social media, email, or newsletters is only part of the way you can publicize your material. Give your audience the means to share your content quickly via buttons or forms on your website. Remember to share your content more than once. If you don’t, you can miss a significant portion of your intended audience.