In today’s digital world, it takes more than just sharing links and posts on social media for businesses to establish a strong online presence. They need to work on providing quality content that is relevant to their target market.
Here are a few ways to get ahead of your competitors as you work on your content:
It all starts with a goal
Like in everything else, the why is as important as the how in content marketing. You will need to determine what your goals are so you have a clear way of measuring your success (or failure). Generally, the goal of content marketing is to get as many people to sign up for email subscriptions or free trials. But you get to identify which goals to set. Are you after website traffic? Conversions? Subscriptions? Having these goals in mind before you dive in will help you strategize better.
Are you updated with the latest in your industry?
If you want to be better than your competition at content marketing, you need to be updated with the latest news and trends in your line of business and industry. The occasional history lesson is valuable, yes, but most folks are looking for quality content that will keep them in the loop and help them with their present concerns. You don’t need to be a subject matter expert in the field. You just need to be knowledgeable enough to establish credibility.
It’s all about the people
You’re getting into content marketing because you want to reach out to as many people as you can, right? Then you should have a pretty good idea of who your audience is and what their needs are. How do you expect people to buy your products or acquire your services if you don’t know how to address their concerns?
How can you reach out to people about your Control4 automation systems? Who will you market your home repair services to? It’s not enough to have a strong online presence, you should also know how to connect with your audience.
Preparing the platform
Now that we’ve set aside the tactical, it’s time to get into the technical aspect of content creation. There are several platforms you can use to publish your content. You can work on your website, blog, YouTube and other social media accounts, and podcasts.
Among all of them, blog sites are the easiest to work on since you already have websites like WordPress that allow you to customize your site’s appearance or use their existing templates. Vlogs are more tedious as they require greater technical know-how. You can pick one of these platforms to get you started and eventually work your way to the others once you’re ready.
Create, create, create!
Perhaps the most difficult phase in content creation is the creation of content. It might be easy at first with all the great ideas you can’t wait to publish but eventually, you will run out of ideas and will experience creative blocks.
The beautiful thing about content creation is you’re only bound by your creativity and resourcefulness. If you think you hit a dead end, revisit some of your older ideas and try approaching them from a different angle. You can also get inspiration from other content, including your competitor’s. Ideas are everywhere. You just need to learn how to look for them. And once you already know where to look for inspiration, keep creating. Don’t stop.
Wordiness is not synonymous with smart
If you’re working on a blog, keep in mind that you don’t need your entries to be wordy to be sophisticated and informative. It all depends on delivery. Ideally, your blogs should be clear and succinct so you don’t alienate people. Don’t water them down either otherwise you might lose some of your smarter audience. Get to the point and get your message across clearly.
Style or substance?
We’ve found that when it comes to creating content, there are two types of creators — the flashy ones and the effective ones. Sometimes, people think that they need to show more style to attract more people. While it can be true at times, that’s not always the case. People are looking for valuable information that’s relevant to their situation.
Everything else is just icing on the cake. If you want people to flock to your website, and social media accounts, you need to work on building a user-friendly system that will keep them on board for the long haul. Focus on substance and not just style.
When it comes to effective content creation, consistency is key. Remember that people are after relevance. They need substance over style. As long as you’re able to consistently deliver quality content that caters to your target market’s needs, you’re already in a good place. But that’s no reason for you to become complacent.
Keep pushing yourself creatively. Look for different ways and means on how you can address your audience’s concerns. Before you know it, you will already have built a solid base and would have already made significant conversions.
