Interested in starting your content marketing strategy but afraid your efforts will be a flop?
There are many, many blogs out there and many don’t receive the success they deserve. This blog is all about avoiding the mistakes most blogs writers make.
Any blog can find success.
1) Remember content marketing is not a short term investment
Businesses often invest in content marketing without truly understanding the process which content marketing uses to develop leads. The assumption often is that if you make content people will read that content and that will convince them to make a purchase. This isn’t what content marketing is about. If you’ve just started your content marketing you can’t expect people to be going out on Google and searching for your blog.
The reality is you just have to spread your content as much as you can and hope that people may stumble across it, amongst the thousands of other blogs floating in their feeds. Once they do find it, hopefully the blog will appeal to them and they’ll remember your brand. Next time they see your content come up on their feed they might choose your content again.
This is why content marketing is important. You are building a relationship with a relevant consumer with any luck they’ll be looking for your content in the future.
So when they are ready to buy they’ll choose you. The business which has gone out of their way to educate and entertain them. Maybe they’ll buy immediately, maybe they won’t. The important thing is that when they are ready you have a customer.
2) Target your content
Okay so we know that quality content doesn’t necessarily mean overnight success. The right people have to find your brand content amongst all the other organisations competing with market share of voice and mind space in your sector. How can you make it easier for them to find you?
Think about this, how does created content in your sector spread? All content marketing is essentially spread because it’s supported by a community. For a better chance of your blog being shared you have to find the communities most likely to enjoy your content and invest in your business.
Once you have taken this into consideration you can angle your content with your audience in mind, everyone appreciates a more personal experience. Give your audience a reason to not only enjoy but to share your content.
3) Basic steps to spread your content
So now that you have access to a social circle within your industry you need to make the most of your reach. Here are some basic steps to promoting your content:
- Find the most successful example of content marketing in your industry.
- Establish which marketing channels are used to share that content.
- Find who is sharing the most in your industry.
- Establish what kind of content do they like.
- Build a relationship with those who share.
- Ensure you reach all marketing channels regularly.
4) Use content marketing to drive SEO
As important as social media and marketing channels are in 2014 and likely the same for 2015, Google is still critical to the success of your business. While social media is very effective it is mostly used for browsing vaguely through content. Google is for when you are looking to take action, such as a purchase.
Use content marketing to drive your keywords, optimise your link building and your site will find itself higher up the Google ranks.
5) Never surrender
Very rarely is content immediately successful. There have been several cases of when a blog has very few views for several years before becoming very successful. This is okay. The important thing to keep in mind is that if and when you do hit the jackpot not to get too excited. You may go a full two years without getting more than 100 views on a blog, then find yourself getting a few thousand for a month or so before dropping again.
Don’t give up. Becoming top of your SERP (search engine results page) takes patience, don’t expect to top your industry in a few months.
I hope this blog has helped you understand how content marketing works. If you would like to find out how else we can help your business accelerate sales growth, call the Sales Accelerant team TODAY on 0845 3058145 or Email Us. Experience the sales approach difference that makes the difference.
