One of the best points to start with content is to decide what type of content will appeal most to your target audience. This can be a challenge, but before you start distributing content, you should know what your audience is looking for and what type of content will appeal to them the most.
Web Content Can Be Divided Into Two Categories:
Informational content and decision-related or transactional content.
Informational content informs your audience about products and/or services you sell. This kind of content should address challenges or problems your audience is facing and prove that your brand’s services or products could be the solution they are looking for. Informational content can be broad or specific. Broad informational content involves your audience learning about who you are overall. Specific content is about a solitary product or service.
Decision-making or transactional web content aims to influence your audience’s decision in advance of a transaction.
This type of content marketing is designed to persuade your target audience by highlighting the features that set you apart from the competition. This is where the power of your branding enters into play. Web content marketing can and should be used to showcase who you are as an individual company. You have competitors that have the same target audience.
When creating your content, ask yourself some of the following questions:
- How am I different from my competitors?
- Are my differences known by my target audience?
- What can we provide that our competitors can’t?
- How can I relate to my target audience?
- Why should my target audience have my product?
As soon as you have determined your target audience and their preferred content type, you can start developing and publishing content.
When Things Don’t Work
As with anything and everything, if your processes are done wrong, they may not be successful, and your goals may not be met. If you’ve implemented a web content marketing strategy but haven’t seen success, it may be due to one of the following reasons.
Poor Execution
A poorly executed content strategy simply won’t thrive. Your content marketing strategy should be data-driven. Data consists of search engine optimized (SEO) keyword research and competitor research. If you write without research, you will not be successful. You should never think that your audience will respond to a piece of content. Analytical data is there for a reason; use it to maximize the quality of your content.
Unrealistic Expectation
It’s important to set honest and achievable expectations as part of your content strategy. Content marketing results don’t just depend on one form of content, but multiple types of driving traffic and leading to success.
Impractical Timing
All advantages take time, and that goes for content marketing as well. Do you publish a blog on your website and hope to get leads overnight? That’s not going to be the case. If you set a practical timeline from the start, you’ll understand that it can take months to see results. Fortunately, with an SEO-powered strategy, the timeline for conversions and leads becomes a little clearer.
Proving The Value Of Content Marketing
If you haven’t experienced the benefits of content marketing firsthand, you may need to rethink your strategy. Done right. However, content marketing proves it is worth it over and over again. Web content marketing is the driving force of communication. Combined with search engine optimization, graphic design, and a lot of strategy development, you’ll see that the content you produce drives people to the platform you’ve created.
If you’re not seeing growth after producing content, don’t worry. Metric Marketing’s digital marketing and web content team are here for you. If you’re ready to take the leap into developing your content marketing strategy, reach out to us! We look forward to creating producing with you.
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Personalizing Your Emails and Content If you’re reading this, you’re probably somewhat familiar with email and content marketing.
Marketing is impossible without great content.
Regardless of what type of marketing tactic you use, content marketing should be a part of your process, not something different. Quality content is part of all types of marketing:
Social Media Site
A content marketing strategy comes before your social media strategy.
Search Engine Optimized (SEO)
Search engines reward companies that publish high-quality, consistent content.
PR
Successful PR strategies should address issues that readers care about, not their company.
PPC
For PPC to work, you need good content.
Inbound Marketing
Content is key to increasing inbound traffic and leads.
Content strategy
Content strategy is part of most content marketing strategies. A documented web content marketing strategy is essential for effective content marketing.
Here’s what questions to ask and how to develop your strategy.
- What if your customers looked forward to your advertising?
- What if, when they received it in print, email, or on the website, they spent 15, 30, or 45 minutes with it?
- What if they looked forward to it and shared it with like-minded people?
If you’re curious and ready to learn more, we can help. Here are a few popular ways to find out:
Are you new to content marketing?
Check out our guide to getting started, where you’ll learn the definition of content marketing and the basic steps to creating a content marketing plan.
Need a content strategy?
Read CMI’s Content Marketing Framework, which outlines the essential building blocks for a successful content marketing program.
Are you in marketing leadership?
Subscribe to our free Chief Content Officer magazine to stay up to date on the latest industry trends.
Need advice specific to your business? Contact our advisory group, led by strategist Robert Rose, to find out how they can help you tackle your content marketing challenges.
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