Did you know that content marketing can generate 97 percent more backlinks, 55 percent more traffic, and costs 62 percent less than traditional marketing (SEMRush)? If you don't already have a content marketing strategy, it's time to dive in.
Content is a long game that can take anywhere from 6 months to 17 months to pay off. But when it does hit, the return on investment is well worth the effort. Organic traffic, driven by content, is stable, builds brand authority, and ultimately is much more affordable than PPC.
While there is something to be said about just getting the content train rolling, a better strategy is to start at the very beginning. Let's lay a strong foundation for content by defining your business goals and audience, and creating a strong value proposition.
By now, you already have an established brand mission, values, and business goals. It's time to translate these into a plan for your content. Get specific, think S.M.A.R.T.
A few examples include:
For example, the content you'll write to sell more products will likely look a lot different from an article designed to increase social shares.
Yes, all content boils down to striving to grow your business, but specific goals are much more measurable. You can implement KPI to help you keep the project on track and pivot when needed.
Where a lot of businesses get stuck is in the brainstorming stage. What topics will generate the most traffic, the most sales, and the most shares?
Don't get hung up trying to develop a single rock star idea that will break the internet. Instead, focus on understanding what types of content support your foundational business goals.
This collaborative step requires the assistance of your SEO strategist. Together, explore the keywords, trends, and SERP data to understand your niche better
Start by figuring out what type of content is ranking already for targeted keywords. Most searchers are looking for one of three types of content:
For example, customers googling "best snowboards" are likely looking for a product round-up, not an educational piece on snowboards.
Now you have a goal, targeted keywords, and the type of content in hand. Let's go back to our snowboard example. Our goal is to sell more snowboards for the coming season. We have a set of targeted keywords and know our customers are looking for product round-ups — this is all we need to start brainstorming highly targeted topics that our audience is already looking for.
Are you still stuck for ideas? First, exhaust your area of expertise and try Answer the Public, Reddit, and Google's People Also Ask.
Depending on your industry, creating highly educational guides loaded with free tips and tools is an excellent way to increase social shares.
These aren't fluff pieces. These are 4000-word resources that people want to bookmark. Readers leave with actionable advice. The more expertise you can provide, the more likely you'll become an authority in your field.
Get your products in the hands of experts, influencers, and niche bloggers and ask for honest reviews. Whether they craft these articles themselves or you provide a writer, comparisons between two products always rank well.
Plus, there is an entire universe of keywords playing off of product comparisons. Think "Apple vs. Samsung" or "Nissan vs Honda."
Original research drives traffic. According to BuzzSumo, 74 percent of people who published original data found it increased their traffic.
Why? Because just like we cited BuzzSumo, original data-driven work gets backlinks. And backlinks are critical for better rankings. Journalists and bloggers love to cite statistics, survey results, compelling interviews with experts, and other original information. So why not take advantage of it?
If you don't know how your B2C business can pull in data, try conducting customer surveys, even informally, on social media. You'd be surprised what valuable insights you can pull out to then transform into content.
Organic traffic may take time to build, but it's incredibly more valuable than paid clicks. So how do you get eyes on your content before you've built a strong organic foundation? Start promoting it.
Every piece of content you produce should get sent out to your email list, shared on every social channel, and in some cases, even advertised via press releases (think white papers and research).
You can also repurpose content you've written. One worthy blog post can become several different pieces of content, which all network together for a stronger end product. For example:
A successful content marketing strategy starts with specific goals and is always developed with the audience in mind. Highly targeted pieces crafted around SEO intelligence will capture readers and, with patience and perseverance, translate into growth.
Amplify believes in a more human approach to advertising. Let us demonstrate how you can reduce wasted ad spend and time to conversion by implementing an omnichannel strategy that amplifies your SEO, paid search, content, and programmatic strategies.
It's not just about blasting your message and branding across every platform within your reach. You need intelligent targeting focused on your specific clientele.
If you would like to learn more about shifting your marketing strategies to grow your market share and bottom line, let's have a conversation.
