Content marketing should be at the cornerstone of any attempts to grow your business. Although the short term effects of content marketing aren’t very strong, it’s one of the best long term investments you can make into your business. After all, it’s hard to get noticed in today’s business world, and traditional advertising is making it even harder to cut through all the noise.
Users of the web today aren’t looking for more ads, instead they’re looking for better content. The companies that provide the best content will win out in the long run. In order to run an effective content marketing campaign you need to have a strategy that fits your market’s needs. Sometimes, we all need the reminder that business isn’t about us, it’s about our customers.
In this article we’re going to cover what you’ll need to do if you’d like to run an effective content marketing campaign.
1. Find great sources
Often you’ll want look outside of your company for sources. A lot of companies make the mistake of simply quoting themselves, or talking about their business the entire time. The goal of your content should be to provide value, but also encourage sharing.
No one is going to share anything if your post basically acts as one giant billboard for your company.
You can reach outside of your company, but pull quotes from big names in your niche. People will be more likely to share content that has expert opinions from people they trust.
2. Focus on quality
Quality trumps everything. Most of us can spot good writing. However, sometimes it takes time to find a talented writer who can stick with your content needs. You’ll want a writer that can convey the messaging of your company, while still, providing value to the reader.
3. Go beyond words
Words will only get your so far. Try to add images or enticing video to your content. The more interactive your media the better chance there is at people actually reading it, and hopefully sharing.
4. Engage socially
Social media should be used as a distribution channel for your work. Aside from publishing your content across a few social platforms yourself, you’ll want to integrate social sharing into your content.
5. Distribute correctly
If you aren’t finding the right channels to share your content, then there’s really no need to be creating content in the first place. For example, build relationships with relevant bloggers in your niche. Or even work with an SEO specialist to help your content gain search engine rankings. Writing your content isn’t good enough, you’ll need to get it in front of people who want to read it.
6. Relate back to your business
When you produce any piece of content make sure that’s it’s clear that your business produced it. You’ll want to include links back to your site, if applicable, or at least be able to have a byline at the end that points to your website.
I hope this article has been helpful and your understanding of the complex world of content marketing has increased. Remember, it’s not more information that will make any changes in your business, but how you use that information.
Written By Jason Brietstein
