Marketing sometimes feels like an exercise that changes every minute and never ends. Especially with all the tools, tactics, and buzzwords that appear faster and faster every day. Many digital marketing experts are talking about content as the basic element of any marketing strategy, and they are right. Even more important than the content marketing strategy is how to create that content.
What is Content Marketing?
Content from a marketing point of view is simple. We talk about articles, blog posts, videos, webinars, images, and all kinds of content really. Whether on the internet or abroad, good content helps the market better understand what you or your business does.
Prospects and customers are increasingly expecting to find stuff through search engines. We are living in a digital age where everything from products, services, people, companies, problems, and challenges has some content created around it online. And in that feeling, content is how you are found, how you educate, how you build trust, answer questions, arise, and promote yourself in the virtual world.
Content marketing is a big phrase these days, and many brands are struggling to get into the game. This is not a game you join just to play. The idea behind creating content is to use it to build your business in the long run, to get more customers and sales.
The following is a systematic process for creating good content for your business and helping you make more effective use of your limited time to generate business opportunities.
Content Creation Strategy
Every system starts with a strategy. That said, consider these three points:
The complete structure: think of the complete image when thinking about content. Structure a book (real or imaginary) about your area of knowledge. Remember that you are creating a complete body that can and will take time to create.
Use and reuse: When creating content, always think about using the same content in different ways – to generate traffic, links… the opportunities are endless.
Diversity of media: One way to maximize content marketing benefits is to republish content on various media and platforms, in different/multiple formats.
Finding Inspiration for Content
Having created a complete and clear structure, some people and companies face creative block when it comes to creating new and frequent content. It is an excellent idea to have some sources of inspiration.
Questions: Take into account all the questions asked by your prospects and customers and get in the habit of posting the answers.
Pocket: Pocket is a web-based application that allows you to mark everything interesting you find on the internet, thus creating a database for consultation later.
Google Keyword Planner: Sometimes you just have to search for what people search on Google. Google’s own keyword tool is a hand in the wheel here.
Content Automation: Few people are still as passionate about RSS as I am, but the truth is, I like everything that is possible to do with it. My favorite use is to create content with the magic pass it adds to your overall content strategy.
Publishing Content
If you want your advertising to be effective and your content to generates potential customers and not just sales, publish as much content as you can. Use social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, create an email list for occasional newsletters, create webinars, share some more on Slideshare – there are no limits to content publishing.
Content marketing allows your business to be visible in multiple places online and this can be really effective in targeting different kinds of audiences. As you create your content pieces for various platforms, try to keep your voice as consistent as possible. This slowly helps your business transition into an organic platform that generates trust and a place of no return spending.
On-demand Content
One of the most dramatic advances in communicating sales messages is that you have to adapt the message to the platform.
With the economical and easy-to-use tools that exist today, you can create compelling sales presentations and post them on the internet to attract potential customers these days.
Using tools like ClearSlide (formerly SlideRocket) allows you to insert forms into your presentations, making them more interactive and receiving alerts to know when people see your presentations.
Establishing Content Alliances
Ah yes. Content alliances – the grand prize to all your content creation efforts. Once you have created a blog, an ebook, podcast, videos, SlideShare, etc., you can offer various useful content as a strategy for reaching allies.
You can include your blog logo and user information in an e-book, invite them to write on your blog, interview them on your podcast, and through the process, open your business for even more partnerships from prospects.
Content marketing is easily the king of web positioning (SEO) today and is one of the pillars of any Digital Marketing plan. As one of the greatest lyricists and content creators the world has ever said, Tupac said, All Eyes on Me. And how did he achieve this? Content. Lots of it!
