Content Marketing – are you already an influencer in your line of business?

Thanks to the unusual times we're living through, digital information consumption is growing exponentially, which is a fantastic opportunity to get our message out there. On the other hand, this digital ocean demands far more creativity if that message is to become a beacon and if we're to be recognised as experts on the subject.

What is content marketing?

In theory, it's any high-quality content created and shared with the aim of attracting a particular target audience by offering them the solution to their problem.

In practice, it's the digital information that brands put in front of us every day in the form(at) of articles, images, videos, podcasts, infographics, e-books and more.

Keyword: relevance

For whoever produces the content, the focus should be on answering the question the user is asking or searching for, with the goal of becoming an authority on the topic.

And if we can pair content that's already relevant with optimisation techniques so that it appears at the top of search results (increasing the odds of it being read and consumed), then we've won the day.

Mapping out a good strategy

Talking about content marketing (inbound marketing) presupposes there's a strategy in place first.

What sets your brand apart from others in the same line of business? Who is your audience? Which questions are you going to answer? How can your product or service solve your target audience's problems? Which platform(s) will you focus on to share your brand's content?

Once you've thought those questions through, create your content with sharing in mind, so it can gain more visibility. To do that, you can add buttons next to the content itself (making sharing easier) and encourage visitors to share and subscribe.

Less is more

Do you really have to be everywhere at once? Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, a blog, and so on?

The ideal approach is to focus on the channel where your audience or potential customers already are, and where it makes the most sense for your company or business. That way you can keep up your commitment to producing content, meeting your users' expectations and building trust.

That said, as the business grows you can extend your content to more channels.

Repurposing content

If your brand already has the structure to distribute content across more than one channel, repurpose it.

For example: if you've gathered a set of updates over the course of the month, you can turn them into a newsletter. Or, if you run a podcast, transcribe the audio afterwards and adapt it into a blog post.

Still using that same article, you can:

– pick out the main topics and create posts for Instagram and/or Facebook throughout the month;

– choose a few key sentences and turn them into tweets;

– take an excerpt from the video and post it on LinkedIn;

– email your subscribers with the article's main points.

And if you already have a body of content, you can organise and compile it into an e-book.

After all, using more than one channel means spreading your brand across different fronts, increasing the chances of being "found" when someone searches for something. And, of course, you're boosting your conversion rate (visitor to customer).

Build a system

The more systematic your work is, the more time you'll have to focus on other projects and the less pressure there'll be – especially if something unexpected comes up.

Your communication strategy is bound to include tasks that fall into the same category – so try tackling them in a single block of time. For example, if you've committed to publishing 1 video a week, make the most of one morning and sort out all 4 videos for the month. The same goes for editing copy or social media posts.

Start with the simple tasks, presenting them with care, and refine as you go.

Conclusion

A strong content marketing strategy is one of the most effective tools your brand can use to drive traffic to your website, win your audience's trust and increase your conversion rate.

To do that, it's important to publish content that adds value for users while establishing yourself as an authority on the subject.

As a result, satisfied users are very likely to come back to your content and even share it with others. And who knows, they may finally buy your product or hire your services.

We know that planning the best content marketing strategy can mean more pressure. That's exactly why it's important to delegate some of the work.

Tell us what you need and free up time for your brand's other priorities.