During May I’ve decided to dive deep into my content marketing strategy and find out what’s working, what isn’t working and how I can give my audience (YOU) more of what you want.
I want to challenge you to do the same thing!
Providing high-quality, consistent content is a big priority of mine because good content has proven its value to me over and over again. A recentstudyby Kapost found that content marketing gets 3 times the leads per dollar spent than paid search and outbound marketing!
So, do you want to know what I’ve found to be extremely effective in 2018?
I’m going to let you in on an important tip to apply across your content marketing strategy this year:
Answer The Complex Questions Your Audience Is Asking
Your target market has big questions they need answers to. If you are writing in-depth articles, emails and ads that address very specific problems and give solutions, your traffic numbers will increase.
Why “complex”?
In case you haven’t noticed, the internet is jam packed with information. You can type almost any question into google and find a decent answer. Anyone can answer an easy question! And these days on google all you have to do is start typing a question and they answer will appear in a heartbeat without having to click into a post.
To stand out, you must provide more than the surface solutions- you’ve got to dive deep! Focus on becoming not just the “general practitioner” in your field but the EXPERT or SPECIALIST.
Here are a few ways toprovide smart answers to hard questionsand bring depth to your content:
Focus on question-based keywords.Put the actual question, word for word, that you are answering in your content as a header 1, 2 or 3. This will help search engines to notice you and bring you up when people type that into a search bar. Some great question based keywords include:
How to [increase/improve] [benchmark/metric]?
What is a X?
How to find X?
How to learn X for free?
What are the benefits of X?
How much does X cost?
What are the best [tools/products] in a [category]?
What’s the difference between X and Y?
Add data. Anyone can say anything in a good blog post; a great blog post has data to support all the claims. If you are giving solutions to problems, always backup your information with reputable data and citations. This will increase your credibility and also boost your SEO.
Create better blogs than your competitors. Check out what your competitors are saying about any given topic. Look at their best content and make something that’s even better. You can use tools likebuzzsumo.comorahrefs.comto see what your competitors are getting the most traffic for.
Discover the complex question your audience is asking.Write to answer hard questions and make sure you’re addressing likely follow up questions on the same topic. A great FREE resource to use for this isanswerthepublic.com. Another one isFAQ Fox.
I hope you’ve found these tips useful! If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email and let me know what’s on your mind.
As always, I’m here to help. If you need someone to brainstorm content marketing with or have another area in your business that is struggling, let’s talk. You can sign up for a free consultation with me byclicking this link. Only takes a few seconds!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome would you rate your current content marketing strategy?
The quality of your content marketing can have major impact on the success of your company.
If your content is ineffective, unclear, unplanned or non-existent, your customers will not be able to understand why your company is one they should pay attention to. And you will likely lose the bulk of them to your competitors!
Today I want to share with you 7 Simple Rules To Improve Your Content Marketing:
Create Unique Content.I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much content is out there, floating around the web and on the screens of your potential clients/customers. Some statistics say we see anywhere from 500-5000 ads in a single day! If you want to be seen, you MUST be unique. Unique doesn’t mean complicated or time-consuming. Create content that stands out from the rest of the information begging for your audience’s attention.Be the purple unicorn in the room full of zebras!
Be Format-Specific.There are dozens of platforms on which to share your content. You can repurpose the same content to use across all of these platforms by formatting it for each platform. Create long, detailed posts for your blog, teaser-length for email, short blips or graphics for social, etc.
Answer Questions Your Audience Is Asking.Your content should answer or provide a solution to a question your target audience is asking. Use tools likewww.answerthepublic.comto find what people are asking about topics related to your product/service. You will grab attention if you can provide clear and obvious answers/solutions to the questions people are asking.
Create A Content Schedule.Spontaneity may work once in a while but is not an effective long-term content strategy. Sit down once a year, once a month and once a week to go over your content schedule. If you create consistent, well-planned content it will help you appear stable and that you have your ducks in a row. This will also prevent last minute “panic-mode” content creation for product launches, promotions and special occasions because you will have mapped these out long in advance.
Diversify Your Content.There are many, many ways to repurpose content and put it in front of a wider audience! Think videos, infographics, webinars, images, ads, etc.https://lumen5.com/is a great app that helps you transform blog posts into eye-grabbing videos.
Metrics, Metrics, Metrics!It is important to take a look at how your content is performing across different platforms in order to know what is working, what isn’t working and how you need to shift your content to increase engagement. Google analytics and Facebook business insights are free ways to monitor your content’s performance. Ahrefs.com is a program that helps you see keyword ranking in search engines. If you use an email system like aweber.com or activecampaign.com you will be able to see your email open rates and click-through rates. Find the metric reporting systems that work for you and use them regularly.
Take Creative Risks.Once in a while you’ve got to step away from the “norm” and do something “risky” in order to make your brand stand out and get noticed. Sometimes you might fall flat on your face, and other times you will find wild success. Push outside the boundaries of your comfort zone and do something your audience is not expecting!
Focus on these simple content marketing rules to enhance your current strategy and take your business to the next level. Good content is a core muscle in your business and should be given the proper time and attention.
As always, I am here to help if you are finding gaps in your business or are experiencing a learning curve!Schedule a call with me HEREto chat about what I can do to help you improve your business.
